Last Goodbye (Jeff Buckley song) explained

Last Goodbye
Cover:Jeff_Buckley_Last_Goodbye.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Jeff Buckley
Album:Grace
Released:January 1995
Recorded:Bearsville Recording Studio, Woodstock, New York (late 1993)
Genre:Alternative rock, folk rock
Length:4:35
Label:Columbia
Producer:Andy Wallace
Prev Title:Grace
Prev Year:1994
Next Title:So Real
Next Year:1995

"Last Goodbye" is a 1994 song by singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley, from his album Grace. It was the second single released from the album, after the title song. It was Buckley's most commercially successful song in the US, earning him a belated alternative hit in early 1995, peaking at No. 19 on the U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.[1] In Australia, the single peaked at No. 88 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[2]

"Last Goodbye" was originally titled "Unforgiven", and had a more straightforward rock feel and instrumentation; it was first recorded at a demo session in 1990.[3] A live version of the song, still titled "Unforgiven", was recorded in 1993 and released on the posthumous 2003 album Live at Sin-é (Legacy Edition).

The song also featured at number 3 on Australia's Triple J's 'Hottest 100 of 20 Years' countdown.

Music video

A music video was created for "Last Goodbye", which showed Buckley and the rest of the band playing the song on a stage while video was projected onto them and the wall behind them.

Track listing

UK CD 1 (6620422)

  1. "Last Goodbye (Edit)"
  2. "Last Goodbye (Full Version)"
  3. "Last Goodbye (Live and Acoustic in Japan)"

UK CD 2 (6620425)

  1. "Last Goodbye (Full Version)"
  2. "Dream Brother (Live in Hamburg)"
  3. "So Real (Live and Acoustic in Japan)"

Japanese EP (SRCS-7592)

  1. "Last Goodbye (Edit)"
  2. "Mojo Pin (Live at Wetlands)"
  3. "Kanga-Roo"
  4. "Lost Highway"

Soundtrack appearances and covers

The song is included in the soundtrack of the 2001 film Vanilla Sky. The song is also present in episode 7 of season 4 of Sex Education.

A cover of the song by actress Scarlett Johansson, done with only voice and piano, appeared on the soundtrack of the 2009 film He's Just Not That Into You.

The song was sung by Andy Mientus in the 2013 episode "The Producers" of the television show Smash.

Other appearances

On January 12, 2005, the famed Washington, D.C./Baltimore, MD alternative radio station WHFS played "Last Goodbye" as their final track before going under new management as a modern Latin music station. It has also been used by other alternative stations as their last song, including WRXP in New York City (before switching to a simulcast of WFAN), WBRU in Providence, and KRBZ in Kansas City.

The song appeared on an episode of Hindsight.

References

  1. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p42690/charts-awards/billboard-singles|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic, Jeff Buckley Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles ].
  2. Web site: The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 29 Oct 1995. Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). July 12, 2017. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGSyrt1Gh_A Babylon Dungeon Session - 1 - Unforgiven 1st Mix