TRIBUTE TO PRINCESS DIANA TOPPING SALES

"English Rose," Elton John's moving musical tribute to the Princess of Wales, has reached the U.S.

And it's shaping up to be just as big a hit in this country as it has been in the United Kingdom that loved Diana.

Although a number of Cape Girardeau stores have the single CDs and cassettes, they may not be around for long.

"They're going fast," said Josh Lee, of Camelot Music at West Park Mall. "We received a supply of them after noon Tuesday, and they may be gone before we close for the day."

Disc Jockey, also in West Park Mall, received 300 copies of the song. Fifty of them were sold in a hurry, said Mackey Smith of Disc Jockey.

More than two decades ago, pop star Elton John eulogized Marilyn Monroe with a sentimental song called "Candle in the Wind." Monroe, one of the most written-about movie stars in history, died in 1962 from an overdose of sleeping pills.

More recently, John updated the song to mourn someone more real to him -- his friend, Princess Diana, who was fatally injured in an auto accident in Paris.

Princess Diane and her companion, Dodi Fayed, and the driver of the car were killed Aug. 31 when the car crashed in a tunnel along the Seine River at Pont de l'Alma Bridge.

The pop star sang the new version of his song, "English Rose," at Westminster Abbey at the princess' funeral.

The recording has been a big hit since it went on sale in Great Britain, and is predicted to be the top seller of all time. The proceeds from the recording go to a foundation established in Diana's name.

The record has been selling in Great Britain, and people in Cape Girardeau and the U.S. have been awaiting the day sales started in the U.S. That day was Tuesday.

"We've had numerous inquiries about when the song would be available," said Kim Gregory of Hastings Books Music & Video in Town Plaza Shopping Center.

Venture received their Elton John songs Monday, and put them on the sales rack Tuesday.

"There has been great interest in them," said a Venture spokesman. "We'll probably sell out."

The going price for the songs are $3.99 for the single CD and $3.49 for the cassettes.

Elton John's revised song is as follows:

"Goodbye England's rose;

May you ever grow in our hearts.

You were the grace that placed itself

where lives were torn apart.

You called out to our country,

and you whispered to those in pain.

Now you belong to heaven,

and the stars spell out your name.

And it seems to me you lived your life

like a candle in the wind:

never fading with the sunset

when the rain set in.

And your footsteps will always fall here,

along England's greenest hills;

your candle's burned out long before

your legend ever will.

Loveliness we've lost;

these empty days without your smile.

This torch we'll always carry

for our nation's golden child.

And even though we try,

the truth brings us to tears;

all our words cannot express

the joy you brought us through the years.

Goodbye England's rose,

from a country lost without your soul,

who'll miss the wings of your compassion

more than you'll ever know."