Who Did Elton John and Bernie Taupin Write “Daniel” About?

“Daniel” is one of Elton John’s most touching tracks. As with all of John’s biggest hits, he co-wrote it with Bernie Taupin. Taupin’s expert lyricism shines here. Upon first listen, this tracks seems to be about a close personal friend–a near sibling connection. In actuality, Taupin wrote this song about a fictitious Vietnam veteran. Learn more about the origins of this track, below.

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Who Did Elton John and Bernie Taupin Write “Daniel” About?

Daniel is traveling tonight on a plane

I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain

And I can see Daniel waving goodbye

Oh it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes

Who is Daniel? With the closeness of how John sings about the titular character in this song, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s someone from his personal life. As it turns out, Taupin penned this song as a blanket offering of sympathy for those coming back from the Vietnam War.

Oh I miss Daniel, oh I miss him so much, John sings in the pre-chorus. This lyric is meant to denote how long Daniel has been away fighting overseas. Elsewhere he sings of scars that won’t heal and dying eyes. These references let the listener know that Daniel lost much of himself in the war.

They say Spain is pretty though I’ve never been

And Daniel says it’s the best place that he’s ever seen

He should know, he’s been there enough

Oh I miss Daniel, oh I miss him so much, oh

Taupin once explained the origins behind this song. He created an entire backstory for Daniel and his hopes and dreams for the future now that he no longer has to fight.

“The story was about a guy that went back to a small town in Texas, returning from the Vietnam war,” Taupin once said. “They’d lauded him when he came home and treated him like a hero. But he just wanted to go home, go back to the farm, and try to get back to the life that he’d led before.”

“I just embellished that and like everything I write, I probably ended up being very esoteric, but it is a song that is important to me, because it was the one thing I said about the Vietnam War,” he continued. “I wanted to write something that was sympathetic to the people that came home.”

Daniel my brother you are older than me

Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won’t heal?

Your eyes have died but you see more than I

Daniel you’re a star in the face of the sky

Revisit this track, below.