"Skyline Pigeon" is a ballad composed and performed 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 ...

with lyrics by

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 ...

. It is the eighth track on his first album, ''

Empty Sky ''Empty Sky'' is the debut studio album by British singer-songwriter Elton John, released on 6 June 1969. It was not issued in the United States until January 1975 (on MCA), with different cover art, well after John's fame had been established ...

''. It was originally released by Guy Darrell and Roger James Cooke simultaneously as a single in August 1968.

Musical structure

The original recording from the ''Empty Sky'' album has Elton John on

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

and organ. It is the only track on the album featuring only John and no other musicians. He wrote the song in the style of a

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

. The lyrics of the song are

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...

ical – describing a pigeon that is flying high and free having been released from a human hand.

1972 version

In 1972, John re-recorded the song with his band (

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

) during the sessions for ''

Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player ''Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player'' is the sixth studio album by English musician Elton John. Released in January 1973 by DJM Records, it was the first of two studio albums he released in 1973 (the second was ''Goodbye Yellow Brick R ...

''. The new recording used piano instead of harpsichord, and strings and oboe arranged by

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 ...

. Originally issued as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of the hit single "

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

", it first appeared on CD in 1988 as part of the DJM issue of the ''Lady Samantha'' compilation album, then a few years later in the US and abroad on the 1992 Mercury release ''

Rare Masters ''Rare Masters'' is a compilation album by Elton John that was released in 1992. It includes all A-side and B-sides released by John between 1968 and 1975 that were not included on original studio albums or on ''Elton John's Greatest Hits Volu ...

'', and as a bonus track on the 1995 reissue of ''Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player''. The 1972 version of "Skyline Pigeon" appears again on the third CD of John's 2017 compilation box set ''

Diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

''. According to EltonJohn.com, the 1972 recording of "Skyline Pigeon" was particularly popular in Brazil, where it was used on the soundtrack of the television soap opera ''

Carinhoso ''Carinhoso'' is a Brazilian telenovela produced and broadcast by TV Globo. It premiered on 2 July 1973 and ended on 18 January 1974, with a total of 173 episodes. It's the twelfth " novela das sete" to be aired at the timeslot. It is created by La ...

''. The song was also a radio hit in the Philippines, with several stations playing it.

Performances

"Skyline Pigeon" was played on the radio as early as 1968. It was the most popular song during the very early period of John's musical career, yet it was not released as a single. It is, however, the most performed live and best known track from the ''Empty Sky'' album. The song was performed live in various eras and venues throughout John's career, mainly in Britain, and frequently during his solo shows and pairings with the percussionist

Ray Cooper Raymond Cooper (born 19 September 1947) is an English musician who has worked as a session and road-tour percussionist. During his career, Cooper has worked and toured with numerous musically diverse bands and artists including Elton John (as ...

. John has always said he regards "Skyline Pigeon" as one of the first "great" songs that he and Taupin wrote. John performed the song at the funeral of the AIDS victim and friend

Ryan White Ryan Wayne White (December 6, 1971 – April 8, 1990) was an American teenager from Kokomo, Indiana, who became a national poster child for HIV/AIDS in the United States after his school barred him from attending classes following a diagn ...

in 1990 on a grand piano, although he played Roland Piano on tour and in the studio at the time. Apart from its earlier appearances on record, a live, solo piano version recorded at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

in London during summer 1974 was also included as the opening number on the "Here" side of the '' Here and There'' album in 1976, a place it retained in the 1995 2-CD expanded version remixed by the album's original producer,

Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, "Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US No ...

. It was also released on Volume 1 of two EltonJohn.com limited-edition CDs recorded live in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

, as part of a series of solo performances John gave in October 1999. The song received a brief revival during a UK tour in 2009. The 1972 version was a hit in Brazil. A live performance from 17 January 2009 was broadcast on TV along with the rest of an entire concert John performed in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, Brazil. Again in Brazil in 2011, he played the song during a concert at

Rock in Rio ''Rock in Rio'' is a recurring music festival originating in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It later branched into other locations such as Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas. Nine incarnations of the festival have been held in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991, ...

in front of 150,000 people in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, on 23 September. During the 2013 tour he played the song again in São Paulo, on 27 February, and in Porto Alegre, on 5 March. A 1968 piano demo version of the song was included on ''CD 4: Rarities, Part Two'' of John's 2021 boxed set, ''

Jewel Box Jewel box or Jewel Box may refer to: * Jewelry box, a container for gemstones Places or architecture *Jewel Box (St. Louis), listed on the NRHP in Missouri * Jewel Boxes, a name for eight banks designed by architect Louis Sullivan *Jewel Box Pa ...

''.

Personnel

Original version: *

–

, organ, vocals 1972 version: *Elton John – piano, vocals *

– acoustic guitar *

– bass guitar *

– drums *

– orchestral

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

In popular culture

The original version, with its notable harpsichord, was used as the closing-credit music in the 2018 film ''

The Favourite ''The Favourite'' is a 2018 period black comedy film co-produced and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, from a screenplay by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara. Set in early 18th century Great Britain, the film's plot examines the relationship betw ...

''.

Cover versions

It was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by Deep Feeling in 1970 (a band of which Guy Darrell was a member), Dana,

Judith Durham Judith Durham (born Judith Mavis Cock; 3 July 1943 – 5 August 2022) was an Australian singer, songwriter and musician who became the lead singer of the Australian folk music group the Seekers in 1963. The group became the first Australian p ...

, and

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...

on his ''Pitney '75'' album. A popular song in the Philippines, it was covered by several artists, notably

Lani Misalucha Lani Bayot Misalucha (; born Lani Dimalanta Bayot; August 3, 1969) is a Filipino singer who performs pop, rock, jazz, soul, rhythm and blues, and operatic arias. Her ability to sing across several genres gave her the title "Asia's Nightingale ...

on her ''Reminisce'' album.

References

{{Authority control 1968 songs 1968 singles 1972 singles 1975 singles 1960s ballads Baroque pop songs DJM Records singles Elton John songs MCA Records singles Pop ballads Rock ballads Song recordings produced by Gus Dudgeon Songs about birds Songs with lyrics by Bernie Taupin Songs with music by Elton John