Peak
2
Weeks
18
Score
3,280
Chart Year
1988
Elton's highest-charting US hit of the '80s, "I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That" finds him lambasting a straying lover. The lyric is one of the more straightforward written by Elton's songwriting partner Bernie Taupin. Of note is that Elton sings it from the perspective of a man being cheated on by a woman: "If you wanna spread it around sister that's just fine." When he recorded this song, Elton was still married to a woman (Renate Blauel), and had not come out as gay. The song has a lot of significance for Elton not so much for its subject matter, but for where it fits on his timeline. He was doing copious amounts of cocaine at the time, and in his words, "headed for the abyss." As his current hit, he performed the song at many concerts; Elton says that he always left his personal life behind when he faced an audience, but had to deal with his demons as soon as he left the stage. Like many of Elton's videos, the clip for this one was directed by Russell Mulcahy, and did very well on MTV. Elton performed the song at the 1988 MTV Video Music Awards. A 7:20 Dance remix by Shep Pettibone was released as a 12" single.
I've always said that one's enough to love Now I hear you're bragging one is not enough Something tells me you're not satisfied You got plans to make me one of four or five I guess this kind of thing's just in your blood But you won't catch me carving up my love I ain't no puzzle piece that needs to fit If it takes more than me let's call it quits [Chorus] Cause I don't want to go on with you like that Don't want to be a feather in your cap I just want to tell you honey I ain't mad But I don't want to go on with you like that It gets so hard sometimes to understand This vicious circle's getting out of hand Don't need an extra eye to see That the fire spreads faster in a breeze [Chorus] No I don't want to go on with you like that One more set of boots on your welcome mat You'll just have to quit them if you want me back cause I don't want to go on with you like that Oh if you want to spread it around sister that's just fine But I don't want no second hand feeding me lines If you want to hold someone in the middle of the night Call out the guards, turn out the light
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jun 18, 1988 | 60 | 66 |
| 2 | Jun 25, 1988 | 47 | 79 |
| 3 | Jul 2, 1988 | 36 | 90 |
| 4 | Jul 9, 1988 | 27 | 99 |
| 5 | Jul 16, 1988 | 21 | 105 |
| 6 | Jul 23, 1988 | 14 | 112 |
| 7 | Jul 30, 1988 | 10 | 116 |
| 8 | Aug 6, 1988 | 7 | 119 |
| 9 | Aug 13, 1988 | 6 | 120 |
| 10 | Aug 20, 1988 | 4 | 122 |
| 11 | Aug 27, 1988 | 2 | 124 |
| 12 | Sep 3, 1988 | 4 | 122 |
| 13 | Sep 10, 1988 | 12 | 114 |
| 14 | Sep 17, 1988 | 24 | 102 |
| 15 | Sep 24, 1988 | 34 | 92 |
| 16 | Oct 1, 1988 | 46 | 80 |
| 17 | Oct 8, 1988 | 64 | 62 |
| 18 | Oct 15, 1988 | 88 | 38 |