Goodbye Mr. Blue

Album: Chloë and the Next 20th Century (2022)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Goodbye Mr. Blue" is a stripped-down, country-folk ballad about a Turkish Angora pedigree cat. The moggy symbolizes the only bond left in a broken relationship. "I think the cat is more of a pain in the ass for the narrator, at least at the very start of the song," Father John Misty explained to The Sun. "The ex-girlfriend has advanced in her career and is traveling more now and, as such, can't look after Mr. Blue."

    He added: "So he begrudgingly takes the cat because he doesn't have anything else going on, which seems like a point of contention in the relationship."

    Their crumbled romance takes an upturn following the death of the beloved Turkish Angora cat. "Mr. Blue getting sick and dying brings them back to together for a moment, but you get a sense what's been lost is lost," Misty said.
  • Father John Misty recorded the slow and emotional acoustic ballad for Chloë and the Next 20th Century. It is one of many story-telling songs on the album.
  • Father John Misty recorded Chloë and the Next 20th Century in the second half of 2020 with his longtime collaborator Jonathan Wilson. The singer-songwriter entered Wilson's Five Star Studios in August 2020 with four tunes. Following that session, Misty wrote the rest of the songs, including "Goodbye Mr. Blue," before recording resumed from October to December.
  • Misty took the album name from the record's opening track, "Chloë," and closing song, "The Next 20th Century."
  • Noel Paul (Bat For Lashes' "All Your Gold," Lily Allen's "Air Balloon," Father John Misty's "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings") directed the video. It follows a young woman's journey to her family home in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"They're Playing My Song

Gramm co-wrote this gorgeous ballad and delivered an inspired vocal, but the song was the beginning of the end of his time with Foreigner.

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)Songwriter Interviews

Steve Cropper on the making of "In the Midnight Hour," the chicken-wire scene in The Blues Brothers, and his 2021 album, Fire It Up.

Angelo Moore of Fishbone

Angelo Moore of FishboneSongwriter Interviews

Fishbone has always enjoyed much more acclaim than popularity - Angelo might know why.

Commercials

CommercialsFact or Fiction

Was "Ring Of Fire" really used to sell hemorrhoid cream?

Yoko Ono

Yoko OnoSongwriter Interviews

At 80 years old, Yoko has 10 #1 Dance hits. She discusses some of her songs and explains what inspired John Lennon's return to music in 1980.

Zac Hanson

Zac HansonSongwriter Interviews

Zac tells the story of Hanson's massive hit "MMMbop," and talks about how brotherly bonds effect their music.