Feature Photo: Mazur Travel / Shutterstock.com
Our Top 10 Elton John Love Songs list features songs that express love in various ways. With a lyricist as brilliant as Bernie Taupin and a melody maker as talented as Elton John, the concept of love songs can take on a meaning far deeper than just your average tear-jerker ballad. Bernie Taupin’s lyrics have always dug deep into personal consciousness and the human experiment. Of course, at times, they also had a simplicity defined by class and originality. Almost nothing that Elton John and Bernie Taupin have composed together has been disappointing. Elton John’s first big hit single, entitled “Your Song,” bore the fruits of a classic love song. It put Elton John and Bernie Taupin on the map of music immortality for good. As we all know, there was a lot more to come.
# 10 – The Greatest Discovery
Love songs can take on many meanings. The greatest love songs are not always about the love between two people who want to live their lives together. Some of the greatest love songs can be about the love between parents and their children. Elton John and Bernie Taupin wrote one of the most beautiful love songs dedicated to a newborn son: “The Greatest Discovery.”
What makes this song so special is that its meaning does not lie in the love the parents have for their newborn son, but in the gift of love they gave their other child in the form of a brand-new brother. The lyrics are just stunning. On first listen, one is unsure where the song is heading until the heartwarming end. The song was released on Elton John’s U.S. debut album entitled Elton John. The album was released in 1970.
# 9 – The One
Elton John was probably the single biggest rock star of the 1970s. You can pick between Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Billy Joel, and Bruce Springsteen, but in the end, Elton John had so many hits that he was the musical artist who replaced the Beatles in the 1970s. Of course, his reign of hits did not last into the ’80s. He had a few big ones in the early to mid-’80s, but he wasn’t the same artist in the ’80s as in the ’70s. In the second half of the ’80s, he delivered some of the weakest albums of his career, including Leather Jackets and Ice on Fire. However, in the early 1990s, Elton John returned with an album that became his highest-charting U.S. studio album in 16 years.
The album The One also featured the title track, “The One,” which we picked for the number nine spot on our Top 10 Elton John Love Songs article. Bernie Taupin delivered simple yet poignant lyrics that Elton John sent soaring with a melody and chord changes. The album reached number two on the UK Albums Chart and number eight on the Billboard 200. The album also featured guest appearances by Eric Clapton and Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour.
# 8 – Harmony
“Harmony” is probably the greatest single that Elton John and his record company never released. The song “Harmony” was released on the album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. That album was released on October 5, 1973. It was Elton John’s first double studio album. It also became one of the greatest rock and roll albums ever released. Across the United States and the United Kingdom, four album tracks were issued as singles: “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Candle in the Wind,” and “Bennie and the Jets.” However, one of the album’s most popular songs was “Harmony.” The song itself was never released as a single in the United States or the United Kingdom, although it received significant album-rock radio play.
“Harmony” is an Elton John song that has many different interpretations. At first, it seems to be about an old love coming back. One of the most common interpretations is that it’s about Elton John’s love affair with the music itself. There have been many songs written about the love of music. Barry Manilow had a huge hit single called “I Write the Songs.” Other pieces would be The Doobie Brothers’ “Listen to the Music,” Gallery’s “I Believe in Music,” and John Miles’ classic song titled “Music.”
# 7 – Blue Eyes
In the number seven position on our Elton John Love Songs list is the striking song entitled “Blue Eyes.” This is one of the only songs on the list in which Bernie Taupin did not write the lyrics. Gary Osborne wrote the lyrics for this emotional, very ’80s-style song. Elton John performs this one in a deep voice we had never heard before. The song was released on the album entitled Jump Up! The album was released in 1982. “Blue Eyes” was released as a single from the album. The song reached number 12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. In the United Kingdom, the song hit number eight.
# 6 – We All Fall in Love Sometimes
Landing in the number six spot on our Elton John Love Songs list, we present the breathtaking song “We All Fall in Love Sometimes.” This song was not about romantic love, but rather the love of friendship. Released on an album that tells the story of the early relationship and musical careers of Bernie Taupin and Elton John, it was easy to feel the meaning behind this beautiful song. The song was released on the album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. The album was released in 1975.
# 5 – Tonight
At the halfway point on our Elton John Love Songs list is the haunting song “Tonight.” This was not a song about joyful love but about love gone bad. It is filled with fighting and regret. Not all love songs are fueled by happiness; some of the best ones are filled with regret and sadness. This one will get to you. The song was issued on the album entitled Blue Moves. The album was released in 1976.
# 4 – Something About the Way You Look Tonight
At the number four spot on our Elton John Love Songs list, we present the radiant song entitled “Something About the Way You Look Tonight.” Like the single “Blue Eyes,” “Something About the Way You Look Tonight” further pushed Elton John’s new, adult-oriented lounge sound. One could easily hear a Tony Bennett or a Frank Sinatra covering this song. It had jazz standard written all over it. The song was released on the album entitled The Big Picture. The album was released in 1997. “Something About the Way You Look Tonight” was one of the album’s major singles and featured a guest appearance by Paul Carrack on organ.
# 3 – I Want Love
Moving along on our Elton John Love Songs list, we present the alluring song entitled “I Want Love.” Not all love songs are about cherishing love, losing love, and forgetting about love. Some of the best songs about love are the ones that beg for love. If there ever was a song about hoping for love, searching for love, or longing for love, it was Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s “I Want Love.” The song was released on the album entitled Songs from the West Coast. The album was released in 2001.
# 2 – Your Song
Dropping in at number two on our Elton John Love Songs list, we celebrate the gorgeous song entitled “Your Song.” The song was released on the album entitled Elton John. The album was released in 1970. Many people probably don’t realize that Three Dog Night actually released Elton John’s “Your Song” first. However, Three Dog Night never released the song as a single and kept it just as an album track. That proved to be a blessing for Elton John, as his version became the song that helped him and Bernie launch their fabulous career.
# 1 – Tiny Dancer
We close out our Elton John Love Songs list with the intoxicating song entitled “Tiny Dancer.” Elton John has written so many love songs, but this one was just extra special. I think it would be an easy argument to say that it is one of his fans’ favorite Elton John songs. The song’s placement in the film Almost Famous took it to an even higher level of mass cultural love and acceptance. The song was released on the album entitled Madman Across the Water. The album was released in 1971.
Read More About Elton John
Top 10 Most Underrated Elton John Songs
A Look At Elton John’s Christmas Songs
Top 10 Elton John Album Covers
10 Best Non-Album Track Elton John B Sides
Top 10 Elton John Non-Album Singles
Elton John Discography and Retrospective
Why Elton John’s Captain Fantastic Album Was So Great
Why Elton John’s Honky Château Was A Turning Point
Elton John’s Beautiful “Cage The Songbird,” Featured Crosby & Nash
Elton John’s “White Lady White Powder,” Featured The Eagles (Classic Rock Gems Series)
Elton John’s Retirement Seems Genuine This Time
Why Elton John’s Looking Up is His Best Single in Years
Elton John’s mesmerizing performance of Tiny Dancer in 1971
Elton John Releases New Documentary On Lockdown Sessions
Elton John & Ed Sheeran Hit # 1 with ‘Merry Christmas’ Single
Why Elton John’s Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player Was One Of His Most Melodic LPs
Elton John’s Honky Château Album Gets Deluxe 50th Anniversary Reissue
Why There Were Many Overlooked Gems On Elton John’s Caribou LP
Updated August 18, 2026.
Top 10 Elton John Love Songs article published on ClassicRockHistory.com © 2026
ClassicRockHistory.com claims ownership of all its original content and intellectual property under United States Copyright laws and those of all other foreign countries. No one person, business, or organization is allowed to republish any of our original content anywhere on the web or in print without our permission. All photos used are either public domain Creative Commons photos or licensed officially from Shutterstock under license with ClassicRockHistory.com. Any theft of our content will be met with swift legal action against the infringing websites.
