Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny) – Elton John (1982) Remastered FLAC HD 1080p

“Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)” was released on Elton John’s 21st album, Jump Up!, in April of 1982.

Jump Up! was (and remains) the first Elton John album where I cannot instantly recall the melody of each track on the album, but as with all of his albums, there are always gems to be found. In this case, “Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)” was the diamond…a beautifully realized tribute to his friend John Lennon. This has always been a very special song for so many of us. I’ve wanted to try something for it for so long….I hope you enjoy it.

I hesitated to have any reference to “he who’s name shall not be uttered”, but in the end I wanted to recognize that still painfully ironic moment in time where John’s kindness and love for his fans was captured as he signed the album for the man who would hours later gun him down in front of his home at the Dakota….I plugged in another effect to highlight the photo, but not the nightmare that robbed us all of nearly 40 years of new John Lennon music. John Lennon released every song he ever recorded with The Beatles and solo in around 17 years…he’s been gone more than twice that time…..still hard to wrap the mind around the monumental immensity of how much we lost because of one insect on that night in December 1980. Wow.

As usual HUGE THANKS to everyone who’s art made this new art possible….THANK YOU!!!! …and of course THANK YOU! for visiting my videos!

[Lyrics]
What happened here
As the New York sunset disappeared
I found an empty garden among the flagstones there
Who lived here
He must have been a gardener that cared a lot
Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop
And now it all looks strange
It’s funny how one insect can damage so much grain

And what’s it for
This little empty garden by the brownstone door
And in the cracks along the sidewalk nothing grows no more
Who lived here
He must have been a gardener that cared a lot
Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop
And we are so amazed we’re crippled and we’re dazed
A gardener like that one no one can replace

And I’ve been knocking but no one answers
And I’ve been knocking most all the day
Oh and I’ve been calling oh hey hey Johnny
Can’t you come out to play

And through their tears
Some say he farmed his best in younger years
But he’d have said that roots grow stronger if only he could hear
Who lived there
He must have been a gardener that cared a lot
Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop
Now we pray for rain, and with every drop that falls
We hear, we hear your name

Johnny can’t you come out to play in your empty garden