Good audio recording from Elton John's solo piano tour, Syracuse, New York 2000 April 18. I'm uploading the entire concert. This is track #21 - Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnnie).
Bernie Taupin and Elton John's tribute to John Lennon, from the 1982 album "Jump Up!" Taupin wrote the lyrics the day after John Lennon was murdered in December 1980. He locked himself in his office, refusing to watch the news or read the papers. "I knew in the back of my mind that everybody would be doing the same thing, and I thought, 'God, am I cashing in? Am I being cold and calculating?' But then I realized it was the only thing I could do. I couldnt cry because that comes later". The line "Can't you come out to play?" comes from the Beatles song "Dear Prudence", though Taupin has said that he didn't intentionally borrow it. "The words just fell onto the page", he said. Elton had the same experience when he wrote the music. "The song came out straight away. I looked at the words and there was the melody coming out," he said. The song was released as a single before the album came out. It made the top 40.