"Have Mercy on the Criminal" is a song written by English musician

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

and songwriter

Bernie Taupin Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English songwriter, singer and visual artist. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with musician Elton John, a songwriting partnership that is one of the most successful in history. Tau ...

, and performed by John. It is the most frequent live-track on the album besides the two dominating singles, "

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" and "

Crocodile Rock "Crocodile Rock" is a song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and recorded in summer 1972 at the Château d'Hérouville studio in France (it was listed as "Strawberry Studios" in the album's credits), where John and his team had previou ...

Musical structure

The song is one of only two songs from the album that features

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orc ...

. Long-time collaborator

Paul Buckmaster Paul John Buckmaster (13 June 1946 – 7 November 2017) was a Grammy Award-winning British cellist, arranger, conductor and composer, with a career spanning five decades. He is best known for his orchestral collaborations with David Bowie, Sha ...

was responsible for the arrangement. It opens unusually, in the middle of a

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, before ending with a

snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...

-hit that segues into a slow-paced dramatic ballad that lasts for the rest of the song. Featured is also a guitar solo. Upon introducing the song during his orchestral tour of Australia in 1986, John stated that "no one did arrangements like this in those days," claiming "that's why Buckmaster was so great." Author Mary Anne Cassata praises the song as a "breakthrough stunner," particularly praising Buckmaster's "tense" arrangement and John's "desperate" vocals. Elton John biographer David Buckley believes the song's guitar

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...

was influenced by that of

Derek and the Dominos Derek and the Dominos was an English–American blues rock band formed in the spring of 1970 by guitarist and singer Eric Clapton, keyboardist and singer Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon. All four members had previou ...

' "

Layla "Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally recorded by Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their only studio album, ''Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs'' (1970). Its contrasting movements were compose ...

Lyrical meaning

The lyrics describe what life is like for an escaped prisoner. The first verses mention "''dogs at night chasing some poor criminal''", while the last verses mentioning "''never seen a friend in years''", bookending the theme as being about the escape and recapture of a criminal. The chorus claims "''have mercy on the criminal – are you blind to the winds of change – don't you hear them anymore''," pleading for tolerance for the criminal on the lam. Author Elizabeth Rosenthal believes the song was influenced by the songs of

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as " Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano", ...

and

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

. Phillip Norman traces some of the imagery in the song to stories and

B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

s that Taupin was exposed to as a child.

Performances

Bootleg sources prove that it was performed months before the album's release, with the earliest recording being from November 1972. It was performed at practically each show on his 1973 tours, occasionally in 1975. For his 1980 tour, it was a staple, being played during the latter half of every show. It was performed on and off in 1984 as well, and in 1986, with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. A live performance was included on the 1987 album ''

Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra ''Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra'', released in 1987, is the twenty-eighth official album release for English musician Elton John. It is a live album recorded at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on 14 December 1986 with ...

''. As with other songs performed at those shows, it also received performances during his 1988–89 World Tour. It was performed in 1995 in the

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, and on his 2002 tour as a staple. It made a brief return in the summer of 2004 during his second orchestral tour. He sparsely performed the song in the 2010's. During the 2022 leg of the

Farewell Yellow Brick Road Farewell Yellow Brick Road is an ongoing tour by English musician Elton John that began in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on September 8, 2018 and will end in Stockholm, Sweden on July 8, 2023. It is intended to be John's final tour and will consist ...

tour, the song was brought back and played regularly at every show.

Personnel

*Elton John – vocals, piano *

Dee Murray Dee Murray (born David Murray Oates; 3 April 1946 – 15 January 1992) was an English bass guitarist. He was best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band. Biography Murray was born in Gillingham ...

– bass *

Nigel Olsson Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English rock drummer and singer best known for his long-time affiliation with Elton John. A dynamic drummer and backing vocalist, Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as a member of the Elton J ...

– drums *

Davey Johnstone David William Logan Johnstone (born 6 May 1951) is a British rock guitarist and vocalist, best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band. Career Johnstone's first work was with Noel Murphy in 1 ...

– electric guitar *

– orchestral arrangement

References

{{Authority control Songs about criminals 1973 songs Elton John songs Songs with lyrics by Bernie Taupin Songs with music by Elton John Song recordings produced by Gus Dudgeon