A Premier Lyricist Steps Out

If you like to sing along with records, the odds are you’ve probably spent a good chunk of time singing the words of Bernie Taupin.

As Elton John’s lyricist, Taupin has co-written some of the most memorable hits of the modern pop era--from the romantic innocence of “Your Song” to the dark anxiety of “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.”

So it’s surprising to hear Taupin refer--even good-naturedly--to all that music as his “day job.” His real dream since his teens has been to be part of a band that plays in the country, folk and blues styles of such diverse early musical heroes as Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie and Marty Robbins.

At 46, Taupin has finally formed that band, Farm Dogs, with veteran musicians and longtime friends Jim Cregan, Dennis Tufano and Robin LeMesurier. Taupin sings and co-wrote the songs on the group’s debut album, “Last Stand in Open Country,” which was recorded on Taupin’s 30-acre cutting horse ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley. The acoustic collection was released Tuesday by Discovery Records. (See review, F8.)

Sitting in a booth at Cicada, the West Hollywood restaurant that he owns with his wife, Stephanie Taupin, the musician spoke about his long love of rootsy music and insisted that the new band is more than merely a rich man’s toy.

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Question: How serious are you about Farm Dogs? A lot of people are going to probably look at any new venture by someone as successful as you as a vanity project.

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Answer: All I can say is that this for me is a very, very serious situation. It’s not a play thing. With a lot of the [side projects] you are talking about, the intentions were probably well meant, but I don’t think they were designed to be taken any further. I am committed to this group. We’re already talking about doing live shows this fall and making the second album. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.

Q: When you say it’s something you always wanted to do, can you trace your earliest musical goals?

A: I basically started out wanting to be in a band. Like any other 15- or 16-year-old in England or America, I did my share of standing in front of a mirror with a tennis racket, pretending that I was in a band. But I got sidetracked for like 26 years doing something else. Now, I’ve finally had the chance to come full circle.

Q: Some people might think that’s a slap at the music you’ve made with Elton. You’re proud of that music, right?

A: Of course I am proud of it. I’m just kidding when I say it’s my day job. We’re getting together early next year to work on a new album. It’s just that there was a side of me that got left behind and it has always been calling to me. I’ve made earlier solo albums, but I allowed people to mold them into something else. But I’m at a point in my life where I won’t let that happen again.

Q: What was the music that inspired you?

A: The first thing that touched me was [Scottish skiffle singer] Lonnie Donegan doing stuff that Woody Guthrie and Huddie Ledbetter [Leadbelly] had done . . . and immediately I threw him out the window and started going after the originals.

Q: Was there one song that was especially influential . . . that made you want to start writing songs?

A: “El Paso” by Marty Robbins, whose music I still love. There was something about his gunfighter and cowboy ballads that was like poetry to me. They’re what made me realize that you could create characters and tell stories in songs.

Q: With Elton, you write the words, then he writes the music. How did it work with Farm Dogs?

A: That was another exciting thing for me . . . the first time I’ve ever really sat in a room and written a song with someone. What we did was just sit in a circle with guitars with a bunch of lyrics that I had written and worked out the music.

Q: Could you picture any of your songs with Elton fitting the Farm Dogs style?

A: Probably things from the “Tumbleweed Connection” era, maybe some of the things off “Madman Across the Water,” but not much of the later stuff. I’ve always thought that the pre-”Yellow Brick Road” material is more our roots.

Q: Why did you move away from those roots?

A: Well, Elton, obviously, has his own influences and we moved in that direction, which is good because Elton has much more of a pop sensibility than I do.

Q: The link with “Tumbleweed Connection” and the new album seems to be a fascination with America and the Old West . . . of getting back to the roots. In your own life, you have sort of returned to your roots, haven’t you?

A: Yes, and it’s funny because if you think back on all of those songs like “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” I was always talking about getting back to the country. I saw my dad sell his farm because he knew I wanted to get out and now it seems I have come full circle. It’s only in the last few years and finding the ranch that has made me realize I still love it more than anything else. It took me all this time to fulfill my dream of being a cowboy, I guess.

Q: There is also a sense in the album’s title song and in “Ballad of Dennis Hopper and Harry Dean” of taking pride in what you do--and working hard at it. Do you see that as one of the album’s themes?

A: I think there is a tie between those songs. “Last Stand” is an analogy between the western gunfighter and the guy with the guitar. One of the images I had in my head was of the film “The Wild Bunch.” It’s basically how there was always someone in the Old West coming up behind you to take your place, and it’s the same with rock ‘n’ roll. As long as you’ve still got bullets in your gun, however, you’re still dangerous . . . and that’s how I feel. We’ve still got bullets in our guns and something to say.