1973 song by Elton John
| "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" | |
|---|---|
 12-inch single cover (1978) | |
| Song by Elton John | |
| from the album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road | |
| Released | 1973 (1973) |
| Recorded | May 1973 |
| Studio | Château d'Hérouville, France |
| Genre | |
| Length | 11:07 |
| Label | |
| Songwriter(s) | |
| Producer(s) | Gus Dudgeon |
"Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" is a medley of two songs written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It is the opening track of the 1973 double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
The first part, "Funeral for a Friend", is an instrumental created by John while thinking of what kind of music he would like at his funeral. This first half segues into "Love Lies Bleeding".
Composition and recording
In the 2001 Eagle Vision documentary, Classic Albums: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, John said the two songs were not written as one piece, but fit together since "Funeral for a Friend" ends in the key of A, and "Love Lies Bleeding" opens in A, and the two were played as one elongated piece when recorded. (However, the songs are published and copyrighted individually and remain separate entities with separate sheet music.) With lyrics like "And love lies bleeding in my hand/Oh, it kills me to think of you with another man", lyricist Bernie Taupin uses death symbolism as an angry take on a break-up song.
The grandiose introduction to "Funeral for a Friend" and additional synthesizer parts in "Love Lies Bleeding, were performed during final overdubs and mixing at Trident Studios on an ARP 2500 synthesizer (erroneously credited as A.R.P.) by the album's engineer, David Hentschel, who, John recalled, overdubbed track after track of music and synthetic atmospheric effects until the mini-opus was complete. In an interview for John's official website, Hentschel recalled that he used melodies from "The Ballad of Danny Bailey (1909–1934)", "I’ve Seen That Movie, Too", "Candle in the Wind" and others in creating the track.
Release and reception
The song was well received by critics. AllMusic's Donald Guarisco later called "Funeral for a Friend" "a stunning instrumental" with "a powerful fusion of classical and rock elements where a gentle, lyrical motif is developed and energized until it builds into a powerhouse full of emotion and bombast."
"Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" was too long for a single release, but got significant airplay on FM stations that were predisposed toward rock epics. The whole piece is just over 11 minutes long. A fan favourite, it became a staple part of many Elton John tour set lists.
Billboard magazine listed this song as number two in the list of Elton John's best songs as picked by critics, second only to "Bennie and the Jets". Rolling Stone readers picked this song as number three in a list of "deep cuts" by Elton John, songs that only a true fan would know, even though it has received significant exposure over the years. The song had a strong influence on the Guns N' Roses Use Your Illusion albums and, in particular, the song "November Rain". Avenged Sevenfold's M. Shadows lists the song among the ten songs that helped shape how he relates to music.
Covers
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
- The song was covered live by the American progressive metal band Dream Theater, and appears on the 1995 EP A Change of Seasons.
- "Love Lies Bleeding" was covered by Très Bien! on The Next Great American Band.
- Joe Elliott’s Down 'n' Outz covered the song on their 2017 live album “The Further Live Adventures Of…”
- "Weird Al" Yankovic covered "Funeral for a Friend" live during his 2018 Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour, with Yankovic playing John's piano parts on accordion.
- The song was interpolated in the song "Be Calm" by fun. on their album Aim and Ignite.
- The song was covered live by Metallica on 20 March 2024 when Elton and Bernie were honored with the Gershwin Prize at DAR Constitution Hall.
References in other media
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Appears in the documentary soundtrack to James Dean: The First American Teenager.
Jean Grand-Maître choreographed a ballet for the Alberta Ballet called Love Lies Bleeding.
The opening of "Funeral for a Friend" is used in the final episode of Blackadder II.
References
- Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 549. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0.
- ^ Guarisco, Donald. "Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
- Tobler, John (2005). "Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 300.
- Segretto, Mike (2022). "1973". 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Backbeat. pp. 283–284. ISBN 9781493064601.
- "Engineer David Hentschel Talks About 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'". Elton John. 4 October 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- "Elton John's 20 Best Songs: Critic's Picks". Billboard. 18 December 2017.
- "Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Elton John Deep Cuts". Rolling Stone. 2 September 2015.
- "Flashback: Guns N' Roses Play 'November Rain' With Elton John". Rolling Stone. 2 April 2013.
- "Avenged Sevenfold's M. Shadows: 10 Songs That Made Me". Revolver. 2 April 2018.
- "Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding". Songfacts. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
- Willman, Chris (9 April 2024). "Joni Mitchell Rewrites 'I'm Still Standing' and Metallica Slays 'Love Lies Bleeding,' Among Standouts in PBS' Touching Elton John/Bernie Taupin Tribute: TV Review". Variety. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- "Love Lies Bleeding should be around a long, long time". The Globe and Mail. 8 November 2011.
