Candle in the Wind

SEPT. 10, 1997
Candle in the Wind: Elton John's Final Tribute to Diana
Compiled from Associated Press sources

LONDON (AP) Hours after what he called the toughest performance of his life, Elton John recorded the song he sang at the funeral of his friend Princess Diana. The recording of "Candle in the Wind," a song initially written for Marilyn Monroe that John reworked to honor the princess as England's Rose, will be released within a week, with proceeds going to a memorial fund set up to support Dianas favorite charities.John said in a BBC interview Sunday that he hopes it will raise as much as $16 million.
Music industry experts have predicted it could become the biggest- selling single ever. It was while John played the song at the funeral that Dianas sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, wept, their previous compo- sure dissolving.
"When I started singing and playing, I suddenly realized this was it," said John, whose tenor voice caught as he sang. "At the beginning of the last verse, my voice cracked and I was really chock full of emotion and I had to close my eyes and grit my teeth and get through it."
The Lyrics to "Candle in the Wind
Goodbye England's rose; may you ever grow in our hearts.
You were the grace that placed itself where lives were torn apart.
You called out to our country, and you whispered to those in pain.
Now you belong to heaven, and the stars spell out your name.
And it seems to me you lived your life like a candle in the wind:
never fading with the sunset when the rain set in.
And your footsteps will always fall here, along England's greenest hills
your candle's burned out long before your legend ever will.
Loveliness we've lost; these empty days without your smile.
This torch we'll always carry for our nation's golden child.
Even though we try the truth brings us to tears;
all our words cannot express the joy you brought us through the years
And it seems to me you lived your life like a candle in the wind:
never fading with the sunset when the rain set in.
And your footsteps will always fall here, along England's greenest hills
your candle's burned out long before your legend ever will.
Goodbye England's rose; may you ever grow in our hearts.
You were the grace that placed itself where lives were torn apart.
Goodbye England's rose, from a country lost without your soul,
who'll miss the wings of your compassion more than you'll ever know.
And it seems to me you lived your life like a candle in the wind:
never fading with the sunset when the rain set in.
And your footsteps will always fall here, along England's greenest hills
your candle's burned out long before your legend ever will.

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