MADMAN ACROSS THE WATER LYRICS SKIN

When David Gilmour let loose on the guitar on side two's 'Careful with that Ax, Eugene,' I nearly jumped out of my skin and was ready for the paramedics.Įlton originally recorded the song 'Madman across the Water' in 1970 as part of the “Tumbleweed Connection” album sessions. My reaction was totally different than it was a few years earlier when I was listening to Pink Floyd's 'Ummagumma' while wearing headphones. The interplay between the acoustic guitar and the piano in the song’s opening caught my attention immediately. This was a great tune to experience surrounded by the music for my initial listen. Today’s featured cut was one of those gems I heard for the first time in my dorm room while wearing my headphones. It has also been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Unfortunately, “Madman across the Water” was Elton John’s worst charting LP “across the water.” It peaked at #41 in the UK.Īll around this is a pretty good album that chronicles the talents of Elton John in his early days before the feathered boas and wild sunglasses. While the singles’ had lackluster success in the US, the LP did much better climbing to #8 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums Chart. “Levon” charted at 24, while its follow-up, did worse and peaked at #41. While both are memorable tunes, neither performed as well as later Elton John singles. I was familiar with the two singles from the LP (“Levon” & “Tiny Dancer”), but nothing else. Incidentally, my purchase included all of Elton’s albums through 1975’s “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy,” with the exception of “Empty Sky” and “Friends.” That was nine albums in all to get to know and appreciate however, “Madman across the Water” took the top position in my book. In 1976, I purchased a fellow student’s (Steve Jerles) entire album collection, and this was one of the many gems among the 100+ discs. We’ll come again next Thursday afternoon.This is one of those albums that I fully discovered much later than its 1971 release. The ground’s a long way down but I need more. Take my word I’m a madman, don’t you know. It’s one of those that I told you long ago. The in-laws hope they’ll see you very soon.īut is it in your conscience that you’re after,Īnother glimpse of the madman across the water? We’ll come again next Thursday afternoon, They think it’s very funny everything I say. It’s quite peculiar in a funny sort of way. Take my word I’m a madman, don’t you know? It’s one of those that I told you long ago, There’s a boat on the reef with a broken back. He also experiments with different percussion. He seems to use the piano a lot less in this song then in most of his other work. I can’t tell if I like this one or the one on Tumbleweed Connection better. In the one on the Madman album there is also a lot of orchestral work. He released two versions of “Madman Across the Water”. He sounds feisty when he sings this song. The guitar solo is quite effective: it sounds dissonant, as if things aren’t right.

Musically, this is the first time we hear John use a guitar in one of his songs. The way he describes it makes it seem like a family put a troubled young man in a hospital of some sort and they come and visit for a short time once a week. He is lucid, and joking and sarcastic, the only thing we really suspect that makes him “mad” is his half-joke that he might not be up high enough from the ground (presumably so that if he jumped he wouldn’t kill himself). However, the circumstances might be driving him there. “Madman Across the Water” by Elton John seems to be written about a guy who is in an asylum but might not be as mad as everyone thinks he is.

Madman across the water lyrics