Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

The road is a reference to L. Frank Baum's Oz books and the film. Taupin's words have autobiographical elements and refer to his childhood on a farm in Lincolnshire. In 2014 he said the lyric does say he wanted to leave Oz and get back to the farm, and that he always had to have an escape hatch. The recording has John on piano and vocals, Johnstone on Leslie electric guitar, Murray on bass, Olsson on drums and an orchestral arrangement by Del Newman.

It was released as the album's second single in late 1973 and went to number two on the US Hot 100, behind the Carpenters' "Top of the World" and Charlie Rich's "The Most Beautiful Girl", and to number six in the UK. In Canada it reached number one on 22 December 1973. The US B-side was retitled "Young Man's Blues", after originally being called "Screw You". Rolling Stone ranked it 390 on its 2010 list of the 500 greatest songs. The Guardian placed it sixth in 2018 and Billboard fourth in 2022 in rankings of John's songs.

John sang it as a duet with Billy Joel on One Night Only, recorded at Madison Square Garden, and named his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour after it.