Bernie Taupin has been telling stories for nearly 30 years. He is, of course, best known for his collaborations with Elton John, contributing lyrics to a partnership that's spanned three decades and produced some of pop music's most enduring moments: "Rocket Man," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Bennie and the Jets," and both the original "Candle In The Wind" and the mildly rewritten version honoring Princess Diana, which has usurped Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" as the best-selling single of all-time.

At the moment, however, the story Taupin is telling has nothing -- and everything -- to do with his creative partner. It's the story of a lyricist who, after living life largely in the long shadows of his friend, finally acts on a long-standing desire to form a band of his own whose sound harkens back to the American roots music he's always loved. It's a sound that can be heard on Elton John's classic early albums as well as Last Stand in Open Country, the 1996 debut by Taupin's band, the Farm Dogs.

On this particular morning, the 48-year-old Taupin is seated in a spare room inside Boston's Omni Parker Hotel, sipping a late-morning coffee with several fellow Farm Dogs. He's expansively charming and wears an expression of mischievous amusement on a face topped with a close-cropped shock of platinum blonde hair. In short, he looks like a man who's having fun. The Farm Dogs -- which includes ex-Rod Stewart sidemen Jim Cregan, Robin LeMesurier, Tony Brock and newcomer Tad Wadhams from Sheryl Crow's touring band -- have just released their sophomore effort, Immigrant Sons (Discovery/Sire), and the band is currently at work promoting the new album. At the time of our interview, he and his mates are discussing the perils of tuning guitars at 8 a.m. and performing live on the early-morning talk show circuit.

No one should have to tune a guitar at eight in the morning.

It's times like these that try a man's soul. Although we're a little older than most, this is a fledgling band and we're starting at the bottom, so we have to do these things. But we've all been lucky in our lives to have lived quite well with private jets and big hotel suites and that sort of thing. So there's actually something fun about all this, as long as you've got the camaraderie and a sense of humor -- and believe me, you need a sense of humor to get up at 5:30 in the morning and do these TV shows for the cooking set.

You've released solo albums over the years, but you've said having your own band, being part of a band, is a kind of a lifelong dream for you. Why now?

I think at 15 or 16 everybody gets into music and has dreams of being in a band. Now, these guys (in the Farm Dogs) all did that, but the thing is, I got into another side of music. I got kind of sidetracked for 30 years (laughs) and within that time frame, I would get to certain points where I'd make a solo record. But more often than not, it was slightly disappointing. As I've gotten older and Elton's music has gone in a much more mainstream direction -- which I'm happy to go along with because I can write that stuff and I enjoy writing it, too -- I realized I was missing something by not being able to express myself with the kind of music that I was still listening to ... that I loved back when I was a kid. I wanted to make some really good roots rock & roll, and in order to do it, I felt I needed a band situation. But I didn't want the focal point to be totally on me.

What's the secret to a good song? As a lyricist, is there an element you feel *has* to be there for a song to fly?

If you have the ability to write a really interesting lyric that tells a good story and you have the ability to write a great melody, then that's it -- the ability to mesh the two together. But there aren't that many people out there who can consistently combine those elements. So there's no secret, really. I think it's about ability. I happen to think that Elton is an extraordinary writer of melodies and luckily, I think I can tell a good story. And one of the things I do with the Farm Dogs is that, after I've written a lyric, we figure out what mood a song should take -- unlike Elton, who never pays any attention at all to what the lyric is (laughs).

"Candle In The Wind '97" is now the biggest-selling single of all-time, and it's generated a lot of money for charity. Still, was it difficult for you to revisit that song given the circumstances?

(Long pause) I'm constantly trying to find new ways of talking about it. I don't want to sound generic because then it becomes a bit cold. But actually, the hardest thing about talking about it is that there really isn't that much to it. Because I basically just went in and did my job -- although obviously it was far more emotionally motivated because it was just two days after the event. I suppose it's a kick in the pants to know that you've got the biggest-selling single of all-time, but to be really honest with you, I don't think the enormity of it has sunk in yet. I don't really remember much about doing it.

On some level, it must have been a surreal experience.

It *is* very surreal. But don't get me wrong. I'm very proud of the outcome and think it was a great piece of work, and I think that people connected with it.

What's the reaction you most want people to have from seeing or hearing the Farm Dogs?

A big smile on their face. This is definitely *not* an angst-driven band. I mean, we're starting at the bottom of the ladder, but there's a lot of fun to be had at the bottom of the ladder. It's all part of the Farm Dogs' plan for world domination.