Elton John Lyricist Bernie Taupin Makes Blunt Confession About Touring With Him

Elton John‘s longtime lyricist, Bernie Taupin, made a blunt confession about touring with the “Crocodile Rock” singer after six decades of collaboration.

In an interview with The Times published in late October, Taupin, 76, opened up about the reality of being on tour with John, 79, in their younger days.

“When we went on the road, and he could be really horrible and difficult, I would just roll my eyes because if you intervened, it would make him worse,” Taupin admitted.

Additionally, the lyricist behind most of John’s hit songs recalled, “And he knew about which outfits made me want to kill him, like when he dressed as Donald Duck in Central Park.”

Still, touring with John wasn’t all bad, Taupin acknowledged.

“He said I was the brother he never had,” he shared. “When I came to London, people treated me like I was an English hillbilly, but Elton always saw the best in me.”

In 2023, John retired from touring following his final Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour stop in Stockholm, Sweden. It marked the end of his 330-date tour, which began in 2018 and included a multi-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Although he did play two shows in July 2026 in Mexico to make up for cancelling them amid COVID.)

As far as touring again with John, Taupin isn’t ruling it out.

“You never can tell, and it’s a bit late in the day, but never say never,” he told The Times. “He calls me pretty regularly, and he seems to know what I’m doing even before I do. When I told him I was doing a keynote address in Nashville, he said, ‘Oh yes, with Brandi [Carlile].’ I’d only just found out myself.”

Through the years, John wrote the music, with Taupin writing the lyrics for countless hits, including “Your Song,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Rocket Man,” “Daniel,” “Candle in the Wind,” “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word,” “Crocodile Rock,” “Bennie and the Jets,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, “I’m Still Standing,” and more.