Big Dipper (Elton John song)

Infobox Song
Name = Big Dipper
Type = Song
Artist = Elton John
Album = A Single Man


track_no = 4
Released = October 16, 1978
Recorded = January-September 1978
Genre = Dance hall, Pop
Length = 4:04
Label = MCA (US/Canada)
Rocket Records
Writer = Elton John, Gary Osborne
Producer = Clive Franks, Elton John
prev = "I Don't Care"
prev_no = 3
next = "It Ain't Gonna Be Easy"
next_no = 5

Big Dipper is a song by Elton John with lyrics by Gary Osborne. It is the fourth track off his 1978 album, "A Single Man". It gained notice for not being included on the Russian release of the album due to the meaning of the song.

Musical structure

The music is not reminiscent of anything else that John has ever done. The main part of the song is a jaunting piano joined by a New Orleans-inspired jazz horn section. The drum and pass pattern also follows this, making it sound like something that could easily be ragtime. The backing vocals on this song is John's then-owned football team, Watford F.C.. This is one out of their two appearances on this album.

The last verse is adapted from an old classic, "Makin' Whoopee".

Lyrical meaning

It was banned when released in the Soviet Union along with another song, Part-Time Love. The song could tell about a man looking for love with a sailor, using "Big Dipper" (Which in the British slang is a rollercoaster, and an asterism in the American language) as a substitute for a penis. The sailor says he can't handle anymore, so the man "filled him up with all kinds of stuff to relax him". This could symbolize that a drug rape was taking action. The third verse opens with "He hadn't been to keen at the start - now he seems to have a change of heart", indicating that the sailor finds out about his homosexuality, and therefore continues his relationship. The song ends fading out with the line: "Another ride, another tune, another crazy afternoon, another reason for squeezin' your big dipper".

It is highly a controversial issue to put in a song at that time, but since the album nor the song gained any notice, it didn't gain controversy.

Personnel

*Elton John - piano, vocals
*Tim Renwick - guitars
*Clive Franks - bass
*Steve Holly - drums, motor horn
*Ray Cooper - tambourine
*Pat Halcox - trumpet
*John Crocker - clarinet
*Jim Shepherd - trombone
*Watford Football Team - backing vocals
*The South Audley Street Girl's Choir - backing vocals