Goodbye Horses

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"Goodbye Horses"
GoodbyeHorsesSingleCover.jpg
Single by Q Lazzarus
from the album Married to the Mob
B-side "White Lines"
Released 1988
Genre
Length 4:20
Label Mon Amie (U.S.)
All Nations (UK)
Songwriter(s) William Garvey
Producer(s) William Garvey

"Goodbye Horses" is a song recorded by American singer Q Lazzarus. It was written and produced by Q Lazzarus's bandmate, William Garvey, and released in 1988. It is a synth-pop, new wave, dark wave, and dance song whose lyrics were based on "transcendence over those who see the world as only earthly and finite", and it features androgynous vocals from Q Lazzarus over picked guitar, snare drums, and drum pads.

After Q Lazzarus played a demo tape for director Jonathan Demme while driving him in her taxi, which included a demo of "Goodbye Horses", he featured "Goodbye Horses" in his film Married to the Mob (1988). The song became a cult hit after he used it in a scene from his psychological horror film The Silence of the Lambs (1991), which was widely lauded for its use of the song. "Goodbye Horses" has since been used in various films, television series, video games, often with references to its use in The Silence of the Lambs, and has been covered by numerous artists.

Composition and writing

"Goodbye Horses" was written by songwriter William Garvey and performed by singer Q Lazzarus, both of whom were bandmates in the band Q Lazzarus and the Resurrection, and, according to friends of Garvey, had a tumultuous relationship with one another. Q Lazzarus disappeared from the public eye after Q Lazzarus and the Resurrection disbanded in 1996, while Garvey died in 2009.[1]

The song, a "haunting",[2][3] "dreamlike"[4] synth-pop,[5][6][2] dark wave,[7] new wave,[8] and dance[9] ballad, features Q Lazzarus's androgynous[10] vocals, picked guitar, snare drums, and drum pads.[2] Evan Sawdey of PopMatters wrote that "Goodbye Horses" had a "strangely entrancing thump" and "sad, tragicomic elements" in its lyrics, describing it as "quirky".[11] It was described by Tracy Moore in Vanity Fair as a "gothy, somber ode", and by Tyler Jenke of Tone Deaf as "rather creepy".[12][13] It is rumored that the song's lyrics were based by Garvey on "transcendence over those who see the world as only earthly and finite", with the horses in the song representing "the five senses from Hindu philosophy".[citation needed]

The Silence of the Lambs appearance

After being picked up in a taxi by Q Lazzarus, director Jonathan Demme used "Goodbye Horses" in his 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs, making it a cult hit.

In the 1980s, Q Lazzarus worked as a taxi driver in New York City and was unsigned, with record labels allegedly turning her away due to her dreadlocks.[1] One day, in 1985, she picked up director Jonathan Demme and producer Arthur Baker in her taxi during a blizzard after the two finished doing the final mix on Little Steven's music video for his song "Sun City". After dropping off Baker, Q Lazzarus asked Demme if he was in the music business, then proceeded to play her demo tape, which included a demo of "Goodbye Horses". After listening to the tape, Demme was impressed, saying, "Oh my God, what is this and who are you?"[14]

"Goodbye Horses" quickly became a cult hit after Demme used it in a scene from his 1991 psychological horror film The Silence of the Lambs.[15] In the scene, the film's antagonist, serial killer Buffalo Bill, portrayed by Ted Levine, puts on makeup in the mirror and plays with his nipple ring while his victim, Catherine, cries in a pit after a failed escape attempt. As the song plays, Buffalo Bill says to himself, "Would you fuck me? I'd fuck me. I'd fuck me so hard," and then begins dancing naked into a video camera with his penis tucked between his legs to see himself as a woman.[12][16][17] "Goodbye Horses" was not in the script, and other songs by David Bowie and Mick Jagger were also considered for the scene.[18][14] The scene was originally rehearsed to "Her Strut" by Bob Seger, but "Goodbye Horses" was eventually chosen for it, with Levine saying that it became "a little gentler and stranger" and "a little bit more feminine" as a result.[4]

Other appearances

Before using "Goodbye Horses" in The Silence of the Lambs, Demme included "Goodbye Horses" on the soundtrack for his 1988 film Married to the Mob, in a scene where Angela de Marco, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, gets a foot rub from Mike Downey, played by Matthew Modine.[19][11] The Silence of the Lambs scene was parodied in an episode of Family Guy in which Chris Griffin danced to "Goodbye Horses"; Garvey later sued MGM for the show's use of the song.[1] The song appeared in a scene from the 2006 film Clerks II, in which Jay and Silent Bob, played by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, respectively, parody the Silence of the Lambs scene, and it was also used in another parody of the scene from the 2019 spiritual successor of Clerks II, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.[20][21] The song appeared in the 2012 slasher film Maniac (itself a remake of an earlier film). The CBS television series Clarice, a spin-off of The Silence of the Lambs, featured the song in a 2021 episode.[22] "Goodbye Horses" was also featured in the video games Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) and Skate 3 (2010).[23] "Goodbye Horses" was also featured in Marc Johnson's part of the 2007 skateboarding film Fully Flared.[24] As of 2021, the house in Perryopolis, Pennsylvania used as Buffalo Bill's house in the film is a vacation rental, and, when visitors enter the basement, "Goodbye Horses" plays as a disco ball lights up.[25]

Reception and legacy

In 2021, Ryan Leas wrote for Stereogum that the "cult icon status" of the "beloved" "Goodbye Horses" "seems to keep strengthening over the years".[6] Q Lazzarus has been described as a one-hit wonder by IndieWire and The Telegraph due to the success of "Goodbye Horses".[26][27]

File:Ted Levine.jpg
The use of "Goodbye Horses" in The Silence of the Lambs, in which Buffalo Bill, played by Ted Levine (pictured), does his makeup and dances naked to the song, was praised by critics, who considered the song and the scene inextricable.

Under the Radar and Time Out included the use of "Goodbye Horses" in The Silence of the Lambs on their lists of the best uses of songs in movies. Lauren Down wrote for Under the Radar that it was "nigh on impossible" to separate "Goodbye Horses" from the film's scene, remarking that they become "inextricable" once "he [Buffalo Bill] steps backwards in self-admiration." Howard Gorman of NME included the song on his list of songs that "became inextricably linked to the horror movies they were ultimately featured in", writing, "Regardless of how great a track this is...not even an MIB neuralyser can prevent us from recreating Buffalo Bill's unsettling mangina-meets-Bon Jovi moment in our heads whenever we hear it."[20]

Bustle's Jack O'Keeffe wrote that Levine's performance was "etched into pop culture history through...the song 'Goodbye Horses' in other media."[28] "Goodbye Horses" was included on Flavorwire's list of the creepiest soundtrack songs, where they wrote that the "infamous 'tuck' scene" in The Silence of the Lambs was "invariably associated with" the song.[3] Billboard's Ron Hart wrote that the inclusion of "Goodbye Horses" in The Silence of the Lambs "immortalized" the song as a "classic".[7] Time Out's Keith Uhlich called the song "enrapturing" and called the scene "a pop-cultural touchstone".[29]

For The New York Times, Joe Coscarelli wrote that "Goodbye Horses" "adds an extra layer of eeriness" to what many consider the "indelible shot" of The Silence of the Lambs.[16] Vanity Fair's Tracy Moore wrote that the scene was "played as a moment of dark degeneracy" as Q "warbles on the soundtrack," while /Film's Lee Adams wrote that Demme "used ['Goodbye Horses'] to iconic effect" in the film.[12][19] Max O'Connell of IndieWire called the use of "Goodbye Horses" in the film a "smart choice" due to how it foreshadowed Buffalo Bill's eventual failure and how its "melancholy...underscores how pitiful Bill's existence is, showing him trying to be something he's not just to get away from what he is."[26]

Releases and cover versions

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Hayden Thorpe (right), Chino Moreno of Crosses (center), and Kele Okereke (right) have all released covers of "Goodbye Horses".

"Goodbye Horses" was first released in 1988. In 1991, Q Lazzarus released an extended version of the song. In 1996, the band Psyche covered the song and included it as the B-side to their single "You Ran Away"[30] on the label SPV. 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. This cover version became a permanent staple in Psyche's live repertoire, and was re-recorded in 2009 as the 21st Century mix which appeared on their Metropolis Records compilation[31] in the US, followed by a new edit in 2012 for Optimo Records on their All Things Pass Into The Night EP.[32]

In the years since Psyche‘s version,[1][20] electronic band Fan Death covered the song in 2009 and the garage rock revival band Harlem covered it in 2011.[10][33] Also in 2011, Kele Okereke of Bloc Party included a cover of "Goodbye Horses" on his EP The Hunter.[34] In 2013, American rock band The Delta Mirror released a cover of the song.[1][35] A 25th anniversary re-release of the single by Mon Amie Records in 2013 included a B-side of a minimalist cover of the song by Hayden Thorpe of the English indie rock band Wild Beasts and Jon Hopkins.[11] Their cover was later included on The Longest Day, a compilation album released by Mon Amie Records in 2020 whose proceeds all went towards the Alzheimer's Association.[36]

In 2014, Crosses, the musical side project of Deftones singer Chino Moreno, Far guitarist Shaun Lopez, and bassist Chuck Doom, released a cover of "Goodbye Horses" shortly after releasing their self-titled debut album. In 2021, in anticipation of a new album, the band released a second cover of the song.[37][38] Ryan Leas of Stereogum called the cover "a pretty faithful rendition" that was "a little grainer and more haunting" than the original.[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/release/318559-Psyche-You-Ran-Away-Good-Bye-Horses
  31. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/release/1890226-Psyche-Until-The-Shadows
  32. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/master/649814-Psyche-All-Things-Pass-Into-The-Night
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

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