Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word

1976 single by Elton John

"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin. It was recorded by Elton John and released in 1976, both as a single and as part of the Blue Moves album. It was John's second single released by The Rocket Record Company. The song is a mournful ballad about a romantic relationship which is falling apart. The song also appeared the following year on Greatest Hits Volume II, though for copyright reasons it no longer appears on the current version of that album. It now appears on Greatest Hits 1976–1986, The Very Best of Elton John, Greatest Hits 1970–2002 and Diamonds as well as a number of other compilations.

"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" is a mournful ballad about a romantic relationship that is falling apart. Bernie Taupin said: "It's a pretty simple idea, but one that I think everyone can relate to at one point or another in their life. That whole idealistic feeling people get when they want to save something from dying when they basically know deep down inside that it's already dead. It's that heartbreaking, sickening part of love that you wouldn't wish on anyone if you didn't know that it's inevitable that they're going to experience it one day."

Billboard praised John's vocal performance, calling it "almost painfully sincere and believable" and also commented on the complexity of the backing vocals. Record World called it "Elton's most emotional and moving ballad performance since 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight.'"

"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" was covered in 2002 by English boy band Blue for their second studio album, One Love (2002). The song was recorded as a collaboration with Elton John and was the second single from the album. It peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 15 December 2002, giving Blue their third number one single and John his fifth. It also reached number one in Hungary and the Netherlands, and peaked within the top 10 in an additional 16 countries.

When Blue's second studio album, One Love, was being put together, executive producer Hugh Goldsmith said that a cover version should be included on the final tracklist. Band member Lee Ryan suggested "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" as it was his favourite song of all time. Despite reservations from the rest of the group, John accompanied the band in the recording studio and was originally only going to play the piano, but he later said he was willing to sing as well, and the song became a duet.

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref. (Reference)United Kingdom9 December 2002CD, cassetteVirgin Records, Virgin, Innocent Records, Innocent Belgium11 December 2002CDVirginAustralia5 May 2003CDVirgin, Innocent

In 2004, Elton John and Ray Charles performed the song on Charles' duet album, Genius Loves Company. It would turn out to be the last recording Charles made before his death that June. The duet was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. In 2004, Kenny G covered the song in duet with Richard Marx on his album At Last The Duets Album.