Last Goodbye - Story Behind the Song

TOPIC: LAST DAYS OF LIFE
Song of the Month: Last Goodbye   [listen to song] [view lyrics]

A Mother on her Deathbed Says Goodbye to a Loyal Son

THE STORY
Jen commissioned me to write this song as a gift for her husband Tony in the days leading up to his mother's death. Jen's goal was to honor Tony's mom and to create a focal opportunity for Tony to grieve, when the time came. In an unexpected twist, Tony’s mother died after I had sent Jen a rough cassette of the song and before I had recorded it in the studio. So Jen, a singer herself, got her father to quickly learn a guitar part, and he accompanied Jen while she sang this song, live, at Tony’s mom’s memorial service. A few weeks later, the finished studio version arrived, and provided a powerful and timely opportunity for Jen and Tony to grieve together…

EPILOGUE
Below are some of my favorite comments a note Jen sent the next day:
  • I have seen my husband cry many times throughout our marriage, but I think that your song was the first to move him to weep.
  • It’s an experience—so much more than a song.
  • We were both very deeply touched—more than we imagined.
  • I knew the song would be amazing, but I could never have imagined it moving me the way it did--and continues to do!

THE ARTIST
Anna Huckabee Tull is an award-winning Boston Singer-Songwriter with five national releases to her credit, and a Master’s Degree in Spiritual Psychology and Applied Psychology.  [More about Anna]

THE WRITING AND RECORDING STORY
The arranger, pianist, and backing vocalist on this piece is Sandi Hammond. Sandi zeroed in on this song like a laser—she knew exactly where to take my rough chording to make the whole thing soar. True confession: when I first heard Sandi play this on the piano, I felt too intimidated to try to sing it myself because I wasn’t sure I could live up to the amazing-ness of what she was doing. Popping a bunch of Quaaludes before the session helped. (Just kidding. True confession: I don’t even know what a Quaalude is).  [More about Sandi]


© 2006 Anna Huckabee Tull. The rights for this song are filed and registered with the United States Copyright Office as a Sound Recording by Anna Huckabee Tull. Copies of these songs may not be sold or bartered. But sharing? Sharing is all good!