Cover art for All the Nasties by Elton John
Nov. 5, 19711 viewer

All the Nasties Lyrics

[Verse 1]
If it came to pass
That they should ask
What could I tell them?
Would they criticize
Behind my back
Maybe I should let them

[Chorus]
Oh, if only then and only then
They would understand
They'd turn a full-blooded city boy
Into a full-blooded city man

[Verse 2]
If they could face it
I could take it
In their eyes
Oh, I know I'd make it
Their tiny minds
And sacred cows, just fake it

[Chorus]
Oh, if only then and only then
They would understand
They'd turn a full-blooded city boy
Into a full-blooded city man
[Bridge]
But I know the way
They want me
In the way they publicize
If they could turn
Their focus off
To the image in their eyes
Maybe it would help them
Help them understand
Maybe it would help them
Help them understand
Maybe it would help them
Help them understand
That a full-blooded city boy
Is now a full-blooded city man

[Outro]
Oh, my soul, oh, my soul, oh, my soul
Oh, my soul, oh, my soul, oh, my soul
Oh, my soul, oh, my soul, oh, my soul
Oh, my soul, oh, my soul, oh, my soul
Oh, my soul, oh, my soul, oh, my soul
Oh, my soul, oh, my soul, oh, my soul
Oh, my soul, oh, my soul, oh, my soul
Oh, my soul, oh, my soul, oh, my soul
Oh, my soul, oh, my soul, oh, my soul
Oh, my soul, oh, my soul, oh, my soul

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About

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Genius Annotation

“All The Nasties” is about Elton struggling with his sexuality. It came out in 1971 while Elton himself didn’t come out (as bisexual, at the time) until his interview with Rolling Stone magazine in 1976.

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