A-side "Your Song" Format Vinyl record (7") Length 3:47 | Released October 26, 1970 Genre Rock | |
Recorded January 1970; Trident Studios
(London, England) | ||
"Take Me to the Pilot" is a rock song performed by British musician Elton John. The song was written by Bernie Taupin and composed by John for his eponymous second album in 1970.
Contents
It was released in 1970 as the B side of the second single from the album, "Your Song," which became the singer's first hit on both sides of the Atlantic.
Composition and inspiration
Many found this song's lyrics cryptic and incomprehensible. "If you feel that it's real/I'm on trial/and I'm here in your prison/like a coin in your mint/I am dented and spent with high treason," reads the first verse. The speaker in this odd tale then observes, "Through a glass eye, your throne/is the one danger zone," and exhorts his captor to, "Take me to the pilot for control/take me to the pilot of your soul."
Bernie has said that he has no idea what the lyrics mean, comparing his writing style in the song to poets like "Baudelaire and Rimbaud...(who) just threw things together and went 'Wow! That sounds good'." The lyrics possess many elements: betrayal, either political or personal ("treason"); the illusion of danger ("through a glass eye"); and fearlessness toward the unknown ("take me to the pilot of your soul"). According to Elton, this and other songs recorded during this period were inspired by the science fiction books Bernie was reading at the time.
Song history
This has become a staple of John's live shows and can be heard on many of his concert recordings — such as a performance with his early 1970s backup musicians, bassist Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson on 11-17-70 (1970) to Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (1987) with a full scale orchestral reworking the original Paul Buckmaster score. There have also been numerous notable cover versions from the likes of José Feliciano, folk/blues guitarist Buzzy Linhart, British Group Orange Bicycle, R&B vocalist Ben E. King, blues icon Odetta, pianist Nate Hopkins, a duet between singers Al Jarreau and Gloria Loring, and third-season contestant George Huff on American Idol. The Who segue into it from "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" on the Elton John/Bernie Taupin tribute album, Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin. In 1983, Kikki Danielsson covered the song on her Singles Bar album. Elton once quoted, in The Red Piano Tour in 2005, "And in the early days, there were a lot of inquiries about 'What does this song mean? What does that song mean?' and in the case of 'Take me to the pilot/Lead me through the chamber/Take me to the pilot/I am but a stranger', I have no idea! You're on your own, I tell you." Most recently, American Idol season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino and Season 11 Top 3 finalist Joshua Ledet performed this song on the American Idol season 11 Finale.
Format and track list
- . "Your Song" 3:57
- . "Take Me to the Pilot" 3:43
- "Take Me to the Pilot (live)" 3:58
- "Tonight (live)" 7:26
- "Nikita"
- "Take Me to the Pilot"
- "Blessed" 4:19
- "Honky Cat (live)" 7:05
- "Take Me to the Pilot (live)" 5:55
- "The Bitch is Back (live)" 4:26