It was recorded at Trident Studios in London in January 1970 and released in the United States in October 1970 as the A-side of a single, with "Your Song" as the B-side.

John once quoted, in The Red Piano Tour in 2005, that "in the early days, there were a lot of inquiries about 'What does this song mean?

Lyricist Bernie Taupin has admitted to not knowing what the song's lyrics represent, comparing his writing style in "Pilot" to poets like "Baudelaire and Rimbaud...(who) just threw things together and went 'Wow!

The song become a staple of John's live shows and can be heard on many of his concert recordings – such as a performance with his early 1970s backup musicians, bassist Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson on 17–11–70 (1970) to Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (1987) with a full scale orchestral reworking the original Paul Buckmaster score.

John also performs the song in a solo version on the album Live in Moscow recorded in 1979.