"Candle in the Wind" is a song with music and lyrics by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. It was originally written in 1973, in honour of Marilyn Monroe, who had died 11 years earlier.
In 1997, John performed a rewritten version of the song as a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales. This version of the song was released as a single, and reached No. 1 in many countries, proving a much greater success than the original, officially being listed as the highest selling single of all time.
The original version in the key of E major appeared on John's 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. The lyrics of the song are a sympathetic portrayal of the life of Marilyn Monroe (the song's opening line "Goodbye Norma Jean" refers to Monroe's real name). The single release of the original song reached No. 11 in the U.K. charts in 1974. At the time, it was not released as a single in the United States ("Bennie and the Jets" was chosen instead). Taupin was inspired to write the song after hearing the phrase "candle in the wind" used in tribute to Janis Joplin.