Candle In The Wind 1997 Lyrics

"Candle In The Wind 1997" is a remake of his own 1973 hit "Candle in the Wind" by Sir Elton John that was released as a tribute single to Diana, Princess of Wales. With over 37 million copies sold, it is the best-selling single of all time since records began. On release in September 1997, "Candle In The Wind 1997" peaked at number one in the UK, becoming John's fourth number one single, and in most other countries worldwide, also becoming the first song in history to reach the top in each of the four major countries in the music industry: United States, Japan, United Kingdom, and Germany. The lyrics of the earlier version of "Candle in the Wind," written by Bernie Taupin, were a tribute to Marilyn Monroe. The opening lines of the 1973 version, "Goodbye Norma Jean, though I never knew you at all," were adapted to "Goodbye England's rose, may you ever grow in our hearts." In fact, most of the lyrics were adapted to suit the circumstances of Diana's life and death, but a notable and poignantly ironic omission was the line, "Even when you died, the press still hounded you..." The lyrics were changed by Bernie Taupin from a tribute to Marilyn Monroe to tribute to Princess Diana and sung by Elton John at Diana’s funeral in front of probably the biggest audience in anyone’s life- a total viewing figure of over 2.5 billion. The re-written lyrics by Bernie Taupin were sold for $400,000, a record for a set of lyrics. Over 37 million copies of this tribute to Princess Di were sold worldwide making it the biggest selling single of all time. It was the biggest UK single in 1997 selling 4,864,611 copies and accounting for 6.7% of all singles sold that year. It also sold 11 million in the USA earning John a RIAA Diamond Disc for US sales over 10 million (the only single to get such an award). John won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for this.