YouTube Transcription #33 Elton John Songwriting

This is a scene from the British TV special “An Audience With Elton John”. The audience is made up of celebrities who personally know him – musicians, TV personalities, sports players, actors etc. Maybe you can spot a few you know. The man asking the question is a British actor, and sitting behind him is heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne.

Elton: I think Richard E Grant has a question for me.
Richard: I do. I’ve heard that you write your songs very, very quickly, and, erm, I’ve brought some words along in the hope that you can put some music to it. Would you do that?
Elton: What is it?
Richard: Erm, well, it’s from, it’s the cooking instruc… the instructions from my oven. Could you do that?
Elton: Are you serious?
Richard: Yeah.
Elton: Convectional oven thermostat. Sounds like a Chemical Brother song, doesn’t it?
“You and your new oven are capable of great things, but remember no two ovens are the same.  Rather than jump in at the deep end with your brand new oven, don’t forget it may differ in its cooking characteristics to your previous model. We strongly recommend you take time to read this leaflet fully from cover to cover. Get to know … get to know,” minor key, it was a bad oven, “get to know all there is to know about your new oven before you begin preparing your, preparing your…” oh, this is ridiculous,”your own mouthwatering meals.” I’ll have to do that one again. “We strongly recommend you take time to read this leaflet, fully from cover to cover. Get to know all there is to know about your new oven before you begin making your own mouthwatering meals. It may seem like a chore, but it’ll pay off in the long run. So let’s begin at the beginning with your new bloody oven.”
I’m going to get all the loonies in the United Kingdom sending me microwave, fridges books, oh dear. I get enough loony lyrics as it is.

Expressions used:
“Mouthwatering” means delicious.

“It’ll pay off” means it will be worthwhile doing.
“In the long run” means in the long term.
A “loony” or “loon” is a crazy person. “Loony” is also an adjective meaning crazy.