`Cause I live and breathe this Philadelphia Eagle Jacket freedom. From the day that I was born I've waved the flag. Philadelphia freedom took me knee… - Elton John

Mum was never one of life’s tactile, nurturing, come-here-and-give-me-a-hug mothers, and there was a mean streak to her that went beyond just being prone to bad moods, or a victim of the Dwight Family Temper, into something else entirely, something I didn’t like to think about too deeply, because it frightened me. She seemed to actively enjoy picking fights, and not just with me: there wasn’t a member of the family she didn’t fall out badly with over the years. And yet there had been times when she was supportive, and there were times, at the start of my career, when she was really good fun. That’s how people who knew her in the early seventies remembered her to me after she died: oh, your mum was such a laugh.

Spare your heart, save your soul.
Don't drag your love across the coals.
Find your feet and your fortune can be told.
Release, relax, let go,
And hey now let's recover your soul.

And I want you to be my acrobat, I want you to be my lover.
Oh there were others who would treat you cruel,
But oh Jeannie, I will always be your fool.