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Taylor Lloyd

English 1201

Prof. Johnson

27 June 2021

Rhetorical Analysis of “Your Song” by Elton John and Ewan McGregor

The eyes are a window to the soul, providing a deeper view into the emotions and

character of the individual. Eyes can also transmit messages without using words, like in the

music videos for “Your Song”. The original video features Elton John in a forest holding a

microphone to emulate a news reporter, while the adapted version by Ewan McGregor features a

scene from Moulin Rouge with two lovers that cannot be together due to a possessive patron.

Despite sharing the same lyrics, the two versions of the song “Your Song” by Elton John and

Ewan McGregor have two different purposes distinguished by intentional eye contact, the first as

a confession of love and the second as a profession of love to the beloved.

The original version of “Your Song” is a confession of love from Elton John to an

unknown individual. In all black and white, John’s version places one individual, John, at the

center of the screen. John is holding a microphone near his chest and walking around on a gravel

road surrounded by trees and grass. Occasionally, people walk through the background. The song

features a slow-paced melodic sound, while John stares directly into the camera, making the

scene feel oddly intimate despite the presence of other individuals. As John intimately sings the

lyrics “How wonderful life is while you’re in this world”, he repeatedly makes eye contact with

the camera, establishing intimacy with the viewer. The viewer is then left to wonder, are they the

“you” that John is talking about? Who is this “you” and why aren’t they present within the
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video? Whenever John sings about the strength of his emotions, he brings his line of sight back

to the camera, implying that this “you” is behind the camera or in the audience. The choice to

make “you” so ambiguous suggests that John may be confessing his feelings for the first time

and is shy to show his emotions so openly. Several times after singing about the depths of his

feelings right into the camera, John immediately looks away into the distance. This inability to

look at the camera suggests several things about John’s body language. After singing about his

vulnerable emotions, being unable to make eye contact is a sign of nervousness, contributing to

the theory that “you” is hearing his confession for the first time. All in all, the music video

starring Elton John features a new confession to his beloved through the lens of a camera.

The 2001 movie Moulin Rouge features “Your Song” for a romantic scene between the

two leads; Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman. McGregor’s character is seen in a red and gold

room with a heart shaped window that leads out into the night sky. A red-haired woman (Nicole

Kidman’s character) is staring right into McGregor’s eyes. The focal sound of the song is

McGregor’s voice with softened, elongated, and dynamic notes, creating an intimate scene with

clearly spoken words. In the movie, the two are lovers who cannot be together due to a

possessive patron of the woman’s. The lyrics tell of the deep romantic emotions that the two

characters possess. This is exemplified by the gravity, steadily decreasing distance between the

lovers, and how McGregor’s eyes never leave Kidman’s throughout the song. He sings the

intensely personal feelings that he has for the character to her face, with only a few inches in

between, and into her eyes to reiterate how intensely he cherishes her. The lyrics that culminate

the sentiment of the song, “How wonderful the world is when you’re in the world” are sung with

the lovers staring into each other’s eyes, confessing the weight of his love. The two head to the

rooftop, where McGregor bolts out the abundant lyrics to the world. The two gravitate towards
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each other and begin slow dancing on a roof top covered in clouds for all the world to see. This

scene demonstrates that the sentiment is shared by the red-headed woman, and how they do not

mind who witnesses their profession of their emotions. The clouds create a stage in the sky

where the only two stars are the lovers, with the man professing his love to the woman as she

happily receives it, illustrating a previously established comfort and mutual affection by the

woman. The ceaseless eye contact between the two characters illustrates a profession of love not

only to each other but love uncaring of who witnesses it.

The primary difference between the two versions is the location of the woman being

confessed to, and the stage of their relationship. How the singer makes eye contact with the

object of their affects greatly changes the message and the audience the song is intended for. In

the original version, John’s intended recipient is anonymous, hidden in the audience as the world

enjoys the song, suggesting that this is the first confession of romantic feelings for them. In the

adapted version, McGregor’s love interest is in the frame, where the two gravitate closer and

closer together never taking their eyes from each other. This confession is between two lovers

who have already realized their feelings for one another, which are so strong they do not care if

the world is a witness. The eyes reveal the emotions of the beholder, but in the music videos for

“Your Song” it is the type of eye contact that is the most emotionally revealing.
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Works Cited:

1. “Elton John - Your Song (1970 Original Video) (HD 720p).” Www.youtube.com,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrznwpD-2tk&t=3s. Accessed 29 June 2021.

2. “Moulin Rouge! (2001) | Ewan McGregor: Your Song.” Www.youtube.com,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE8PxLVoVHc&t=20s. Accessed 29 June 2021.