by Elton John (1971)
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The lyrics to “Madman Across the Water” are an example of a quirk that seems to hamper much of Elton John’s music, which is that of interpreters — knowingly? — misinterpreting the song. After all, one will discover the listed “official” meaning of the song as referring to an actual lunatic in an asylum, but, in actuality, the lyrics are a very clever social critique, and we are, instead, told the story of a man who is made to feel the madman due to the madness of the world, which surrounds and suffocates him with its obstinate and enduring nature.