Take Me to the Pilot (live)

1970 single by Elton John

"Take Me to the Pilot" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was originally released on John`s eponymous second album in 1970.

It was recorded at Trident Studios in London in January 1970 and released in the United States in October 1970 as the A-side of a single, with "Your Song" as the B-side. Both songs received airplay, but "Your Song" was preferred by disc jockeys, becoming the singer`s first hit (on both sides of the Atlantic) and rendering "Take Me To The Pilot" as the B-side.

The country duo Brothers Osborne recorded a remake of the song for the 2018 tribute album Restoration: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

Composition and inspiration

Many - including Elton John himself[2] - find the song`s lyrics cryptic and incomprehensible. John once quoted, in The Red Piano Tour in 2005, that "in the early days, there were a lot of inquiries about `What does this song mean? What does that song mean?` and in the case of `Take me to the pilot/Lead me through the chamber/Take me to the pilot/I am but a stranger`, I have no idea! You`re on your own, I tell you."

Lyricist Bernie Taupin has admitted to not knowing what the song`s lyrics represent, comparing his writing style in "Pilot" to poets like "Baudelaire and Rimbaud...(who) just threw things together and went `Wow! That sounds good`".

Legacy

The song become a staple of John`s live shows and can be heard on many of his concert recordings – such as a performance with his early 1970s backup musicians, bassist Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson on 17–11–70 (1970) to Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (1987) with a full scale orchestral reworking the original Paul Buckmaster score. John also performs the song in a solo version on the album Live in Moscow recorded in 1979.

Personnel

• Elton John – piano, vocals
• Alan Parker – rhythm guitar
• Caleb Quaye – lead guitar
• Alan Weighall – bass guitar
• Barry Morgan – drums
• Dennis Lopez – percussion
• Madeline Bell – backing vocals
• Tony Burrows – backing vocals
• Roger Cook – backing vocals
• Lesley Duncan – backing vocals
• Kay Garner – backing vocals
• Tony Hazzard – backing vocals

Format and track list

• 1970 US 7" single

1. "Your Song" 3:57
2. "Take Me to the Pilot" 3:43

• 1988 US 7" single

1. "Take Me to the Pilot (live)" 3:58
2. "Tonight (live)" 7:26

• 1992 US 7" single

1. "Nikita"
2. "Take Me to the Pilot"

• 1995 US CD single

1. "Blessed" 4:19
2. "Honky Cat (live)" 7:05
3. "Take Me to the Pilot (live)" 5:55
4. "The Bitch is Back (live)" 4:26