Princess Diana’s tribute song Candle in the Wind by Elton John is still the UK’s most popular single

John's reworked version of the 1973 single is the biggest selling of all time
'Surreal': Sir Elton John at Princess Diana's funeral
Lynn Hilton / Mail On Sunday/REX/Shutterstock
Emma Powell31 August 2017
The Weekender

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Sir Elton John left the nation in tears when he paid tribute to Princess Diana by performing Candle in the Wind at her state funeral six days after she died in a car crash in Paris.

Twenty years on and the song is still the biggest selling single of all time after shifting 33 million copies.

Here’s everything you need to know about the poignant single on the 20th anniversary of the Princess’ death:

Who wrote Candle in the Wind?

Candle in the Wind was originally written in 1973 by John and Bernie Taupin in honour of Marilyn Monroe, who had died 11 years earlier.

The track appeared on John’s 1973 album, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. A live version was later recorded in Sydney, Australia in 1986, which was nominated for a Grammy in 1988.

Why was it played at Diana’s funeral?

John performed a reworked version of the song after he was asked by Diana’s family to pay tribute to the late Princess at her funeral. The pair had been close friends since the early 1980s.

John recruited Taupin to tweak the lyrics to reflect the Princess’ life with the opening changed from “Goodbye Norma Jeane, though I never knew you at all,” to “Goodbye England's rose, may you ever grow in our hearts”. The song title was also changed to, Candle in the Wind 1997.

20th anniversary of Diana's death

1/11

Candle in the Wind 1997 lyrics 

 

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

And even though we try

The truth brings us to tears

All our words cannot express

The joy you brought us through the years.

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

How did it chart?

The single reached, and stayed at, number one in the UK for five weeks in 1997 before going on to take the title of the biggest-selling single “since records began”.

In its first week, the song sold 658,000 copies, and 1.54 million in its second.

The proceeds from sales were distributed to charities which were close to Diana’s heart.

Elton, who won a Grammy for the single, has vowed never to perform it unless asked by Diana’s sons, Princes William and Harry.

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