Album: Madman Across the Water (1971)

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• I can see very well
  There's a boat on the reef with a broken back
  And I can see it very well
  There's a joke and I know it very well
  It's one of those that I told you long ago
  Take my word I'm a madman, don't you know
  
  Once a fool had a good part in the play
  If it's so would I still be here today
  It's quite peculiar in a funny sort of way
  They think it's very funny everything I say
  Get a load of him, he's so insane
  You better get your coat dear
  It looks like rain, yeah
  
  We'll come again next Thursday afternoon
  The in-laws hope they'll see you very soon
  But is it in your conscience that you're after
  Another glimpse of the madman across the water
  
  I can see very well
  There's a boat on the reef with a broken back
  And I can see it very well
  There's a joke and I know it very well
  It's one of those that I told you long ago
  Take my word I'm a madman, don't you know
  
  The ground's a long way down but I need more
  Is the nightmare really black
  Or are the windows painted
  Will they come again next week
  Can my mind really take it
  
  We'll come again next Thursday afternoon
  The in-laws hope they'll see you very soon
  But is it in your conscience that you're after
  Another glimpse of a madman across the water Writer/s: BERNIE TAUPIN, ELTON JOHN
  Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 10

• Sixkilo69 from Asheville NcI had just gotten back from Vietnam having served in combat for a year when I first heard this song. I could not figure out just what about both the lyrics and clashing music was affecting me so. I was struggling to keep telling myself everything was okay and nothing was wrong with me. Meanwhile there was a tug a war in my head and battle going on over just who was the madman across the water. Me now or me in the jungle? In the moment I could not separate the two. Decades would pass before recognition that indeed, I was both. My Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience were entwined in a fierce struggle and each played out a different tune. Now I can reflect back and appreciate both the warrior and the person within, giving the latter a voice.
• George Royster from Tennesseealways thought the song was about hitler....thinking about the battle of britain......which the brits stopped hitler
• Joannasunday from AzThe song makes me think about John the Baptist. To me, it's about him.
• Elton Mercury from WisconsinMy god i totally forgot about this until now. I went to the second concert in minnesota and it was AMAZING!!
• Elton Mercury from Janesville, WiI think It's about a sane person who is going insane because he was accidentally put in an insane asylum
• Double7 from San DiegoThis song is about a father or grandfather getting a visit, mental hospital is an extreme example. Lots of people think an elderly person doesn't have a contribution and they are somehow antiquited? Thus the line referencing a conscience check!
• Kk from Mpls MnI think he is in the wrong place because his family thinks.he is wacko. He is.just different. No harm. I have worked in psych hospitals for 35 years. Just because someone is different doesn't mean their freedom should be take away
• Johnnyzhivago from Holmby Hills, CaI always heard, "Is the madman blind or are the windows painted?" Meaning, can he not see out because he's blind or is it because the windows are blacked out.
• Mike from Pittsburgh, Pa, PaAfter listening to this tune for the 4000th time in the last 7 months since I "discovered" it as a tune from my youth(I was about 7) at the time, i have determined today as a matter of fact that the lyric "Is the nightmare black or are the windows painted" means this, BOTH!
• Robin from Milford, Nj"is the nightmare black or are the windows painted?' Incredible lyric!

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