Elton John‘s 1970 hit “Your Song” is one of the greatest love songs ever written. The romantic ballad came together in record time, with John composing the melody in just 20 minutes after his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin gave him the lyrics he had scribbled down.
In 2018, Taupin told the Independent, “The original lyric was written very rapidly on the kitchen table of Elton’s mother’s [house] in Northwood Hills in the suburbs of London, if I recall, on a particularly grubby piece of exercise paper.”
The songwriter added, “It’s the voice of someone who hasn’t experienced love in any way. It’s a very virginal song.”
Taupin shared, “I think ‘Your Song’ is a gem. Our classic, I’m not sure. I’ll let others decide that. But it’s like an old friend, it means so many things on equally as many levels. It’s certainly proved its worth, and I’ve heard it sung a million times.”
“It’s like a good dog, it’s always there,” he added.
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In a 2013 Rolling Stone interview, John opened up about how Taupin’s lyrics inspired him to fill out the melody of “Your Song” very quickly.
“What can I say, it’s a perfect song. It gets better every time I sing it,” he shared.
“I remember writing it at my parents’ apartment in North London, and Bernie giving me the lyrics, sitting down at the piano and looking at it and going, ‘Oh, my God, this is such a great lyric, I can’t f**k this one up,'” the singer explained.
John noted, “It came out in about 20 minutes, and when I was done, I called him in and we both knew. I was 22, and he was 19, and it gave us so much confidence.”
“Empty Sky [his debut album] was lovely, but it was very naive. We went on to do more esoteric stuff like ‘Take Me to the Pilot,’ of course, but musically, this was a big step forward,” he shared. “And the older I get, the more I sing these lyrics, and the more they resonate with me.”
“Your Song” ranked #6 on a 2025 Billboard list of staffer picks for “50 Best Rock Love Songs”
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