Breaking Hearts (Ain't What It Used To Be)

[BiteUrLip]

Music: Elton John

Lyrics: Bernie Taupin

They used to say that boys are tough as nails

In every way he keeps his heart as guarded as a jail

Now things have changed, I feel so old

Like any girl could drag my heart across the coals


I was always there in the thick of things

I always had the heart of every woman on a string

The danger zone shone from my eyes

It seemed like every inch I gained became a mile


It's not the night reaching in and touching me

It's just that breaking hearts ain't what it used to be

It seems that time has killed that cruel streak in me

And breaking hearts ain't what it used to be


It's not the light shining in and catching me

It's just that breaking hearts ain't what it used to be

But time has come and cast a spell on me

And breaking hearts ain't what it used to be


And now I know what lonely means

I used to give so little and gain everything

The darkest part of every day

Is the shadow of another girl as she turns and walks away


Can't say I blame them all for being hurt

After all I treated each and every one like dirt

Who wants a heart that's never home

I face the facts and lock myself into a life alone

[BiteUrLip]

One of the bests from the album. Has grown on me pretty much since the beginning.

5 stars.

[dougs]

"Breaking Hearts (Ain't What It Used To Be)" - released as a single and on BREAKING HEARTS:

Elton and Bernie followed up the big global success of 1983's TOO LOW FOR ZERO with BREAKING HEARTS in 1984; both recorded at Air Studios, Montserrat and produced by Chris Thomas, both with Bernie back as the full-time lyricist and Nigel, Dee, and Davey fully entrenched as the band.  Fred Mandel on keyboards and guitars joined the band at this point.  "Breaking Hearts (Ain't What It Used To Be)" was actually the 5th single from BREAKING HEARTS and was released on Valentine's Day 1985.  It didn't generate much excitement only reaching #59 on the UK charts.  The song never found itself in the setlist during the lengthy 1984 tour.

The song is led by an expressive vocal from Elton singing another Bernie lyric about break-up and sadness over a bed of backing vocals and gentle piano.  Unlike the rest of the album it is just Elton, his voice, and his piano that are the focus.  Not a song that I play very often or at all for that matter but still a good song with some emotion to it.

The album was initially to be titled RESTLESS after its powerful rocking opening track but was changed late in the game to BREAKING HEARTS.

Rating: 4 to 4 1/2 stars

Doug

[nix]

5
Chopin-like atmosphere. Brilliant, gentle and beautiful.

[Commodore Orpington]

Nice unsettled mood... Bernie questions himself...

[newloneranger]

I don't think this was released as a single in the USA. Nice lyrics but probably my least favorite on the album. Still pretty good.

4 stars

[Commodore Orpington]

In UK, Sad Songs/Who Wears These Shoes/Passengers/Breaking Hearts

In US, Sad Songs/Who Wears These Shoes/In Neon

[rocketman]

4 stars...Piano and vocal only, a nice departure from the norm, though Elton has had his share of piano-only songs throughout his career. To me, this one rates around the middle of that pack. It's good, fairly expressive, but slightly underwhelming. The entire album, with strong exceptions such as 'Shoes', Burning Buildings (a near-classic), and In Neon, mostly gathers dust in my collection.