Released 1970 Length 4:06 Producer(s) Gus Dudgeon | Genre Piano rock, soft rock Label DJM | |
Writer(s) Elton John, Bernie Taupin | ||
"Talking Old Soldiers" is a song by Elton John with lyrics by Bernie Taupin. It is the ninth track (fourth track on side two) of his third studio album, Tumbleweed Connection.
Contents
Orchestral arrangements were by Paul Buckmaster.
Lyrics and meaning
The song tells the story of chance meeting of a young man and an old man inside a bar. The old man describes his loneliness and his former comrades who died in combat. It is implied—"I've seen enough to have a man blow out his brains"—that the old man has PTSD. The old man also thanks the young man for listening; no one else in the bar would.
In a Rolling Stone interview, John said that it "was a very David Ackles-influenced song." In fact, the album itself is dedicated "with love to David."
Other performances
John performed the song live at the House of Blues in New Orleans in 1997. VH-1 broadcast the performance.
The song was covered by Bettye LaVette in 2007 on her album The Scene of the Crime.