This song is a collaboration between three disparate artists. It takes lyrics from Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” “Kiss the Bride,” “Sacrifice,” and “Where’s the Shoorah?” The song describes the slow death of a relationship, which is unusual against the major-key, upbeat synthesizer track the background. Around the world, it peaked at No. 1 in a dozen countries and hit the top 10 in another two dozen. At the Billboard Music Awards, it took home top prize in the category of Electronic/Dance.

Pandemic Cooperation

Because the song came about during the pandemic, lots of the communication between the various artists took place over Facetime and Skype. Dua Lipa relates the story of relaxing in her home while wearing a bikini and a cowboy hat when the phone rang. It was Elton and his husband. They discussed the ideas behind the song and hashed out the beginning details. Despite being a rock icon, John characteristically and humbly shared the glory with Lipa even giving her the lion’s share. The two friends didn’t even meet in person until late 2021, but John insists that she elevated the entire production because of her fame as one of the top stars in the world at this time.

The “Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour”

Many artists do tours of two or three dozen cities and are worn out by the end. Astonishingly, John is in the midst of a tour with 330 concert dates on it, and as he was performing No. 200-something at the Barclays Center in New York, he and Lipa were almost “able to wave at each other across the East River.” That they weren’t even together in the studio for the recording of the vocals is a testament not only to the dedication of the artists but also to the technology that made this recording possible.

Pnau’s Contribution

It fell to the Australian band to tie everything together. John still gives Pnau heavy props for being clever not only in how they mashed together four of John’s songs but also for the lively and surrealistic animation in the song’s music video. Because it is a newer song, it hasn’t had a chance to appear in many films or television programs. Still, it did feature in the soundtrack of “Love and Gelato,” a 2022 romantic comedy about coming of age as a 17-year-old girl abroad in Italy.



Lyrics

It’s a human sign
When things go wrong
When the scent of her lingers
And temptation’s strong

Cold, cold heart
Hardened by you (oh)
Some things lookin’ better, baby
Just passin’ through (no, no, no, no, no)

And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time
‘Til touchdown brings me ’round again to find
I’m not the man they think I am at home
Oh no, no, no
And this is what I should have said
Well, I thought it, but I kept it hid

Cold, cold heart
Hardened by you (oh)
Some things lookin’ better, baby
Just passin’ through (no, no, no, no, no)

And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time
‘Til touchdown brings me ’round again to find
I’m not the man they think I am at home
Oh no, no, no (no, no, no, no, no)
And this is what I should have said
Well, I thought it, but I kept it hid

Cold, cold heart (oh)
Hardened by you
Some things lookin’ better, baby (oh)
Just passin’ through (no, no, no, no, no)

And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time
‘Til touchdown brings me ’round again to find
I’m not the man they think I am at home
Oh no, no, no (no, no, no, no, no)
And this is what I should have said (and I think it’s gonna be a long, long time)
(‘Til touchdown brings me ’round again to find)
Well, I thought it, but I kept it hid (I’m not the man they think I am at home)
(Oh no, no, no) (no, no, no, no, no)

Shoorah (oh)
Shoorah
Shoorah (oh)
Shoorah
(No, no, no, no, no)

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Bernard J.P. Taupin / Elton John / Nicholas George Littlemore / Peter Bruce Mayes / Samuel David Littlemore

Cold Heart lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group

Elton John fans will also be interested in:

Digging Deeper Into the Lyrics of Elton John – “Tiny Dancer”

The Message Behind the Music: Understanding the lyrics of Rocket Man by Elton John

The Message Behind the Music: Understanding the Lyrics of Bennie and the Jets by Elton John

Listeners that enjoy this song about Love may also enjoy the song Heat Waves by Glass Animals

Editor’s Note: This article was first published February 15, 2023 and last updated June 6, 2023.