On April 4, Elton John released Who Believes in Angels?, a collaborative album with American musician Brandi Carlile. In it, one tracks stands out as one of the most personal of his career, exploring themes of aging, mortality, and love – both romantic and platonic.
In a recent interview with SiriusXM’s Howard Stern, Elton opened up about the emotional weight of ‘When This World is Done with Me’ and the writing process behind it.
Elton recalled the moment he first sat down to play the song in the studio. “I started singing, I started playing the verse and thinking, ‘This is really nice, I like this,’ and I was happy with the way the piano was sounding,” he said.
“Then I got to the chorus, and when I finished the chorus, I obviously knew what [the lyrics were] about and I just… I just broke down.”
He added: “That’s never happened to me ever when I’ve written a song before. Really, never.”
Elton said he was so moved by the lyrics and their message that he couldn’t continue recording, having to return to the studio the next day to finish the song: “It was upsetting because I do think about passing away… and it just touched a nerve”.
The touching lyrics – “When this old world is done with me/Just know I came this far/Scatter me among the stars/When I close my eyes/Release me like an ocean wave/Return me to the tide” – were written by Bernie Taupin, Elton’s creative partner of more than five decades.
Elton described the song as being deeply tied to their long-running collaboration and friendship: “The lyrics are so beautiful and they’re just about not just me. I think they’re about Bernie too. They’re about us – the relationship we’ve had, the beauty that we’ve had”.
Despite the song’s focus on mortality, Elton was quick to clarify that he’s in excellent health.
“It was upsetting because I do think about, you know, passing away – what’s going to happen [to] my children, and David,” he said, referencing his husband David Furnish and their two sons.
“But I mean, I’m the fittest I’ve ever been. I’ve just had the most incredible medical test results. Um, so I’m not going to be passing away.”
He added: “Sometimes I think, ‘Oh, I don’t want to go. I want to be with my boys.’ And you don’t know when that’s going to happen. But for the time being, of course, I’m not going anywhere.”