This was one of the few Elton John hits that he didn't write with his longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin. The lyrics came from his friend, the songwriter Gary Osborne. In 1978, Elton wrote the songs for his album A Single Man with Osborne, while Bernie Taupin worked on the Alice Cooper album From The Inside. Elton's 21 At 33 album contained tracks from both Osborne and Taupin, and most of Elton's subsequent output would have words by Bernie. Looking back at his time away from Taupin, Elton said that while there was some friction between them, it was not a breakup, but more of a sabbatical, as Elton was in London and Bernie was in Los Angeles. He says their time apart was needed, and points out the while Elton did score a hit with "Little Jeannie," he never wrote a hit song for another artist. Taupin, on the other hand, wrote huge hits for Starship ("We Built This City") and Heart ("These Dreams).
In this song, Elton has it bad for Little Jeannie and can't stand seeing her being mistreated by other guys. The song's lyricist Gary Osborne says that he did have someone in mind when he wrote the words, but he won't reveal her identity. Jeannie is not her real name.
Running 5:15, this is fairly long for a pop hit. It's also unusual in that the title only shows up in the verses, not the chorus. The hook is, "And I want you to be my acrobat," a very memorable line.
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