Aimee Haskins

Intermediate English

07/02/2020

The Effects of a Simple Song

The lyrics to “Your Song” by Elton John are a perfect example of an emotional

appeal. There are two versions of this song, one sung by Elton John himself and the

other by Ewan McGregor, hold different emotional values. Elton John’s version may not

take a toll on your emotions, but if you were to watch Ewan McGregor’s, you have to put

in effort not to want to cry or smile. In 1970, the love in the song was not as. Either way,

if you listen to the lyrics, no matter what era it is, they are very meaningful and tell a love

story themselves. Ewan Mcgregor's version of "Your Song" is a passionate version of

Elton John's original version which was created around 50 years ago. Mcgregor's

version truly emphasizes what the deeply written lyrics, especially when the video ends

with the couple having a romantic moment.

Elton John wrote the original version with the help of Bernie Taupin. Bernie said

a few things about the lyrics of this song that support my statement that 1970 love was

more passionate. Bernie stated, “Now I could never write that song again or emulate it

because the songs I write now that talk about love coming from people my age usually

deal with broken marriages and where the children go. You have to write from where

you are at a particular point in time, and ‘Your Song' is exactly where I was coming from

back then."
 The second version of “Your Song,” which McGregor sings in the movie Moulin

Rouge!, tells a different story in the video itself. Not only are the passionate lyrics a love

story but the clip from the movie is creating a romantic moment for this couple. This

video’s pathos appeal is a lot more powerful. This is due to there being two different

affects towards the audience, the audio and the video. At the very beginning, the man

starts to sing to the woman to wake her up. He sings, “my gift is my song” and she is

fully awake by this point. She is so intrigued by every single word he says to her. It

almost seems as if his words are creating a bond between them and pulling her in

tighter and tighter to him. He kisses her hands and they end up kissing at the end of the

video and this is to show that they are indeed together and in love.

The music video for the first version seems to be taken in a field or a park

somewhere outdoors. He is the only one in this music video and stays in one outfit and

frames the whole duration of the video. The video is in black and white and seems like

he is singing to the person on the other end of the video screen. In the second video,

Ewan Mcgregor seems to almost remix Elton’s version to fit his the movie. The clip

shows a mutual connection between two people as they stare into each other's eyes,

show their devotion towards one another, dance in the clouds, and much more. An

audience full of romance lovers would be the perfect group.

Although these two music videos are very different when in comparison, the main

message is still the same. Love is a gift and love is wonderful. The lyrics don't differ at

all between the two for a reason. They are powerful and tell a story. Ewan McGregor's

remix, if you will, of "Your song" is an intense version of Elton John's first release.
McGregor's version truly puts into a video what Elton’s lyrics are trying to express to its

listeners.
 Works Cited

“Hey, Our System Thinks You're a Bot.” ShieldSquare Captcha,

www.songfacts.com/facts/elton-john/your-song.

Mcgregor, Ewan. “Your Song.” YouTube, 2001, www.youtube.com/watch?v=frt-

Hy2j8aA.

John, Elton. “Your Song.” YouTube, 1970,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrznwpD-2tk.