Lyrics Approaching Armageddon - Bernie Taupin

Approaching Armageddon

On a foreign runway delayed by the rain
I looked back on the last ten years
And how my life has changed
Aviator glasses protecting my eyes
Reflecting my emotions on seeing so many die
Death from either life or love
Strung out on a limb
I’ve seen 'em turn from beer and pills
To scotch and heroin
Never learned to turn the soil
Though I should have done
Daddy was a farmer and we were farmer’s sons
But I had plans to plough the streets
A long way from the land
Leaving pool halls full of blood
To the sounds of acoustic bands
Razor blades and common trade
Throats cut on the working man
I’ve walked through life on broken glass
And I never gave a damn
For its harvest home and the church of England sings
When your approaching Armageddon
Let your baptism and penance
Be the only Lucifer to light your sins
When you’ve chosen the hard ride
Livin' on God’s good side
Approaching Armageddon once again
Bolts of lightning shook me with the price of fame
Rock and roll affected me but country kept me sane
Universal gossip seared my wings
I always rode the roundabouts
But I never tried the swings
Married young and with my guns
I blew her out of my life
It’s easy to hold on to time
But it’s hard to keep a wife
I only learned to play three chords
My fingers weren’t that long
I never wrapped my arms around the neck of someone strong
Moves of blue that strangled me drying up my pen
Til I was left to live my life on a scale from one to ten
Wasted days and endless nights
See the drunkard with the even tan
I was just about to leave the rails
When someone gave a damn
It’s two years down and counting the couple on the wire
I’ve lived and lost and paid the cost
Of fighting fire with fire
Traces of the onetime sometimes cross my mind
But when there’s little left you’re cruel to be kind
I don’t regret a single day
You see, some of it was fun
Ten years on I’m wiser
But I’m still a farmer’s son