In Neon

[BiteUrLip]

Lipstick and lashes, the traces of stardom

Lit up on a billboard so everyone sees them in neon

Behind the counter she stares out the window

Up at the billboard that's like a reminder in neon


She hates how she feels but she hangs like a mirror

Maybe a stranger could walk in and see her in neon

For two cents of danger she'd trust anybody

She'd smoke like a gun if it meant she might wind up


In neon the dreams in the light of a promise that dies

A shimmering city, a glimmer of hope and a lie

In neon the name's gone there's no reason why anymore

Trust them and wind up alone behind a locked door


In neon, in neon


Pictures and patterns, the touches of glamour

Cut into a fashion that flashes above them in neon

A hot cup of coffee held in her fingers

A perfect complexion that lingers above her in neon


She hates how she feels but she hangs like a mirror

Maybe a stranger could walk in and see her in neon

For a shot at the title, she'd slip into something

She'd smoulder like ashes if it meant she might wind up in neon


In neon

[BiteUrLip]

A very good song from the BH album. It sounds wonderful.

4½ stars.

[dougs]

"In Neon" from BREAKING HEARTS:

Elton & Bernie's "in Neon" was a late single from 1984's BREAKING HEARTS album.  It is a strong track written about broken dreams.  Nice deeper warm vocal from Elton in the verses with beautiful backing vocals from Nigel, Dee, and Davey.  Pretty chorus.  The song was a single in select countries and at least went to #12 in New Zealand but only #38 in the US.  Apparently there are a whole bunch of keyboards layered subtly under the lead piano in the song;  electric piano, organ, synthesized strings, and harpsichord.

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Doug

[rocketman]

4.5 stars...One of the more underrated ballads in Elton's catalog. An interesting video circulated with it back then, and the song has aged well. I consider it a mid-80's highlight along with Burning Buildings (which is a 5-star song for me) and Who Wears These Shoes? from the Breaking Hearts album as among Elton's strongest mid-decade songs during a time when he was regaining at least some of his 1970's footing in terms of record sales and song quality, in part because he made the smart decision to re-unite his 1970's ban prior to the Too Low album, and also because he once again paired full-time with Bernie Taupin, who up until Too Low, was supplying some material but was sharing the chore with other lyricists such as Gary Osborne and, to a lesser extent, Tom Robinson and Tim Rice, who of course would figure more prominently in the 1990's when Elton expanded into writing for films and such.

[nix]

4
very good song... all 3 ballads on BH are very good to brilliant.

[newloneranger]

Nice ballad, Nice lyrics by Bernie.

5 stars