10 Radio Friendly Songs About Dying
3. Elton John - Candle In The Wind
The quintessential pop song about death, Candle In The Wind acted as a stunningly tender tribute to not just one, but two, of the most iconic women of the 20th century.
Initially composed as a threnody to Marilyn Monroe - (A threnody is a wailing ode, song, hymn or poem of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person. Don’t say I don’t teach you stuff) - the song was a haunting reflection on how we as a culture have a tendency to eulogise fame cut down in its prime, and how easy it is to forget that celebrities like Monroe were, and are, people too. Bernie Taupin, Elton’s lyricist partner once claimed that the song could just have easily have been about James Dean or Jim Morrison.
John then re-recorded the song in 1997, changing the words to bid farewell to ‘England’s Rose’ after the tragic death of Princess Diana in a car accident in Paris. The ballad would become synonymous with the hugely popular public figure, and would go on to become one of the best selling singles of all time in the wake of her passing.