Levon lyrics alvin tostig wiki

On Madman Across The Water. Single released in November 1971. Peaked at #24. Written in October 1970. The first song recorded for the album.

Lyrics:[]

Levon wears his war wound like a crown He calls his child Jesus `Cause he likes the name And he sends him to the finest school in town

Levon, Levon likes his money He makes a lot they say Spends his days counting In a garage by the motorway

He was born a pauper to a pawn on a Christmas day When the New York Times said God is dead And the war's begun Alvin Tostig has a son today

chorus:

And he shall be Levon And he shall be a good man And he shall be Levon In tradition with the family plan And he shall be Levon And he shall be a good man He shall be Levon

Levon sells cartoon balloons in town His family business thrives Jesus blows up balloons all day Sits on the porch swing watching them fly

And Jesus, he wants to go to Venus Leaving Levon far behind Take a balloon and go sailing While Levon, Levon slowly dies

He was born a pauper to a pawn on a Christmas day When the New York Times said God is dead And the war's begun Alvin Tostig has a son today

(repeat chorus)

(repeat chorus)

I’ve always wondered about the meaning of the song Levon, as performed by Elton John, with lyrics written by Bernie Taupin. After researching this for a while, this is what I’ve been able to find out about the meaning of Levon.

Elton John on Levon’s meaning

The best information I’ve found comes from the songfacts website. There, one contributor states the following:

In Susan Black’s book, Elton John in His Own Words, Elton says of Levon: “It’s about a guy who just gets bored doing the same thing. It’s just somebody who gets bored with blowing up balloons and he just wants to get away from it but he can’t because it’s the family ritual.” (thanks, Alexander - London, England)

I’ll add two notes about that quote:

• Elton John in His Own Words appears to be out of print
• I also want to note that Bernie Taupin wrote the song, not Elton John (although they are great friends and very long-time collaborators)

Bernie Taupin on Levon’s meaning

Since Bernie Taupin wrote the song, I thought he might be a better source of information about the meaning of Levon. On that same page someone else added this:

When Rolling Stone asked Taupin about the song in 2013, he insisted that he has no idea what he intended as the meaning. “It was a free-form writing,” he said. “It was just lines that came out that were interesting.”

The names “Levon” and “Alvin Tostig”

Having the name Alvin myself, I was interested in the name Alvin Tostig. The Wikipedia entry for Levon adds:

According to Gus Dudgeon, Bernie Taupin, who wrote the lyrics for Levon, was inspired by The Band’s co-founder, drummer, and singer Levon Helm to name the title character after him. The Band was apparently John’s and Taupin’s favorite group in those days. However, in 2013, Bernie Tau

Excuse me, I added info about song but didn't get how to insert link correctly — Preceding unsigned comment added by Aleks.arsen (talk • contribs) 14:28, 2 October 2021 (UTC)Reply

If anyone could expand upon the meaning of this song from published works that would be wonderful; or even any debate that might exist about the meaning or any quote from Bernie Taupin himself about what it means. One of the inconsequencial enigma's of our time, but I want to know...help!!

The article seems to make the lyrics more difficult than they seem, for example, describing "Alvin Tostig" as "semi-non-existent." He isn't "semi-non-existent"; he's a fictional character who exists only in the context of the song. --Metropolitan9004:16, 30 March 2006 (UTC)Reply

Taupin is from Wessex as was the real-life Tostig, Earl of Wessex, from whom "Alvin" may be fictionally descended. Taupin may also have been using a name very similar to futurist Alvin Toffler, whose Future Shock was making a big impression at the time; it makes sense in some readings of this yes, hard to fathom song. Wasted Time R04:47, 30 March 2006 (UTC)Reply

try this

The meaning of the lyrics: Levon wears his war wound like a "crown", because he was used as a "pawn" in warfare. A pawn advancing to the enemy's home rank receives a "crown", so his head injury makes him fixate on elite status symbols and disrespect populist religious symbols. (Which is another way of fixating on religious symbols.)

Levon sells "cartoon balloons", which are an absurd and low-status way to make money. His family business "thrives" because he has the stamina and obstinacy to promote vacuous party supplies endlessly about town.

Levon calls his child "Jesus" (not "hay-soos", the Spanish pronounciation, or "Joshua", the common English version) because he "likes the name". He is fixated on religion in a way that removes his ability to quietly respect religion, like anyone else.

Levon sends Jesus to the

1971 song by Elton John and Bernie Taupin

"Levon" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was recorded on 27 February 1971, and was released on John's 1971 album, Madman Across the Water. Backing vocals are provided by Tony Burrows.Paul Buckmaster wrote the orchestral arrangements and conducted the orchestra.

The song reached number 24 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at number six on the Canadian RPM singles chart.

History

According to Gus Dudgeon, Taupin named the character in the song after the Band's co-founder, drummer and singer Levon Helm. The Band were apparently John and Taupin's favourite group at the time. In 2013, however, Taupin said that the song was unrelated to Helm. According to fellow Band member Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm did not like the song, quoting him as saying "Englishmen shouldn't fuck with Americanisms".

The "Alvin Tostig" mentioned in the song (Levon's father) is, according to Taupin, fictional.

The song was omitted from John's 1974 compilation album Greatest Hits but was included in the U.S. edition of Elton John's Greatest Hits Volume II (1977).

John performed the song for his spring 1972 concert. A portion of the live performance appeared in the bootleg recording releases Scope 72 and Apple Pie.

The song's lyrics refer to the character Levon as being born on Christmas, and John's first son Zachary, who was born on December 25, 2010, has Levon as one of his middle names.

Reception

Author Elizabeth J. Rosenthal in 2001 labelled "Levon" one of Elton John's signature songs. She criticised the orchestra for almost "jeopardizing the simple grandeur of the melody and Elton's chord progressions."

The song peaked at number 24 on Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending 5 February 1972, more than two months after its single release on