"Goodbye My Lover" is a song by the English singer-songwriter

James Blunt James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount; 22 February 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. A former reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army, he served under NATO during the 1999 Kosovo War. After l ...

, written by Blunt and British songwriter

Sacha Skarbek Sacha Skarbek is a British songwriter and producer. He is best known for co-writing James Blunt's hit singles "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover" as well as Miley Cyrus' hit song "Wrecking Ball". Skarbek has worked with artists such as A ...

, for Blunt's debut album, ''

Back to Bedlam ''Back to Bedlam'' is the debut studio album by the English singer-songwriter James Blunt, released on 11 October 2004 through Atlantic Records. It is named after the famous psychiatric institution of Bethlem Royal Hospital, which is commonly ...

'' (2004). The song was produced by

Tom Rothrock Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

and

Jimmy Hogarth Jimmy Hogarth (born 1974, Orkney Islands, Scotland) is a London-based producer and songwriter, whose production and writing credits include, Amy Winehouse, Sia, Tom Grennan, Paolo Nutini, Duffy, Corinne Bailey Rae, Ren Harvieu, Estelle, Tina ...

and recorded in the home of actress

Carrie Fisher Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983). She reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015), ''The Last ...

. The single received a positive reception from music critics. "Goodbye My Lover" was released as the fourth single in November 2005 and reached the top ten in the United Kingdom, where it became Blunt's second top ten single. It also reached the top ten in Sweden, Belgium, Australia and France. In the United States, "Goodbye My Lover" reached number 66 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 due to digital downloads, even though the single was not yet released in the US. The song was formally released in the United States on 7 November 2006.

Recording

While in Los Angeles, Blunt lodged with

, whom he had met through the family of a former girlfriend. Fisher was very supportive of Blunt's aspirations, and provided the use of a bathroom in her home that featured a piano for him to record "Goodbye My Lover". Blunt later said, "Everyone sings in the shower and everyone in Los Angeles seems to have a piano in the bathroom."

Release

The single was released on three physical formats. CD1 includes an exclusive non-album recording, "Close Your Eyes", which was first written during Blunt's army days. CD2 includes a further non-album recording, "Where Is My Mind" performed live in Manchester, plus the video for "Goodbye My Lover" and behind-the-scenes "Making-Of" footage. The 7-inch vinyl includes the live version of "Where Is My Mind".

Music video

"Goodbye My Lover" featured a music video that was

directed Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

by Sam Brown and was filmed on 28 October 2005 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. In the video Blunt is featured sitting in a darkened room by himself, reflecting on a past relationship. In what appears to be the same room, but in daylight, a young man and woman, the former lovers, share an intimate moment. The video was shot in the former home of

Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor whose career spanned the years from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of ...

.Making of James Blunt's "Goodbye My Lover" Music Video, Goodbye My Lover ingleEnhanced CD, 2005. The young woman in the video was played by

Mischa Barton Mischa Anne Marsden Barton (born 24 January 1986) is a British-American film, television, and stage actress. She began her career on the stage, appearing in Tony Kushner's ''Slavs!'' and took the lead in James Lapine's '' Twelve Dreams'' at Ne ...

. The young man in the video was played by

Matt Dallas Matthew Joseph Dallas (born October 21, 1982) is an American actor, best known for playing the title character on the ABC Family series ''Kyle XY''. Early life Dallas was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and attended Arizona School for the Arts. He ha ...

Chart performance

In December 2005, "Goodbye My Lover" was released in the United Kingdom. The song became Blunt's second top ten single when it peaked at number nine on the

singles chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

, and spent a total of 14 weeks in the top 75. Outside of the UK, the song was also successful. It reached number one in Sweden and became Blunt's second number one on the singles chart. "Goodbye My Lover" was released in Australia in December 2005 and debuted at number eight before ascending the chart to number three, remaining inside the top ten for 16 weeks, a feat rarely reached in recent years. Due to the favourable reception of Blunt's previous single "

You're Beautiful "You're Beautiful" is a song by English singer-songwriter James Blunt. It was written by Blunt, Sacha Skarbek and Amanda Ghost for Blunt's debut album, ''Back to Bedlam'' (2004). It was released as the third single of the album in 2005. In t ...

", "Goodbye My Lover" debuted on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart at number 100, even though it had not been released as a single in the U.S. The single appeared on the chart backed solely on the strength of digital sales after a re-run of an episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' that featured Blunt performing the song. It later re-entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, again due to digital downloads, as a result of Blunt's performance of the song on ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...

''.

Track listings

CD1 # "Goodbye My Lover" – 4:18 # "Close Your Eyes" – 3:06 CD2 # "Goodbye My Lover" – 4:18 # "Where Is My Mind" (live in Manchester) – 4:55 # "Goodbye My Lover" (the making of the video) – 3:00 # "Goodbye My Lover" (video) – 4:19 7-inch vinyl # "Goodbye My Lover" – 4:18 # "Where Is My Mind" (live in Manchester) – 4:55

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2004 songs 2005 singles Atlantic Records singles Custard Records singles James Blunt songs Number-one singles in Sweden Song recordings produced by Tom Rothrock Songs about parting Songs written by Sacha Skarbek Torch songs