The song is the biggest selling single of all time after 33 million copies were sold but what is the story behind the lyrics? We reveal all Elton John originally recorded the single in in honour of Marilyn Monroe who had died 11 years earlier. After his close friend Diana died in a Paris car crash inElton teamed up with songwriting partner Bernie Taupin asking him to revise the lyrics to honour the Princess. Elton has only ever performed the single once — at Princess Di’s Westminster Abbey funeral — and instead uses the original version at concerts. He has repeatedly turned down requests to perform the tribute again and said he never would unless asked by Princes William and Harry. It is widely regarded as the best-selling single in the world but there is confusion due to a lack of information on sales for the record’s main contender for the number-one spot, Bing Crosby’s recording of White Christmas. The opening lines of the version, «Goodbye Norma Jeane, though I never knew you at all,» were adapted to «Goodbye England’s rose, may you ever grow in our hearts. In the original, the lyrics reflected Marilyn Monroe’s turbulent life, which was cut short when she was aged just Elton was plunged into a period of shock how much money did goodbye englands rose make Diana was killed in the crash in Paris on August 31, Just one month before, he had been comforted by the Princess at the funeral for close friend, Italian designer Gianni Versace.
