God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes.

Elton John’s “Daniel” is a story about a young boy whose older brother, Daniel tells him he is going away on a vacation to Spain. In truth, Daniel is going off to the Vietnam War, but he doesn’t want to frighten his younger brother.

Daniel tells his younger brother some things that seem inconsistent with a great vacation in Spain. He says it’s the best place he’s ever seen, however, Daniel comes home with scars that won’t heal: physically and emotionally. I like the line about the clouds in his eyes. When Daniel is gone, he sees him everywhere; perhaps it is the clouds in his eyes. As he watches Daniel leave again, he begins to tear up; perhaps it is those clouds in his eyes.

While the story is great, the song would not be great without the incredible melody and performance by Elton John. As I have argued before, I think John is one of the most consistently great performers in rock history. The choice of a keyboard over a piano is one of the defining characteristics of the song. It adds to that dreamy characteristic to the song’s lyric. The synthetic flute solo is a distinctive sound as well. Overall a great song that is underrated due to it being overplayed on soft rock radio.

Daniel Lyrics

Daniel is traveling tonight on a plane.
I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain.
And I can see Daniel waving goodbye.
Oh it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes.

They say Spain is pretty though I’ve never been.
And Daniel says it’s the best place that he’s ever seen.
He should know, he’s been there enough.
Oh I miss Daniel, oh I miss him so much, oh.

Daniel my brother you are older than me,
Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won’t heal?
Your eyes have died but you see more than I.
Daniel you’re a star in the face of the sky.

Oh Daniel my brother you are older than me,
Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won’t heal?
Your eyes have died but you see more than I.
Daniel you’re a star in the face of the sky.

Daniel is traveling tonight on a plane.
And I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain.
And I can see Daniel waving goodbye.
Oh it looks like Daniel, it must be the clouds in my eyes.
Oh God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes.
Daniel

Songwriters: Elton John / Bernie Taupin / Vladimir Cort