Elton John’s song Nikita evokes mixed feelings among most Russian-speaking music lovers. In the video clip, the singer falls in love with a girl who serves in the border troops at a checkpoint near the Berlin Wall. But they cannot be together because of the “Iron Curtain”, which in the early eighties has not yet collapsed.
In general, everything is clear, except for one thing: why is the girl’s name Nikita? Surely none of the readers of Blimey had ever met a woman with that name. Let’s try to figure it out by referring to the history of the song Nikita, which Elton John composed with Bernie Taupin.
The story of creation and the meaning of Elton John’s song Nikita
Let’s imagine that we did not see the video clip, which was filmed a little later. Written by Nikita, as you understand, in English, and in this language it is impossible to understand what gender the author is referring to. Therefore, judging by the text, Elton John could well sing about a man (there is no way to get rid of thoughts about his orientation). Allegedly, he even claimed that he always knew that the girl could not be called Nikita.
It seems that initially Nikita had an exclusively political overtones. Say, the Cold War, the “Iron Curtain”, let’s put up and all that … If you take it in this context, then you will not see anything that could be related to romantic feelings in the lyrics.
You ask what to do with the clip? But after all, its director Ken Russell shot according to his own script, which Elton John liked. Russell, by his own admission, did not know that Nikita was a male name. And the audience, as usual, happily accepted the beautiful version with a love story.
However, this is nothing more than a guess. Sir Elton’s explanations about the meaning of the song Nikita did not come across to us, so we have to rely on a few facts and use our imagination. We will be glad to know your opinion.
Release and achievements
The song was included on the album Ice on Fire, released in November 1985. The single Nikita was released a little later. It climbed to number three on the UK Singles Chart, peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts in Holland, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, New Zealand and several other countries.
Video Nikita – Elton John
Now let’s watch Elton John’s Nikita music video.
Interesting Facts
- George Michael (backing vocals) and Nick Kershaw (electric guitar) took part in the recording of the song Nikita.
- The girl-border guard in the clip was played by the hammer thrower Anya Major. She also starred in the famous 1984 commercial for Apple computers.
- In the video, Elton appears in the uniform of the Watford football club, for which he is a fan.
- The Bentley Continental Convertible used in the video was owned by Elton John.
- Songwriter Guy Hobbs sued John and Taupin, accusing them of plagiarism. He claimed that they borrowed the idea of his song Natasha about love for a Russian waitress. However, the judge thought otherwise, and the authors of Nikita were acquitted. In 2013, the case was finally closed.
Nikita Lyrics by Elton John
Hey Nikita is cold
In your little corner of the world
You could roll around the globe
And never find a warmer soul to know
Oh I saw you by the wall
Ten of your tin soldiers in a row
With eyes that looked like ice on fire
The human heart a captive in the snow
chorus:
Oh Nikita you will never know anything about my home
I’ll never know how good it feels to hold you
Nikita
Oh Nikita is the other side of any given line in time
Counting ten tin soldiers in a row
Oh no, Nikita you’ll never know
Do you ever dream of me?
Do you ever see the letters that I write?
When you look up through the wire
Nikita do you count the stars at night?
And if there comes a time
Guns and gates no longer hold you in
And if you’re free to make a choice
Just look towards the west and find a friend
Nikita counting ten tin soldiers in a row
Nikita counting ten tin soldiers in a row
Nikita counting ten tin soldiers in a row
Nikita
Nikita Lyrics – Elton John Alternate
Hey Nikita, is it cold
In your little corner of the world?
You could travel around the globe
But I would never have found a kinder soul
Oh I saw you against the wall
Ten of your tin soldiers in the ranks
With eyes like ice on fire
Human heart trapped in the snow
Chorus:
Oh Nikita, you’ll never know anything about my house
I will never know what it’s like to hold you
Nikita, I need you so much
Oh Nikita is the other side of the given timeline
Roll call of ten tin soldiers in the ranks
Oh no Nikita you’ll never know
Do you ever dream of me?
Do you receive the letters that I write?
When you look up through the wire
Nikita, do you count the stars at night?
And if the time comes
When weapons and gates no longer hold you back
And if you can choose
Just look west and find a friend
Nikita, roll call of ten tin soldiers in the ranks
Nikita, roll call of ten tin soldiers in the ranks
Nikita, roll call of ten tin soldiers in the ranks
Nikita
