Princess Diana’s untimely death was not good news for topical satire. My classic lyric, She Ain’t Heavy She’s Bulimic, which had run in the show for much of the preceding four years, died along with Di and Dodi.
It was nigh on impossible to write anything that even touched on the topic which could get into the show…the following lyric being no exception. I felt at the time that Elton John’s Diana version of Candle in the Wind was a bit of a cash in on the tragedy, but it was not an idea ripe for the show at that time. Reads interesting now, 20+ years later.
VULTURE IN THE WIND
(To the Tune of “Candle in the Wind”)VERSE 1
Goodbye Elton John,
Tho’ you ought to be long gone,
Or even near forgotten, like Kajagoogoo or The Darts;
You crawled out of the woodwork,
You made your comeback just at the time,
That your career was flagging,
Like a eunuch’s poor spare part.CHORUS 1
But it seems to me, you live your life,
Like a vulture in the wind;
Writing clichés at the death scene,
With Bernie Taupin;
Can’t escape your tinkled ivories across England’s verdant hills,
You sound like Richard Clayderman,
Or even Mrs Mills.(Piano flourish and BLACKOUT)
Below is a video of Elton John singing Candle In The Wind with the lyrics on the screen.