"We worked very hard to make the lyrics suit the music. I can't, like Elton John, for example, compose by lyrics. Elton has a great talent for that. Whatever you give him, including your questions, he composes in half an hour and makes a great song out of it"

Rick Wright draws a clear distinction between his own songwriting process and that of Elton John, highlighting the diverse ways musicians approach the creation of music and lyrics. Wright emphasizes the intensive effort he and perhaps his bandmates invest in aligning lyrics with their musical compositions, suggesting a process where the music comes first and the words are later woven in to complement and enhance the soundscape. This meticulous effort can be both rewarding and challenging, as it requires the lyrics to serve the emotion and atmosphere established by the music itself.

In contrast, Elton John is praised for his remarkable ability to write songs starting from the lyrics, a reverse process compared to Wright’s. Elton John’s collaborative partnership with lyricist Bernie Taupin is renowned; Taupin writes the lyrics, and Elton sets them to music, often working at a blistering pace. Wright marvels at this fluidity, describing Elton as someone who can quickly turn almost any given words, even something as mundane as an interview question, into a compelling piece of music.

Wright’s admiration for Elton’s spontaneous creativity carries a tone of both fascination and humility. There’s recognition that not all musicians possess the same strengths or creative methodologies, and that a certain magic exists in Elton’s intuitive knack for musical storytelling via existing texts. The reference to working “very hard” may also hint at the care, trial and error, and perhaps even struggle involved in Pink Floyd’s process, contrasting with the apparent ease and immediacy of Elton's songwriting method.

Ultimately, the quote highlights that musical creation is deeply personal; some artists are inspired by sound first and retrofit words around their melodies, while others respond viscerally to language itself, shaping music to communicate and amplify those words. Both approaches demand skill and vision, but the paths taken can be as individual as the artists themselves.