I was looking for something I hadn’t played for a while, and kind of had Elton on my mind, so this fit both of those criteria!

Released in 1985, in this Cold War ballad, a Westerner falls in love with an East German citizen he cannot meet because he is not allowed to cross the Berlin Wall. This was a very revolutionary song during the Cold War; Eastern Europeans who lived in the communist block would listen to Western radio stations like Free Europe and pick up on the sentiments.

What I did not know is that George Michael sang backing vocals on this track, as well as several other Elton songs including one of my very favourites, Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.

Elton John, Bernie Taupin and Big Pig Music were accused of plagiarism by South African photographer and songwriter Guy Hobbs. Hobbs wrote a song in 1982 entitled Natasha, about a Russian waitress on a cruise ship, who was never allowed to leave it. The song was copyrighted in 1983, and sent to Big Pig Music (John’s publisher) for a possible publishing deal, but Hobbs never heard back from the publisher. In 2001, Hobbs came across the lyric book to “Nikita” and noticed similarities with his song. Despite repeated attempts by Hobbs to contact John over the issue, he never heard from him and so commenced legal action in 2012.  On 31 October 2012, a US federal judge granted John and Taupin’s motion to dismiss, finding that the song did not infringe Hobbs’ copyright because the only similar elements were generic images and themes that are not protected under copyright law.

Nikita
Elton John

Hey Nikita is it 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

Oh Nikita you will never know, anything about my home
I’ll never know how good it feels to hold you
Nikita I need you so
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

Oh Nikita you will never know, anything about my home
I’ll never know how good it feels to hold you
Nikita I need you so
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

Oh Nikita you will never know, anything about my home
I’ll never know how good it feels to hold you
Nikita I need you so
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

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

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Bernard J.P. Taupin / Bernie Taupin / Elton John
Nikita lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group