“Goodbye My Lover”
Image:Jamesbluntgml.jpg
Single by James Blunt from the album Back to Bedlam
Released	November 2005 November 2006
Format	CD single: Worldwide Vinyl single: United Kingdom Digital single: Worldwide
Recorded	Los Angeles, California
Genre	Pop rock
Length	4:18
Label	Atlantic Records/Custard Records
Writer(s)	J. Blunt S. Skarbek
Producer	Tom Rothrock Jimmy Hogarth
James Blunt singles chronology
"High" (re-release) (2005) "Goodbye My Lover" (2005) "Wisemen" (re-release) (2006)
Audio sample
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"Goodbye My Lover" is a pop rock song written by British singer James Blunt and Sacha Skarbek for Blunt's debut album Back to Bedlam (2004). The song was produced by Tom Rothrock and Jimmy Hogarth and received a mixed 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 sixty-six 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 November 7, 2006.

Music video

James Blunt sits alone in a dark room in the video.

"Goodbye My Lover" featured a music video that was directed by Sam Brown and was filmed on October 28, 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 woman, Blunt's former lover, is shown having an intimate encounter with another man. The video was shot in the former home of Randolph Scott.^[1]

The young woman in the video was played by actress Mischa Barton (The O.C.). The young man in the video was played by actor Matt Dallas (Kyle XY).

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Goodbye My Lover".

UK CD1

1. "Goodbye My Lover"
2. "Close Your Eyes"

UK CD2

1. "Goodbye My Lover"
2. "Where Is My Mind (Live in Manchester)"
3. "Goodbye My Lover (CD-Rom Making of Video)
4. "Goodbye My Lover (CD-Rom Video)

UK 7"

1. "Goodbye My Lover"
2. "Where is My Mind" (Live in Manchester)

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 fourteen weeks in the top seventy-five. 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 sixteen 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 United States Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at number hundred, 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. Song was performed live on TODAY.

Charts

Miscellaneous

• Michael Scott on NBC's The Office repeatedly plays a free internet sample of the song after breaking up with his girlfriend in the Season Three episode "A Benihana Christmas", as opposed to just buying the whole song.
• The song is also played in episode 2 of series 2 of Gavin and Stacey whilst Bryn and Gwen are driving home.

References and Footnotes

External links

• JamesBlunt.com — official website.
• AtlanticRecords.com — official website for Atlantic Records.