Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy Singles chart), is a semi-autobiographical story about John's disastrous engagement to Linda Woodrow, and his related 1968 suicide attempt. The "Someone" refers to Long John Baldry, who convinced him to break off the engagement rather than ruin his music career for an unhappy marriage. It was viewed by "Rolling Stone" writer Jon Landau as the best track on the album: "As long as Elton John can bring forth one performance per album on the order of 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight', the chance remains that he will become something more than the great entertainer he already is and go on
Faster Horses (The Cowboy and the Poet) aspiring poet who turns to a rugged cowboy for advice and inspiration. The cowboy spits tobacco on the ground and affirms his philosophy on life: ""It's faster horses/younger women/older whiskey/and more money"." The poet tries to dispute the man's values and said he was looking for simple inspiration, to which the cowboy strongly reaffirms his stance on life. Disillusioned, the poet tries to start a fight, but eventually realizes (at gunpoint) the cowboy may have a point and leaves poetry behind. The chorus was given in evidence to a U.S. Senate subcommittee by the banking consultant Alex Sheshunoff: Faster Horses