Tag: Bernie Taupin

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How Elton John's Lyrics Impacted My Training

*Note: I wrote this sometime last Summer and have no idea why I didn’t post it.  Probably over- thinking as usual.  Which is ironic considering the message here.

I moved to Nashville in 2003 and have (by accident) met a lot of people in the music business.  I’ve run into Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman at breakfast, met Marty Stuart in a dark alley, and even got to hang out with Lou Reed in his dressing room.  Everywhere you turn in this town you’re liable to run into someone, but I kept waiting for a chance meeting with the one person that genuinely impacted my passions in life.

Bernie Taupin is Elton John’s lyricist, and legitimately one of the few people (living or dead) I would want to join for dinner.  His words have moved me since I was 10 years old.  Back in college, my good friend Tim and I would would listen to Elton John until 5 in the morning while exchanging off-balanced high fives and screaming, “Taupin!” after a great lyric.

I’ve never technically pursued writing as a career, but it’s deep in my bones.  I’m quite sure lyrics like these have a lot to do with that:

He was born a pauper to a pawn on a Christmas day
When the New York Times said God is dead
And the wars begun
Alvin Tostig has a son today
(from Levon)

and from Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me . . .

I can’t light no more of your darkness
All my pictures seem to fade to black and white
I’m growing tired and time stands still before me
Frozen here on the ladder of my life

Taupin paints a picture.  He creates a feeling.  And somehow his words are universal.  He is a brilliant example of someone who understands the human condition and I think there is a lesson there for athletes.

Connect with your mind and body, then let it flow.

So many athletes I know, including me, get trapped in the past, or the potential pain of the future instead of embracing the energy in the moment.  It’s one thing to have a target, quite another to be consumed with the end and forget what it takes to get there.

Yesterday, I finally met Bernie Taupin and I was a bumbling idiot.  He was in town in support of his painting exhibit and I had a zillion questions, but couldn’t come up with one.  He was thinking about today and I was consumed with the past.  It made for a rather awkward exchange and I feel like my confusion was symbolic of what often happens during training . . . or life for that matter.

I’m sure Bernie’s best lyrics (and paintings) come when he is in a zone.  Writing without letting his mind get in the way of progress.  He was probably the guy scribbling in his notepad while the teacher rambled on about stuff that didn’t matter.  To Taupin, what mattered was writing, so he wrote.

The best artists don’t get caught in premature optimization, they get to work.  They spend countless hours on their craft and trust that preparation will pay off when it matters.  Athletes should look at training the same way.  You can only do so much “planning” for the actual race.  What happens on race day, is a direct result of what you do today.

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Here I am on the right with our reporter Stephanie Langston in the middle and the legendary Bernie Taupin with his art.

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Friday Night's Alright for Writing

I used to get fired up beyond belief when I’d hear “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” by Elton John.  I’ve always been a huge EJ fan, but at some point I discovered that Bernie Taupin was writing all the lyrics, and to this day, Bernie is the only person in music that I truly want to meet.  And why not when a dude is dropping this kind of ink on his tablet:

It’s getting late have you seen my mates
Ma tell me when the boys get here
It’s seven o’clock and I want to rock
Want to get a belly full of beer
My old man’s drunker than a barrel full of monkeys
And my old lady she don’t care
My sister looks cute in her braces and boots
A handful of grease in her hair


Somehow Bernie always knew what was going on in my life.*  Dad was drunk, mom didn’t care, and I did want a belly full of beer.

I grew up in Wisconsin, which is the Harvard of beer drinking states and my degree was far more potent.  Every college town in Wisconsin claims to have the most bars per capita on a certain street or 3 block radius or along a river and after a lot of research, I can honestly say they are all right.

I’m not certain it’s something to brag about, but my drinking people can stand toe to toe with anyone.  A negative split comes natural to a beer marathoner.  We start slow for a couple, level out for the next 18 or so, then kick for the final 6.2, leaving .8 sitting as a rock in the middle of all the empties.

What does all of this have to do with the Ironman?  I guess the fact that I am home on a Friday night, writing instead of testing more beer to make sure it still tastes like beer.

Nine consistent months of training has created better habits and over the last couple months my urge to drink has slowly faded.  I’m not saying I won’t drink or don’t want to, but it is getting really easy to pass up.  Even after a horrible week at work (when my car would typically steer itself to the local pub) I will come home with intention of doing something productive.

The workout is always waiting and when you’re talking about an Ironman, certain things have to take priority.  Two months ago I would have felt a little naked if I didn’t have a 12 pack on reserve.  Now there’s not even room for beer with all the rotting vegetables in my fridge.

That said, as a proud graduate of Beer Drinking U, I never say never.  Tomorrow is Saturday and I could easily be drunker than a barrel full of monkeys.  Maybe that’s why Ironman Wisconsin is the perfect choice.

*  It should be noted that these are not necessarily my favorite Taupin lyrics.  I mean, they are good, but Bernie can wrench your heart dry, then fill you with nectar of the Gods thirty seconds later.