Just a Song Before I Go

Last updated
"Just a Song Before I Go"
Just a Song Before I Go cover.jpg
Single by Crosby, Stills & Nash
from the album CSN
B-side "Dark Star"
ReleasedJune 17, 1977
Genre
Length2:14
Label Atlantic
Songwriter(s) Graham Nash
Producer(s) David Crosby
Stephen Stills
Graham Nash
The Albert Brothers
Crosby, Stills & Nash singles chronology
"Our House"
(1970)
"Just a Song Before I Go"
(1977)
"Fair Game"
(1977)

"Just a Song Before I Go" is a song by Crosby, Stills & Nash that appeared on the 1977 album CSN . It was also released as a single and reached number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two consecutive weeks ending August 27 and September 3, 1977, [1] becoming the band's highest-charting hit. It is also one of the band's shortest songs, with a running time of only 2:14. In Canada, it peaked at number 10. [2]

Contents

Background

The song was written by Graham Nash about leaving loved ones behind before going on a concert tour. It was written in Hawaii in about 20 minutes at the piano while Nash and Leslie Morris were staying with a friend, later revealed to be a rather "low-level drug dealer". Nash had a little while to get to the airport to head back to his home in Los Angeles. The dealer queried Nash something along the lines of "You're a big shot song writer, I bet you can't write a song just before you go." After Nash asking how much the dealer was betting, he responded $500. [3] In a February 25, 2016, interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert , Nash stated that he still has that $500. This song came in the nick of time, because an upcoming hurricane was about to wreak havoc on the island.

Billboard praised the "hypnotically soothing orchestration" and the vocal harmonies. [4] Cash Box said that "an unmistakable vocal blend and Stephen Stills' smooth electric guitar licks are here" and called the melody "gentle." [5] Record World called it "a quiet, melodic song with a dreamy air." [6]

Crosby, Stills and Nash arranged "Just a Song Before I Go" as a straight ballad, with mostly acoustic textures anchored by two electric guitar solos from Stephen Stills.

Personnel

Additional musicians

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1977)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [7] 59
Canadian Top Singles (RPM) [2] 10
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [8] 23
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 7
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [9] 8
United States (Record World Singles) [10] 12

Year-end charts

Chart (1977)Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [11] 47

Cover versions

References

  1. The Hot 100, Week of September 3, 1977 Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2021
  2. 1 2 RPM Top 100 Singles: September 3, 1977
  3. Zimmer, Dave and Diltz, Henry, Crosby, Stills & Nash: The Authorized Biography, Da Capo Press, 2000 ISBN   978-0-306-80974-3 p 190
  4. "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. May 28, 1977. p. 80. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  5. "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. May 21, 1977. p. 26. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
  6. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. May 21, 1977. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  7. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 77. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  8. "Crosby, Stills & Nash – Just A Song Before I Go" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  9. "Cash Box Top 100 10/31/70". Archived from the original on 2016-10-09. Retrieved 2016-09-28.
  10. "RECORD WORLD MAGAZINE: 1942 to 1982". worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
  11. "Top 100 Hits of 1977/Top 100 Songs of 1977". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  12. "Rivage overview". Allmusic.com .

Other sources