Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting

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“Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting”
Single by Elton John
from the album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
B-side "Jack Rabbit"

"Whenever You're Ready (We'll Go Steady Again)"
Released July 16, 1973
Format Vinyl Record (7")
Recorded Chateau d'Hierouville
Genre Hard Rock
Length 4:54
Label MCA (US/Canada)
DJM Records
Writer(s) Elton John, Bernie Taupin
Producer Gus Dudgeon
Elton John singles chronology
"Daniel"
(1973)		 "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting"
(1973)		 "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
(1973)

"Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" (sometimes written "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)") is a rock & roll song performed by musician Elton John. The song was written by Bernie Taupin and composed by John for his album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and is written in the key of C Major. It is one of John's harder-rocking songs (Like "Grow Some Funk Of Your Own" and The Bitch is Back), with a sound similar to bands like The Who and The Rolling Stones (indeed The Who would cover it in 1991). The song is a complete departure from his past renown as a mellow singer/songwriter.[1]

The song was released in 1973 (see 1973 in music) as the album's first single, and entered the Top Ten in the U.K and the Top 20 in the U.S. Despite only being a modest hit compared to his other hits, it remains one of his best-known songs.

The rock band Queen has covered it numerous times in their concerts. In 1988, it was covered on Flotsam and Jetsam's album No Place for Disgrace. In 1991, The Who covered it for the album Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin. In 2003 it was also performed by Nickelback (featuring Kid Rock) and included in the soundtrack for Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle as well as certain copies of The Long Road. It is also used by the U.S. cable network Showtime as introduction music for its Showtime Championship Boxing series (as the series airs on the first Saturday of each month). An edited version of the song is used at the end of the opening tease for the CBC's Hockey Night in Canada, as that series airs on Saturday nights. It is also used as the theme song for TBS's Saturday Night College Football. In the show's open, the song is accompanied by a drumline and cymbalists, while clips of the two teams playing the night's featured game are interspersed throughout. [1]

Contents

[edit] Composition and inspiration

"Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" is a lively throwback to early rock & roll with a Glam edge; the lyrics discuss a night out in town in which the narrator plans to "get about as oiled as a diesel train." Taupin has said that the song was meant to be an American rock & roll song, set in Britain, and was inspired by his raucous teenage days, in particular in the fights happening in his local pub, the Aston Arms[2] [3] in Market Rasen. This song was the only song that came out of Elton's time in Jamaica, where he was going to finish the rest of the album, but he only wrote this song because of riots happening while he was in Kingston, Jamaica. After the writing of this song, John went back to France to finish the album.

[edit] Chart & sales performance

In the U.S., the song entered the Billboard Top 40 the week of August 11, 1973, rose to #12, and stayed in the Top 40 for nine weeks. It was the only single by Elton John that failed to make the Top 10 in the three-year, 13-hit period between May 1972 ("Rocket Man") and October 1975 ("Island Girl"). It was the only Elton John single that failed to go gold or platinum in the three-year, 11-hit period between December 1972 ("Crocodile Rock") and October 1975 ("Island Girl").

In the UK, the song entered the Music Week Top 50 the week of July 7, 1973, rose to #7, and stayed in the charts for 9 weeks.

Chart (1973) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 12
UK Singles Chart 7

[edit] Format and tracklist

  • UK/U.S. 7" single
  1. "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)" 4:54
  2. "Jack Rabbit" 1:50
  3. "Whenever You're Ready (We'll Go Steady Again)" 2:50

[edit] References

  1. ^ Classic Rock Gold (liner notes).
  2. ^ Aston Arms Pub - On This Very Spot
  3. ^ Elton town in yob ban | The Sun |HomePage|News