Last Goodbye (Jeff Buckley song)

"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"
Single by Jeff Buckley
from the album Grace
ReleasedJanuary 1995
RecordedBearsville Recording Studio, Woodstock, New York (late 1993)
GenreAlternative rock, folk rock
Length4:35
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Jeff Buckley
Producer(s)Andy Wallace
Jeff Buckley singles chronology
"Grace"
(1994)
"Last Goodbye"
(1995)
"So Real"
(1995)

"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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

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) and WBRU in Providence.

The song appeared on an episode of Hindsight.

Charts edit

Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[4] 88
UK Singles (OCC)[5] 54
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[6] 19

References edit

  1. ^ "AllMusic, Jeff Buckley Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles".
  2. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 29 Oct 1995". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved July 12, 2017. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
  3. ^ Babylon Dungeon Session - 1 - Unforgiven 1st Mix, YouTube
  4. ^ "Jeff Buckley – Last Goodbye". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  5. ^ "Jeff Buckley: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  6. ^ "Jeff Buckley Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 August 2017.