Many people associate Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind” with Princess Diana, but the song was originally written about another famous woman: Marilyn Monroe. More than two decades after its release, the British singer rewrote the classic as a farewell to his close friend, turning it into one of the biggest hits in music history.
The original song appeared on John’s 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Written with his longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin, it reflected on Monroe’s life, fame and tragic death in 1962. Its opening words, “Goodbye Norma Jeane,” referred to the actress’s birth name.
According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, the original 1973 song was written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin as a tribute to Marilyn Monroe, whose birth name, Norma Jeane, inspired its opening line.
More than two decades later, Diana died in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997. John, who had been a close friend of the princess, asked Taupin to rewrite the lyrics for her funeral.
The result was “Candle in the Wind 1997,” which John performed at Westminster Abbey on September 6, 1997, during Diana’s funeral. The image of the singer seated at his piano, performing the emotional tribute, was broadcast around the world and became one of the most memorable moments of the ceremony.
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The new version replaced Monroe’s story with a tribute to Diana, beginning with the now-famous words “Goodbye England’s rose.”
Released as a double A-side single alongside “Something About the Way You Look Tonight,” the recording became an extraordinary commercial success.
According to Billboard, it reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 in October 1997 and remained at the top for 14 consecutive weeks. The single also made history internationally. According to Guinness World Records, it sold more than 33 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling physical single since 1950.
Despite its enormous success, John has rarely performed the Diana version publicly since her funeral. He has explained that the rewritten lyrics were intended specifically as a tribute to his late friend.
Nearly three decades later, the song remains one of the defining moments of John’s career. Paradoxically, what began as a tribute to a Hollywood legend became a farewell to a princess—and, in the process, one of the most successful singles in music history.
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