Candle in the Wind

The original was written in 1973 in honour of Marilyn Monroe, who had died eleven years earlier. The opening line, "Goodbye, Norma Jean", refers to her real name. Taupin said he took the phrase "candle in the wind" from Clive Davis's tribute to Janis Joplin, and also cites the title of a book by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. He later said he was not a particular Monroe fan and that she was a metaphor for fame and dying young, and that it could as easily have been about James Dean or Montgomery Clift. In 2025 he said his original inspiration was Montgomery Clift. The studio recording has John on piano and lead vocals, Johnstone on guitars, Murray on bass and Olsson on drums.

It was released as a single in 1974 and reached number 11 in the UK. It was not a US single at the time, because "Bennie and the Jets" was chosen instead. A live version recorded at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on 14 December 1986, with John alone at the piano, was released on 13 June 1987 on Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and as a single the next year. Rolling Stone ranked the original 347 in 2004 and 356 in 2010.

After the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, John asked Taupin in early September 1997 to revise the words in her honour. John performed "Candle in the Wind 1997" live only once, at her funeral in Westminster Abbey on 6 September 1997. It went on to sell more than 33 million copies and the proceeds of about 55 million pounds were donated to Diana's charities through the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. On 7 April 1990, at Farm Aid IV, John dedicated the original to Ryan White, who died the next day, and John played "Skyline Pigeon" at White's funeral.