So, the phrase “Elton John Susie” popped into my head the other day, and it sent me down a bit of a peculiar path. It wasn’t just the general idea, you see. There was this one very specific line that I could hear clear as day, a lyric I was absolutely, positively sure was from an Elton John song: “Susie says it’s fine, she’s having a good time, chewin’ on a honeydew.”
Now, when something like that gets stuck in my craw, I can’t just let it be. I had to find it. My weekend was suddenly dedicated to this mission. I started by digging out my old vinyl collection. You know, the proper stuff. Spent a good hour or two with Elton’s greatest hits, then moved onto some of the deeper cuts. I was meticulously listening, waiting for that honeydew reference. Nothing.
Alright, I thought, maybe it was a B-side, or a live version. So, I transitioned to the digital realm. Fired up the computer, started searching through online lyric databases. I typed in “Elton John Susie,” “Susie honeydew,” “Elton John lyrics chewing melon.” You name it, I probably searched for it. I even tried humming what I thought was the melody into one of those song identification apps. Still no dice.
I found other Susies, of course. There’s the Susie from “Crocodile Rock,” the one who “went and left me for some foreign guy.” Classic. And then there’s that bit in “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” where he calls out, “Oh Susie, Susie, oh Susie.” But no mention of her enjoying a honeydew, no confirmation of her general well-being through melon consumption. It was baffling. I was starting to feel like I was chasing a ghost.
This whole endeavor got me thinking. It’s wild how your brain can just cook things up, or how a tiny piece of information can get tangled with another, creating these false memories. I spent a good chunk of my time on this, convinced I was on the verge of a breakthrough. It reminded me of this one time I was adamant I’d left my keys in the fridge. Searched high and low, accused the dog, the cat, probably a stray dust bunny. Turns out they were in my coat pocket all along. The usual place. My brain just decided to send me on a scenic route that day.
So, this “Elton John Susie” chewing honeydew? I’m starting to think she’s a figment of my imagination, or maybe a lyric from a completely different song by a completely different artist that just got misfiled in my mental rolodex under “E” for Elton. It’s a bit frustrating, to be honest, to spend time on something that just isn’t there. But hey, I guess I got to listen to a whole lot of Elton John, so it wasn’t a total loss.
My practice here, my little weekend project, didn’t quite pan out as expected. Instead of finding a cool, obscure lyric, I just found out my memory isn’t as sharp as I thought it was. Or maybe, just maybe, that honeydew-loving Susie is out there in some ultra-rare bootleg. For now, though, she remains a mystery. And I’m done looking. Probably.
