England And America

[BiteUrLip]

Music: Elton John

Lyrics: Bernie Taupin

Drums: Nigel Olsson

Percussion: John Mahon

Bass: Matt Bissonette

Guitar: Davey Johnstone

Keyboard: Kim Bullard

Harmony Vocals: Davey Johnstone, Nigel Olsson, John Mahon, Matt Bissonette

Had some good times jumping ship

And showing up on shore

Just pocket change to get us by

A little bit of grease to help us slide

Give us an inch we'd take a mile

And squeeze under the door


Caught some big ones, reeled 'em in

And hung 'em out to dry

From little fish to bigger things

A welcome push, an empty swing

Given the chance we'd start to sing

And watch the world go by


chorus:


And I've tried to take my time

To get back up, hold on and climb

Into the arms you'll always find me

In England and America



Feels good to hold, to not let go

This safety net still hangs below

And if I fall it's good to know

There's England and America


Showed our roots from time to time

And used it to ignite

Our wilder side to get us through

To push and pull and come unglued

A mixture of red, white and blues

Had run right through our life


(repeat chorus)


(repeat chorus)


(repeat chorus)

[BiteUrLip]

An energetic, Springsteen type of rock song. I should probably like it more...

4½ stars.

[nix]

4
best uptempo song from mediocre album... it reminds me of Made in England & Across the River Thames, but it's slightly less exciting.

[dougs]

"England and America" a bonus track from WONDERFUL CRAZY NIGHT Deluxe Edition:

Elton headed back into the studio in early 2015 to record his next studio album, this time with his band (Davey, Nigel, Ray, John, Kim, and Matt) which had not appeared on a full Elton studio album since the 2006 release of THE CAPTAIN AND THE KID.  Elton wanted the new album, WONDERFUL CRAZY NIGHT, to be positive and upbeat which is how it did turn out.  "England and America" is one of the most rocking and driving songs from the sessions, aided by Davey's guitar work.  Not necessarily an adventurous rock track, it does feature a good riff from Davey plus a solid solo and a good energy level.  Elton decided, however, to exclude "England and America" from the basic CD and LP versions of the album.  It appeared on the Deluxe Edition as a bonus track.  It would have fit on the album nicely and was probably a bit better than some of the tracks that did make it.  Elton said that the song was a bit too close (?) to "Made in England" which was released on 1995's MADE IN ENGLAND album.

This one would probably have been a good live song.  

Rating: 4 to 4 1/2 stars  (probably rated this a bit high)

Doug

[rocketman]

3.5 stars...I'd nudge it up to 3.75, but it doesn't quite make the 4 star level of solidity, though it's fairly catchy and better than Guilty Pleasure, which I;d have been fine with replacing on the main body of ten songs. I do see Elton's reasoning, though, for leaving it to bonus material status instead, given its similarity to Made In England's title song.

[newloneranger]

Nice rocker

4 1/2 stars

[Commodore Orpington]

Uninteresting and generic.