Father John Misty’s new song Goodbye Mr. Blue is a bittersweet lament on unrequited love, “you only know what it is once it’s gone away”.
Father John Misty revitalises 70s folk-rock on his latest release, Goodbye Mr. Blue, from his upcoming album, Chloë and the Next 20th Century, which lands next month.
The release of Goodbye Mr. Blue precluded Father John Misty’s appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, where he performed track will a full band.
Goodbye Mr. Blue is a nod to the folk-ballads of Glen Campbell and Harry Nilsson, with an upbeat, pluckily picked acoustic guitar, blissful strings, and slide guitars.
Unsurprisingly, the distinguishing features of the track are Father John Misty’s wry, humorously double-edged lyrics as he croons on unrequited love, singing “don’t the last time come too soon?”.
Goodbye Mr. Blue riffs on love as the adoption of our partner’s expectations, “this may be the last time, last time I get out of bed, put coffee on and try, in your words, “to show some initiative””.
The blissful arrangement gently juxtaposes the song’s stark, harsh sentiment that “love’s always gonna leave ya, no matter what they say, you only know what it is once it’s gone away”.
Thank you for the big feels, Father John Misty!
The new song follows Funny Girl and Q4 from the album, which is scheduled for release from Sub Pop on April 8. The album was produced with Jonathan Wilson, and – excitedly! – the deluxe edition includes a 7” featuring album tracks covered by Lana Del Rey and David Lynch (billed under the name of Jack Cruz).
