Elton John ‘Broke Down’ Thinking About His Death While Making Album

Elton John reflected on his own mortality while making his new album with Brandi Carlile. In a recent interview on the SmartLess podcast, the music legend said he got deeply emotional thinking about the end of his life, thanks to the lyrics of an upcoming song, titled “When This Old World Is Done With Me.”

“And so I’m writing the verse, like, ‘Oh, this is really pretty,’ and then I get to the chorus, and, of course, it’s about my death,” he told hosts Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett. “When you get when you get to my age, which is near 100, you think, ‘How much time have I got left?’ And you’ve got children, you’ve got a wonderful husband — you just think about mortality.”

“And so, when I got to the chorus, I just broke down for 45 minutes, and it’s all on film,” he added.

The “video” he references is for Who Believes In Angels? Stories from the Edge Of Creation, a yet-to-be-released film that documents the making of Carlile and John’s upcoming collaborative record of the same name.

“I want everybody to see it, ‘cause it’s really human, like, deeply flawed and embarrassing,” Carlile said of the documentary short film which also captures the making of “When This Old World Is Done With Me.”

“I was recording him on the melody of this song because I thought, ‘Okay, well I want to remember this melody so that in case he moves on to another one, he can remember how good it was,’” said Carlile. “And he got to the end of that chorus, and his voice started to shake, and I thought, ‘Oh he’s going to really go.’”

John and Carlile are set to release Who Believes In Angels? on April 4. The album will feature the title track and “Swing for the Fences,” and features contributions from Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ Chad Smith and Josh Klinghoffer. They’ll also host An Evening With Elton John and Brandi Carlile, a concert special set to air on CBS and Paramount+ on April 6.