Philadelphia Freedom (song) honour Billie Jean King, and so asked Taupin to write a song called "Philadelphia Freedom" as a homage to her tennis team, the Philadelphia Freedoms. In "His Song: The Musical History of Elton John", Elizabeth Rosenthal recounts that Taupin said, "I can't write a song about tennis," and did not. Taupin maintains that the lyrics bear no relation to tennis, Philly Soul, or even flag-waving patriotism. Nonetheless, the lyrics have been interpreted as patriotic and uplifting, and even though it was released in 1975, the song's sentiment, intentionally or not, meshed perfectly with an American music audience gearing up for
A Single Man (album) song on the album. Paul Buckmaster would not appear on another Elton John album until "Made in England". Unlike previous compositions in which lyrics came first, John began writing melodies at a piano and an album unintentionally became of it. This was also John's first album in which he started singing in a lower register. "Song for Guy" was written as a tribute to Guy Burchett, a young Rocket messenger who was killed in a motorcycle accident. The photo for the front cover was taken in the Long Walk, which is part of Windsor Great Park in Berkshire. The inside