Tonight we touched on the things that were never spoken/
That kind of understanding sets me free.

Elton John’s “The Last Song” is a beautiful deep cut from John and Bernie Taupin. The music is good, the lyrics are great. “The Last Song” tells the story of a father and son who are estranged. One of them is sick…who don’t know who, but it is told from his perspective. I imagine it is the father. He is sick and dying.

He gets an unexpected visit from his son, who has come to see him on his death bed. His spirits are lifted and they begin to say the things that they should have said years ago. In the end he simply says, “I guess I misjudged love between a father and his son.”

“The Last Song” is the only song that can consistently bring me to tears. This might be the only piece of art that consistently does so. The combination of the maudlin music with the sad but also uplifting story about the father and son is just too much. The production is well done. Notice how minimalist it is. It truly is difficult to convey this much with so little.

Lyrics The Last Song
Yesterday
you came to lift me up
As light as straw and brittle as a bird

Today I weigh less than a shadow on the wall
Just one more whisper of a voice unheard

Tomorrow
leave the windows open
As fear grows please hold me in your arms
Won’t you help me if you can to shake this anger
I need your gentle hands to keep me calm

‘Cause I never thought I’d lose
I only thought I’d win
I never dreamed I’d feel
This fire beneath my skin

I can’t believe you love me
I never thought you’d come
I guess I misjudged love
Between a father and his son

Things we never said come together
The hidden truth no longer haunting me
Tonight we touched on the things that were never spoken
That kind of understanding sets me free
‘Cause I never thought I’d lose
I only thought I’d win
I never dreamed I’d feel
This fire beneath my skin
I can’t believe you love me
I never thought you’d come
I guess I misjudged love
Between a father and his son

written by Elton and Bernie Taupin