Video: Father John Misty “Goodbye, Mr Blue”

With gorgeously delicate finger-picking guitar and a wistfully warm, conversational vocal, Father John Misty, AKA Josh Tillman, delivers the beautiful ‘Goodbye Mr. Blue’.  The song brings to mind the 1970s country singer-songwriter sound and, indeed, ‘Goodbye Mr. Blue’ is so carefully crafted and smoothly performed that it stands comfortably alongside songs from the likes of Harry Nilsson and John Denver.  Lyrically powerful, the song uses the death of a couple’s cat, Mr. Blue, to symbolise the unravelling of their relationship.  Tillman’s repetition of, “This may be the last time,” throughout the song is particularly effective, especially when followed up at the end with the final, “If only then I knew // That last time was our last time // Would have told you // That the last time comes too soon.”  The song is taken from the brand new album, ‘Chloë and The Next 20th Century’, which is already and album-of-the-year contender.  On the new material, Tillman has collaborated, once again, with multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Wilson and the result is a rich, layered sound.