Al's Music of the Day, 19 November 2024

I hope you're happy now

In the mid 1970s, Elton John was a dominant force in popular music, if not THE dominant force. For those of us of a certain vintage, his music was seemingly everywhere and his seminal albums, Captain Fantastic and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road were critically acclaimed as well as multi-platinum sellers.

And while Sir Elton has remained a visible and popular advocate for many causes, his music has mostly receded from the limelight.

I had certainly stopped thinking about him. Today’s MotD crashed into my consciousness as a result of loss: our longtime family dog. Soxy was 18, we think, and a member of our family for 14 years. A rescue pup, we gave her a good life after an abusive existence down south in her early years. She was a faithful companion to Jen and the boys, but was always anxious and skittish among men, especially the one who looked like me.

As we laid her to rest yesterday, our young cat came and laid down on the dog’s gravestone. And Elton’s “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding,” which opened his “Goodbye” double disc, thundered back into my consciousness. Anthemic, while an apt description, does not do the song, and its progressive energy, full justice.

Thanks, good girl, for the musical memory, which forever on I will now associate with you. Rest well pup.