Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting - Background and Writing

Background and Writing

The song was written by Bernie Taupin and composed by John for his album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and is written in the key of G Major alternating with C Major on the chorus. It is one of John's harder-rocking songs (similar to "Grow Some Funk of Your Own" and "The Bitch Is Back"), with a sound echoing bands such as The Who and The Rolling Stones (The Who later covered it in 1991). The song is a complete departure from his past renown as a mellow singer/songwriter.

The song was one of the few John-Taupin songs that Elton said was not a "typical piano number". According to John's recollection in Elizabeth Rosenthal's His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John, it may have been written on the piano at first, but the song ended up being recorded somewhat in reverse to the normal way he records, with the band putting their tracks down, and Elton overdubbing his piano afterward. (John's typical process at the time, and to a large extent before and since, was to either record the piano first or play along with the band. "Saturday Night ... " represented a departure from that process.) Elton called the song "hard to record".

The song was released in 1973 (see 1973 in music) as the album's first single, and entered the Top Ten in the UK and the Top 20 in the U.S. Despite only being a modest success compared to his other hits, it remains one of his best-known songs.

The song was banned on many radio stations fearing that the title would incite violence.