You Gotta Love Someone

[BiteUrLip]

Music: Elton John

Lyrics: Bernie Taupin

Producer: Don Was

piano and vocals: Elton John

Bass: Randy Jackson

Drums: Kenny Arnoff

Guitar: Michael Landau

Guitar: Steven Lukather

Keyboards: David Paich

Percussion: Paulinho Da Costa

Backing vocals: Julia Waters, Oren Waters, Maxine Waters, Phyllis Yvonne Williams, Carmen Twilie, Mona Lisa Young, Sweet Pea Atkinson, Donald Ray Mitchell

You can win the fight, you can grab a piece of the sky

You can break the rules but before you try

You gotta love someone

You gotta love someone


You can stop the world, steal the face from the moon

You can beat the clock, but before high noon

You gotta love someone

You gotta love someone


You've got one life with a reason

You need two hearts on one side

When you stand alone and there's no one there

To share the way it feels inside and baby


You can cheat the devil and slice a piece of the sun

Burn up the highway but before you run

You gotta love someone

You gotta love someone


When you're gonna play with fire

You let someone share the heat

When you're on your own and there's no one there

To cool the flames beneath your feet and baby


You can win the fight, you can grab a piece of the sky

You can break the rules but before you try

You gotta love someone

You gotta love someone


You gotta love someone

You gotta love someone

[BiteUrLip]

It's an excellent song, but not a classic to me. For sure a gem that people should hear though.

5 stars.

[dougs]

"You Gotta Love Someone" from TO BE CONTINUED box set and THE VERY BEST OF ELTON JOHN hits package:

The song was a typical piano based ballad that was reportedly written about Ryan White who inspired Elton to get his life back on track (bulimia, drugs, alcohol addictions) in 1990.  Ryan, an Indiana teen, died of AIDS in 1990.  Elton joined Jeanne, Ryan's mother, at the funeral where he played" Skyline Pigeon."  Elton recorded "You Gotta Love Someone" in the summer of 1990 in Los Angeles. A separate mix of the song appears in the movie "Days of Thunder."  This song, plus three others, were produced by Don Was.

"You Gotta Love Someone" had tremendous success in Canada charting at #1.  In the USA it reached only #43 and #33 in the UK.  It did reach #1 on the USA AC chart as well.

A good EJ / BT song.

Rating:  4 1/2 stars

Doug

[newloneranger]

One of his southern sounding songs which I love. The video is good too.

5+ stars

[rocketman]

4.5 stars...One of what I call 'The Four Songs' produced by Don Was that appears on the To Be Continued box set, disc 4. All four of these songs are very good to excellent songs, with good production values (though Don Was didn't produce a sound quite on par with Gus Dudgeon's productions and the sound probably falls closer to a Chris Thomas type of production on, say, The One album, with a slightly 'dark' sonic quality).

Anyway, this song is closer to a 4.25 than a 4.5, because although good, it slightly drags until the nice choral wrap-up, where the song seems to hit a different gear.

Strange aside: I've sung this song at karaoke, and oddly, on one DJ's system, the video for the song appeared along with the lyrics.

[Commodore Orpington]

Having such a quiet song be a single in 1990 was a nice and unusual decision. Very good. One the few EJ singles past 1973 that I actually do like.

[nix]

5+
Song that made me fall in love with Elton's music. The first thing I noticed from him back in 1990-91.
One of his best. It should have been on every hit compilation, yet it isn't. Shame on you Elton. Whole song and those piano chords at beginning are out of this world.