4 Elton John Lyrics From ‘A Single Man’ That Are Seriously Slept On

When Elton John was working on the songs for A Single Man, he famously consulted Gary Osborne to do what lyricist Bernie Taupin had done on John’s previous projects. Although no one can compete with Taupin’s lyrical genius, that doesn’t mean that all of the songs on A Single Man were bad. In fact, here are some standout lyrics from the project that might surprise you.

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“Shine On Through”

“I have cursed the stars above / That lead my heart to you / But as hard as I try / Still my love will not die / And the stars still shine on through.“

In this song, the narrator sings about being unable to move on from a past relationship. Even Elton John admits at the end of the song, “I have wasted my time, but it tasted oh so fine.” He knows he should let his old love go, but there’s something sickeningly sweet about clinging to the past.

“Part-Time Love”

“Wipe those stars from your eyes / And you’ll get quite a surprise / Because you’ll see everybody’s got a part-time love.“

“Part-Time Love” ended up being one of Osbourne and John’s more popular collaborations, and for good reason. In this song, John tries to get his partner to see the harsh reality of the world—that everybody has a “part-time love” or perhaps, metaphorically, something that keeps them distracted in life. As is true with many of the songs on A Single Man, John wastes no time getting to the truth of the matter.

“Georgia”

“When it’s springtime down in Georgia / It’s winter time up in Maine / You can go from snow to sunshine / If you board a southbound train.“

From the get-go, it’s obvious that “Georgia” has depth. Within those first few lines, John and Osbourne deliver a punch right to the gut. I don’t think I need to say much more about this one, but you should definitely give it a listen for yourself.

“It Ain’t Gonna Be Easy”

“But sometimes telling the truth can be unkind / Folks who suffer guilt can be so blind.“

While singing about being cheated on and having his heart played with, Elton John whips out this simple yet rather harsh truth. “Folks who suffer guilt can be so blind -” I mean, come on. That’s a crazy line. It’s hard to say that Osbourne and John didn’t write good stuff together when you look at a song like “It Ain’t Gonna Be Easy”.

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