Elton John Tiny Dancer | The girl that inspired the song that rocketed him to stardom

Elton John is known for many gorgeous songs, but perhaps the tune that touches the heart the most is Tiny Dancer, for its brilliant melody and magical lyrics, but who is the author of these lyrics, what does the song mean, to whom is it dedicated? This the story of Tiny Dancer, Elton, Bernie and Maxine

CATEGORY | Can't Miss | Video Podcast

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AUTHOR | JC Trembol

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Reading Time | 4 min

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Listening Time | 7 min

Video | Elton John Tiny Dancer
Trembol | Story behind Tiny Dancer
You can’t miss | Special parts of Tiny Dancer
This is what it says | Elton John Tiny Dancer lyrics
Did you know? | Fun facts about Tiny Dancer
Much more | Acoustic version, Rocketman, making of…
Technical Note about Tiny Dancer by Elton John

Elton John Tiny Dancer

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Trembol | Story behind Tiny Dancer by Elton John

There are songs that need to macerate, songs that are not a hit at first listen, but that leave you with an aftertaste that makes you need to come back to them at some point. That happened to the world with ‘Tiny Dancer‘, which wasn’t a hit when it was released in 1972 as part of Elton John’s album ‘Madman Across the Water‘. The track is over 6 minutes long ⏳ and the radio wouldn’t play more than 3, so it was cut, spoiling the magic of the whole composition. Luckily people started to listen to it in its full version on the album. From there its popularity grew to become the song that would catapult Elton John to the top of the music scene. Tiny Dancer is a masterpiece, a song whose lyrics and music are so well done that although the climax, that is, the chorus, doesn’t come until after 3 minutes, it keeps you listening with all your senses. Do you know who the author of Tiny Dancer is? Yes, Elton John sings it and put it to music, but the author of the lyrics is Bernie Taupin, Elton’s inseparable companion, who has written dozens of his songs. He is responsible for mythical phrases that capture the spirit of the Californian girls in the 70s:

👖 Blue jean baby
🏴‍☠️ Pretty eyed, pirate smile
😙 The words she knows, the tune she hums

Do you know why is it called Tiny Dancer? It’s just a poetic license Bernie granted himself, instead of using ‘little’ or ‘small’, the word ‘tiny’ sounded better to him.

Bernie Taupin explained about Tiny Dancer

Elton John Facebook Images

Las chicas de Los Ángeles eran tan diferentes a las que estaba acostumbrado en Inglaterra.

Tenían esa cosa de bordar tu ropa. Querían coser parches en tus vaqueros. Te hacían de madre y se acostaban contigo. Era el complejo edípico perfecto.

L.A. girls were just so different from what I’d been used to in England.

They had this thing about embroidering your clothes. They wanted to sew patches on your jeans. They mothered you and slept with you. It was the perfect Oedipal complex.

🎵 Discover the story behind other great songs of all time.

Who is the girl that inspired Tiny Dancer?

Bernie Taupin, Maxine Phyllis and Elton John (Facebook Image)

Tiny Dancer talks about a girl that Bernie Taupin had a crush on 😍 in his time in Los Angeles. Her name was Maxine Feibelman. She would first become his girlfriend and later, as you can see in the image above, his wife. Maxine was a seamstress for Elton John’s band during their U.S. tour in the early 1970s. She worked a lot, but when they had the chance, they would spent some time together at the beach, going for a walk along Sunset Boulevard… Tiny Dancer describe all those times together. Check it out:

🥻 L.A. lady, seamstress for the band.
👗 Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand.
⛪ Jesus freaks out on the street, handing tickets out for God, turning back she just laughs, the boulevard is not that bad.

Bernie and Maxine divorced in 1976. Of course he wrote another song for Elton John about it, ‘I feel like a bullet (in the gun of Robert Ford)‘.

You can’t miss ⭐️ The best of Tiny Dancer

1. The legendary beginning of the girl with blue jeans

2. The chorus is here “hold me closer tiny dancer“

3. The final part with the piano and strings instrumental, amazing!

This is what it says | Elton John Tiny Dancer Lyrics

LYRICS ELTON JOHN | TINY DANCER | ENGLISH

Blue jean baby
L.A. lady
Seamstress for the band
Pretty eyed, pirate smile
You’ll marry a music man

Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand
And now she’s in me, always with me
Tiny dancer in my hand

Jesus freaks
Out in the streets
Handing tickets out for God
Turning back she just laughs
The boulevard is not that bad

Piano man he makes his stand
In the auditorium
Looking on she sings the songs
The words she knows
The tune she hums

Oh how it feels so real
Lying here with no one near
Only you and you can hear me
When I say softly slowly…

Hold me closer tiny dancer
Count the headlights on the highway
Lay me down in sheets of linen
You had a busy day today

Hold me closer tiny dancer
Count the headlights on the highway
Lay me down in sheets of linen
You had a busy day today

Blue jean baby
L.A. lady
Seamstress for the band
Pretty eyed, pirate smile
You’ll marry a music man

Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand
And now she’s in me, always with me
Tiny dancer in my hand

Oh how it feels so real
Lying here with no one near
Only you and you can hear me
When I say softly slowly…

Hold me closer tiny dancer
Count the headlights on the highway
Lay me down in sheets of linen
You had a busy day today

Hold me closer tiny dancer
Count the headlights on the highway
Lay me down in sheets of linen
You had a busy day today

LYRICS ELTON JOHN | TINY DANCER | SPANISH

Chica de vaqueros azules
Dama de Los Ángeles
Costurera de la banda
Ojos bonitos, sonrisa de pirata
Te casarás con un músico

Bailarina, deberías haberla visto bailando en la arena
Y ahora está en mí, siempre conmigo
Pequeña bailarina en mi mano

Frikis de Jesús
En las calles
Repartiendo billetes para ver a Dios
Girándose, ella sólo sonríe
El bulevar no es tan malo

El pianista hace su parada
En el auditorio
Atenta, ella canta las canciones
Conoce la letra
Tararea la melodía

Oh, cómo se siente tan real
Acostado aquí sin nadie cerca
Sólo tú, y puedes oírme
Cuando digo suavemente, lentamente…

Abrázame fuerte pequeña bailarina
Cuenta las luces de la autopista
Recuéstame en sábanas de lino
Tuviste un día ocupado hoy

Abrázame fuerte pequeña bailarina
Cuenta las luces de la autopista
Recuéstame en sábanas de lino
Tuviste un día ocupado hoy

Chica de vaqueros azules
Dama de Los Ángeles
Costurera de la banda
Ojos bonitos, sonrisa de pirata
Te casarás con un músico

Bailarina, deberías haberla visto bailando en la arena
Y ahora está en mí, siempre conmigo
Pequeña bailarina en mi mano

Oh, cómo se siente tan real
Acostado aquí sin nadie cerca
Sólo tú, y puedes oírme
Cuando digo suavemente, lentamente…

Abrázame fuerte pequeña bailarina
Cuenta las luces de la autopista
Recuéstame en sábanas de lino
Tuviste un día ocupado hoy

Abrázame fuerte pequeña bailarina
Cuenta las luces de la autopista
Recuéstame en sábanas de lino
Tuviste un día ocupado hoy

Songwriters: Elton John / Bernie Taupin. | Background Image: Elton John Facebook Image

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Did you know...?

“Tiny Dancer” was used in a remarkable scene of the movie ‘Almost Famous‘, when the protagonists, a rock band, travel a bit depressed to their next concert. One of them starts humming the song and they all follow, creating a moment of bonding that unites them again.

Elton John performed the song alongside Miley Cyrus in 2018 at the Grammys, making it the most special moment of the night

When Bernie Taupin, the author of the lyrics of Tiny Dancer, divorced his wife Maxine, who inspired the song, he began to deny that the song was dedicated to her out of anger, saying that it was about all Californian girls 😡

Much more | Tiny Dancer acoustic version, making of, Rocketman

Tiny Dancer acoustic version

Elton John performed on many occasions on a British television program called ‘The Old Grey Whistle Test‘. In 1971 he sang this acoustic version of Tiny Dancer, only piano and voice.

Tiny Dancer in ‘Rocketman’

Tiny Dancer had to be part of Elton John’s life film, ‘Rocketman’. Furthermore, it happens when they travel for the first time to the USA, just like it actually happened.

Tiny Dancer making of

Bernie Taupin and Elton John talk about the songwriting process for ‘Tiny Dancer‘. Also featured is Maxine, Bernie’s partner, who inspired the song, as you already know 😉

Technical Note | Elton John Tiny Dancer

The structure of the song features a piano melody during the first verses, accompanied by a very soft percussion and a curious instrument that give the song a Country feeling, a pedal steel guitar, in which the strings of the electric guitar are played with a bar.

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In the bridge a choir turns up, which gives Tiny Dancer a gospel touch. So happens at the end with the beautiful string section.
Vulnerable, imperfect, bewitching. These are some of the adjectives that come to mind when listening to the music of Tiny Dancer.

🎼 Tiny Dancer Chords:

The song is in C Major key and the chorus chords are: F – C – Dm – C – F – C – G – F – C – Dm – C – F – C – G

Elton John ‘Tiny Dancer’ cover

Tell us what you feel when listening to Tiny Dancer ♥️

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