A presentation by Mike Cline

“A Candle in the Wind” by Elton John and Bernie Taupin

“A Candle in the Wind” by Elton John pt. 1 Goodbye Norma Jean

Though I never knew you at all You had the grace to hold yourself While those around you crawled They crawled out of the woodwork And they whispered into your brain They set you on the treadmill And they made you change your name

And it seems to me you lived your life Like a candle in the wind Never knowing who to cling to When the rain set in And I would have liked to have known you But I was just a kid Your candle burned out long before Your legend ever did

“A Candle in the Wind” by Elton John pt. 2 Loneliness was tough

The toughest role you ever played Hollywood created a superstar And pain was the price you paid Even when you died Oh the press still hounded you

All the papers had to say Was that Marilyn was found in the nude

Goodbye Norma Jean From the young man in the 22nd row Who sees you as something as more than sexual More than just our Marilyn Monroe

Literary SignificanceThe entire song is an extended metaphor referring to

the life of Marilyn Monroe and the events that happened before and after it.

Historical SignificanceThe song was released in 1974 as a British Single,

and was number 11 in the charts. Typically, it was used as a farewell encore for concerts. Originally the song was written as a farewell tribute to Marilyn Monroe, but at the death of his friend Princess Diane he changed the lyrics and dedicated it to her.

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Elton JohnElton John is the singer of the song, he originally wrote

it for Marilyn Monroe. Elton John was born on March 25, 1947 in Pinner, Middlesex, England. He has written and performed many infamous songs and albums, originally he wrote this song for Norma Jeane but after the death of Princess Dianne he changed the lyrics and dedicated it to her.

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Norma JeanNorma Jean is the real name of Marilyn Monroe; she was born

on June 1 1926 in Los Angeles, California. Her mother had psychological issues and her father was not around and has yet to be identified. She spent most of her childhood as an orphan until she lived with a family friend Grace McKee Goddard. When she was 16 she married her next door neighbor 21-year old Jimmy Dougherty. In 1946 Norma Jeane began modeling for different magazines and started to become popular. She then started taking drama classes and signed her first studio contract with Twentieth Century Fox on August 26, 1946 right after divorcing her husband Jimmy. Marilyn Monroe stared in many infamous movies and on August 5, 1962 at 36 years old she was found dead in her sleep.

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This is referring to when she signed a contract with Twentieth Century Fox on August 26, 1946. Its talking about how she started her career as an actress which lead to the dying of her hair blonde.

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This is a metaphor which is comparing her life like a candle in the wind. He’s saying that her life was eventful but like a candle in the wind it ended suddenly and spontaneously.

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This is a metaphor saying that Marilyn Monroe died but her accomplishments and famous roles she played were still popular and well known.

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This is a metaphor talking about how Marilyn Monroe wasn’t really seen for her acting or personality she was seen more as a sex figure of the 1950’s.

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HollywoodHollywood is a city that was and still is considered the

center of American Cinema. Many aspiring actors such as Marilyn Monroe and anyone who wished to participate in the field of cinema production would generally move to Hollywood to seek fame and fortune.

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This is a metaphor saying that even though she died she was stilled hounded by the paparazzi and they were still trying to make her look bad, he’s saying that that’s the price for becoming a celebrity.

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Citations Elton John c/o. "Elton John - A biography." EltonJohn.com. elton

john c/o, 2010.      Web. 17 May 2010. <http://www.eltonjohn.com/about/bio.jsp>.

Howard, Patrick, dir. "Biography." MarilynMonroe.com. Ed. Barbara Haberman. CMG      Worldwide, 1 June 2004. Web. 17 May 2010. <http://www.marilynmonroe.com/      about/bio.html>.