last goodbye (coffee, anyone? part 2)

i had planned to include this song in part one. but that had become too long, and i didn't want to spoil it with more meaning than it could handle. this song was significant enough to merit its own story. unlike some of the songs already featured here, this one ranks right up there at the top of my list. for all time.

i distinctly recall hearing this song sometime during the night, i just don't remember if that was the first time i'd heard it. i was in college then, my radio was almost always tuned to nu, and my usual favorites were songs from the so-called "alternative" rock that was at its peak at the time. but when i heard the catchy bass riff and the sentimental melody, i was forever hooked.

a few years later, i saw a cameron crowe film that was too confusing for the average moviegoer's consumption. but in the middle, in that pivotal moment in the protagonist's story, i heard the vaguely familiar haunting intro. and i marveled at cameron crowe's affinity with music. (later in the film, another song evoked the same emotion from me -- todd rundgren's version of can we still be friends. and if you haven't guessed it yet, the movie was vanilla sky.)

in the years that passed i hear the song from time to time, always eliciting the same emotions from me: anticipation, euphoria, and loneliness. it was almost too poignant for words, and tragic to boot. the brilliantly insightful man who created it has already died, in a rather unusual manner. and this all happened before i even got hold of the song.

then came august 30th. the hosts of the morning brew were as usual soliciting suggestions for the next day's playlist. the theme was the word "last", or anything in the title that connotes an ending. as expected, this was the first thing that popped into my mind. apparently it was what they had in mind as well, because when i told them through text that i was seriously lobbying for this song to be included, it was already a shoo-in after all.

what do you know? the next day gave me another meaning to attach to this song.

---

last goodbye
jeff buckley

this is our last goodbye
i hate to feel the love between us die
but it's over
just hear this and then i'll go
you gave me more to live for
more than you'll ever know

this is our last embrace
must i dream and always see your face
why can't we overcome this wall
well, maybe it's just because i didn't know you at all

kiss me, please kiss me
but kiss me out of desire, babe, and not consolation
you know it makes me so angry 'cause i know that in time
i'll only make you cry, this is our last goodbye

did you say 'no, this can't happen to me,'
and did you rush to the phone to call
was there a voice unkind in the back of your mind
saying maybe you didn't know him at all
you didn't know him at all, oh, you didn't know

well, the bells out in the church tower chime
burning clues into this heart of mine
thinking so hard on her soft eyes and the memories
offer signs that it's over... it's over