Goodbye Horses
"Goodbye Horses" is a 1988 song performed by Q Lazzarus and was written and produced by William Garvey.
| "Goodbye Horses" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by Q Lazzarus | |
| Released | 1988 (U.S.) 1991 (UK) |
| Genre | Post-punk, dark wave |
| Length | 4:20 7" Single Edit 3:12 Video Version 5:40 Extended Remix 6:28 |
| Songwriter(s) | William Garvey |
| Producer(s) | William Garvey |
According to its writer, "the song is about transcendence over those who see the world as only earthly and finite. The horses represent the five senses discussed in the Bhagavad Gita and the ability to lift one’s perception above these physical limitations and to see beyond this limited Earthly perspective."[1]
The song was famously featured in the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs,[2] and was released as a single in the UK via All Nations Records. The song was featured on fictional radio station Liberty Rock Radio 97.8 on GTA IV. The song was also featured in the 2010 video game Skate 3, as well as in Lakai's 2007 skateboarding film Fully Flared.
Releases
Four different mixes of the song exist:
- Original mix (4:20)
- 7-inch single edit (3:12)
- Video version (5:40)
- Extended Remix (6:28)
In 2008, a set of remixes by William Garvey was released, titled "Goodbye Horses - The Garvey Remixes". It includes the remix made exclusively for the film Clerks II.
In 2017, two early demo recordings of the song were released on streaming services.
Cover versions
In 1996, Psyche's cover version of "Goodbye Horses" was released as the B-side to their single "You Ran Away". This recording became popular enough that the band decided to make an extended version and include it on their album Strange Romance at the end of the same year. When the trailer for Clerks II appeared promoting the movie, Psyche entered the top ten downloads on the iTunes Electronic chart. The song is featured on two "best of" compilations, Misguided Angels (2000) and Legacy (2004), as well as a recent limited Australian tour CD collection entitled Club Salvation, and remains a staple in the band's live repertoire to this day.
Over the last decade, the song has been covered by other performers including and Gil Mantera's Party Dream. In 2009, The Airborne Toxic Event began performing a cover of the song in their live performances. The Whitest Boy Alive covered the song during Lowlands '09. At their NYE 2010/2011 show, Snowden debuted a cover featuring Corinne on lead vocals.
Electronic band Fan Death and garage-revival band Harlem have also covered the song.
In 2011, Kele Okereke of Bloc Party released a cover of "Goodbye Horses" on his EP The Hunter. This cover of the song is 4 minutes and 12 seconds long. It was produced by Daniel Lindegren, with additional production by Fred Falke. A fan made video for the song was uploaded to YouTube on March 25, 2011,[3] many months before the release of the EP. Kele posted the video on his blog.[4]
Trap metal/cloud rap artists Sematary and Ghost Mountain released a cover of “Goodbye Horses” as track 8 on their album Hundred Acre Wrist (2020).
In 2021, Dallas electronic/electroclash artists Channel 69 and Rob Rowe of the electronic band Cause & Effect teamed up to cover "Goodbye Horses" on a multi-artist compilation for popular Houston nightclub Numbers called "Numbers Covered: Part II" and was also released as a single that includes a radio edit, DJ edit and a haunting orchestral "Reprise" version.
On December 24, 2021, Crosses, the musical side project of Deftones singer Chino Moreno, Far guitarist Shaun Lopez, and bassist Chuck Doom released a 3 minute and 17 second cover of Goodbye Horses in anticipation of a new album.
References
- Garvey, William (2008). "The Music of William Garvey". Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
- "The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - IMDb".
- Video on YouTube
- Kele Okereke, retrieved December 4, 2017