Thread: Purple prose

Can anyone give me a hint on what sir Elton John could have ment by "all the things i said in songs, all the purple prose you bought from me"?...
And there is another thing i would like to ask... One of the sir's hits is called "Big Dipper"... I wonder what it is...... (if it's not an indescrete question, of course

Originally Posted by ibolit

Can anyone give me a hint on what sir Elton John could have ment by "all the things i said in songs, all the purple prose you bought from me

From that context, with purple prose meaning language with eloquent, flowery word choice, I'd say that he meant the person believed it all.

i.e.

You eyes remind me of the stars, twinkling through the night sky that is your hair, hanging round your heart-shaped face.

Believing the romance, and being gullible enough to "fall for it" so that Elton could "have his own way" with the person.

Originally Posted by ibolit

And there is another thing i would like to ask... One of the sir's hits is called "Big Dipper"... I wonder what it is...... (if it's not an indescrete question, of course

It's "Большой ковш" or "Большая медведица".

Originally Posted by roxfan

Originally Posted by ibolit

And there is another thing i would like to ask... One of the sir's hits is called "Big Dipper"... I wonder what it is...... (if it's not an indescrete question, of course

It's "Большой ковш" or "Большая медведица".

I take it those mean "roller coaster" or "informal constellation name" ?

Well, i saw this translation "большая медведица, американские горки" or sth like that...
But... what about "his got his own big dipper, but he's got his eyes on yours, his got his own big dipper, but there's always room for more... "....
Or "upon the REAL big dipper did you learn a few new licks..."....
I don't think it can have sth to do with the большая медведица.
By the way, about the "this train don't stop here anymore". Is the phrase "I used to be the main express, all steam and whistles heading west".... Is it an allusion to sth?....

First, yes , Big Dipper is both a name (perhaps old fashioned) for a roller coaster, and also a colloquial name for Ursa Major (American english, I think).
It's use in the lyrics you quoted is obscure to me... I can't figure it out at all. But that's not at all uncommon with song lyrics

As for: "I used to be the main express, all steam and whistles heading west" .. well that's obviously an allusion to a train ('express train' - fast train - skory poyezd or something in russian right?). Steam refers to steam trains, the old-fashioned type and whistle is the sound these old-fashioned trains used to make.
Artistically, I think he's talking about the idea of his life being (used to be) very 'driven', using lots of energy to get to wherever he wanted to go. The idea of going 'west' could be to do with 'Go west, young man' .. going west has a sense of progress, adventure .. from the days when people tried to make a new life in America, or going towards the west coast of america.

well that's enough of my drivel for today.

And let''s not forget Elton's sexuality for more bawdy explanations of 'Big Dipper'