Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy national Top Albums chart and only broke a run of what would have been fifteen consecutive weeks at the top by falling one position to number 2 in the ninth week (31 May–6 September). On the UK Albums Chart, it peaked at number 2. In 2003, the album was ranked number 158 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. This was the last album until "Too Low for Zero" that Elton John and his classic band would play on together. Written, according to lyricist Bernie Taupin, in chronological order, "Captain Fantastic" is a concept
Someone Saved My Life Tonight metaphor of a creature flying free towards the sky to signify escape from marriage, with the creature in this case being a butterfly. Some radio stations altered the song or refused to play it due to the use of the phrase "Damn it" in the second verse. In the liner notes to the Deluxe Edition of "Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy," writer Paul Gambaccini related a recollection from producer Gus Dudgeon. During the recording of the song's lead vocal, Dudgeon said he was pushing John for more in terms of his delivery of the vocal, not paying attention