Los Angeles, March 30 : Music legend Elton John, who is 78-years-old, hopes to live for another 20 years.

The icon, who has sons Zachary, 14, and 11-year-old Elijah, with husband David Furnish, said he doesn't like talking about his own mortality but was still taken by surprise when he 'lost it' and broke down in tears while recording new song 'When This Old World Is Done With Me', which tackles the subject, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

He told Rolling Stone UK: 'I lost it for 45 minutes. It's all on film. I just sobbed and sobbed and sobbed' When you're 77 years of age and you have a family, and two children, there's only a certain amount of time you've got left.

'Hopefully, I've got at least another 20 years. But when you're actually confronted on a song, it's like, 'Oh my God.' It really surprised me. I wasn't expecting it. I don't like talking about it but you have to be realistic.'

John spent years battling drug and alcohol addiction but after overcoming those struggles, he insisted life hasn't always been easy since then.

He said: 'I didn't think I was going to die but I knew that if I carried on, there was a good chance it was going to happen.

'And I woke up and smelled the roses, and things have been great since, but it doesn't mean that I haven't been through strife, operations and everything like that, losing the eyesight in this eye, which happened after the album. But there's always something tough I seem to be tackling.'

Making new album LP 'Who Believes in Angels'? with Brandi Carlile has given the 'Rocket Man' hitmaker a new lease of life.

He said: 'I push and push and push and it's music that gets me through it. My family and making this album made me feel so good about myself. I've left the old Elton John behind and here's the new one.'

/IANS