Goodbye My Lover

For the Korean television series, see Goodbye My Love.
"Goodbye My Lover"
Single by James Blunt
from the album Back to Bedlam
Released November 2005
(See release history)
Format CD single
Recorded 2004 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Length 4:18
Label Atlantic, Custard
Writer(s) S. Skarbek
Producer(s) Tom Rothrock
Jimmy Hogarth
James Blunt singles chronology
"You're Beautiful"
(2005)		 "Goodbye My Lover"
(2005)		 "No Bravery"
(2006)
"Goodbye My Lover"
James Blunt's "Goodbye My Lover" from Back to Bedlam
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"Goodbye My Lover" is a song written by songwriter James Blunt and Sacha Skarbek, for Blunt's debut album Back to Bedlam. The song was produced by Tom Rothrock and Jimmy Hogarth and received a positive reception from music critics. It 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, Australia and France. In the United States, "Goodbye My Lover" had modest success on the Billboard singles chart, where it reached number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 due to digital downloads, even though the single was not yet released in the U.S. The song was formally released in the United States on 7 November 2006.

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" vinyl includes the live version of "Where Is My Mind".[1]

Music video

"Goodbye My Lover" featured a music video that was directed by Sam Brown and was filmed on 28 October 2005 in Los Angeles. 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.[2] The young woman in the video was played by Mischa Barton. The young man in the video was played by Matt Dallas.

Track listings

CD1
  1. "Goodbye My Lover" - 4:18
  2. "Close Your Eyes" - 3:06
CD2
  1. "Goodbye My Lover" - 4:18
  2. "Where Is My Mind" (Live in Manchester) - 4:55
  3. "Goodbye My Lover" (The Making of the Video) - 3:00
  4. "Goodbye My Lover" (Video) - 4:19
7" Vinyl
  1. "Goodbye My Lover" - 4:18
  2. "Where Is My Mind" (Live in Manchester) - 4:55

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, 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", "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 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.

Charts and certifications

Peak positions

Chart (2005) Peak
position
France (SNEP)[3] 6
US Billboard Pop 100 53
Chart (2006) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[4] 3
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[5] 36
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[7] 2
Canadian BDS Airplay Chart 85
Czech IFPI Chart 4
Denmark (Tracklisten)[8] 9
Germany (Media Control Charts)[9] 28
Ireland (IRMA) 13
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 4
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[11] 19
Norway (VG-lista)[12] 6
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[13] 1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] 19
UK Singles (Official Charts Company) 9
US Billboard Hot 100 66
US Billboard Adult Pop Songs 18

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[15] Platinum 70,000^
Italy (FIMI)[16] Gold 10,000double-dagger
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[17] Gold 20,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[18] Silver 200,000^
United States (RIAA)[19] Gold 500,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone
double-daggersales/streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history

Country Release date
Worldwide November 2005
Canada November 2006
United States

References

  1. ↑ Images for James Blunt - Goodbye My Lover
  2. ↑ Making of James Blunt's "Goodbye My Lover" Music Video, Goodbye My Lover [Single] Enhanced CD, 2005.
  3. ↑ "Lescharts.com – James Blunt – Goodbye My Lover" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  4. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – James Blunt – Goodbye My Lover". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  5. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – James Blunt – Goodbye My Lover" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  6. ↑ "Ultratop.be – James Blunt – Goodbye My Lover" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  7. ↑ "Ultratop.be – James Blunt – Goodbye My Lover" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  8. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – James Blunt – Goodbye My Lover". Tracklisten. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  9. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – James Blunt – Goodbye My Lover". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  10. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – James Blunt – Goodbye My Lover" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  11. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – James Blunt – Goodbye My Lover". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  12. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – James Blunt – Goodbye My Lover". VG-lista. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  13. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – James Blunt – Goodbye My Lover". Singles Top 60. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  14. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – James Blunt – Goodbye My Lover". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  15. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2006 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  16. ↑ "Italian single certifications – James Blunt – Goodbye My Lover" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Retrieved 12 January 2015. Select Online in the field Sezione. Enter James Blunt in the field Filtra. The certification will load automatically
  17. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (James Blunt; 'Goodbye My Lover')". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  18. ↑ "British single certifications – James Blunt – Goodbye My Lover". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 12 January 2015. Enter Goodbye My Lover in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
  19. ↑ "American single certifications – James Blunt – Goodbye My Lover". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 12 January 2015. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH