Elton John's lyricist, Bernie Taupin, stumped a lot of listeners with this song. While Taupin has sensible explanations for the "Tiny Dancer" and "Levon," the wise Grey Seal is a bit of a mystery, even to him. Taupin has said that it's one of the songs he wrote with lyrics he never really understood, but somehow work. As for Elton, the song is one of his favorites, as he loves the way the music matches up to the lyrics. In the tradition of "A Whiter Shade Of Pale," the lyrics form a series of images that are open to translation. Elton called it "Procol Harum-ish absurd, like a Dali painting."
This song dates back to 1970, when it was recorded for Elton John's second (self-titled) album. It didn't make the cut, but was revived for the double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. The original can be heard on the compilation Rare Masters, released in 1992.
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