- Goodbye Horses
"Goodbye Horses" is a song written and performed by William Garvey and sung by
Q Lazzarus in1988 . There are 3 versions of the song. They clock in at 3:12, 4:20, and the extended version at 6:27.In other media
ilence of the Lambs
The song is notably featured in the film "The Silence of the Lambs" during the scene in which
serial killer "Buffalo Bill" applies make-up and dances in front of a video camera with hispenis tucked between his legs as to give the appearance of avulva . Originally in the film,Clarice Starling discussed bothsheep andhorse s during the ranch slaughter ordeal; the script was shortened to only include the lambs, but the song remained. The song is not featured on the "Silence of the Lambs" soundtrack, although it appears on the soundtrack of the 1988 film "Married to the Mob ", also directed byJonathan Demme . In1991 , Q Lazzarus released an extended version of "Goodbye Horses" to capitalize on the success of "Silence of the Lambs" (and the lack of the song on the motion picture soundtrack).Clerks II
During "
Clerks II ", the aforementioned "Silence of the Lambs" scene is parodied byJay and Silent Bob , when Jay, having bemoaned his boredom while milling around outside theMooby's restaurant and trying to stay clean of drugs, begins dancing to the song almost exactly as Buffalo Bill did after Silent Bob plays it on their boom box, using chapstick in the same manner as Buffalo Bill's lipstick. Jay quotes Buffalo Bill by saying "Would you fuck me? ... I'd fuck me ... I'd fuck me hard..." When Dante's fiance pulls him out of Mooby's telling him she has a surprise for him, Jay holds his coat (borrowed from Silent Bob) open to reveal himself nude with his penis tucked back in the same manner Buffalo Bill did when he was dancing in front of the video camera. Then Dante says "Is this my surprise?", and his fiance answers no while Jay sings "Goodbye Horses".A deleted scene from Clerks II shows an extended version of the "tuck dance", without Goodbye Horses playing. A mock message is shown before the scene, saying that they could not afford the $18,000 needed to use "Goodbye Horses" in the scene, and that the audience should imagine "Goodbye Horses" being played. After the scene, the messages continue with other mock messages, suggesting that the reason for there being no money to license the song was becauseJason Mewes spent all of the licensing budget on transsexual prostitutes.Fully Flared
A 2007 release of "
Lakai " Limited Footwear's skateboard team, titled "Fully Flared " features the song during "marc johnson"'s part, an "in the know" homage to Buffalo Bill.Grand Theft Auto IV
The underground hit can be found on LRR 97.8 Liberty Rock Radio in the video game "
Grand Theft Auto IV ".Covers
In 1996, Psyche's cover version of the
Q Lazzarus song "Goodbye Horses" was released as the b-side to their single "You Ran Away". 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. Over the last decade the song has been covered by the bands [http://www.carrierflux.com/ Carrier Flux] ,Foretaste ,Gil Mantera's Party Dream , the Harvey Girls,Human Aftertaste , Ludwyg, andDistortions . However aside from the original, only Psyche's interpretation has maintained its popularity, appearing on two best of compilations "Misguided Angels" (2000) , and "Legacy" (2004), as well as a recent limitedAustralian Tour CD collection entitled "Club Salvation".When the trailer forClerks 2 appeared promoting the movie, Psyche entered the Top Ten downloads oniTunes Electronic chart. The song remains a staple in the band's live repertoire to this day.Garvey's song was also recently covered by The Vera Violets, psychedelic rock band from Florida.
External links
* [http://www.garveymusic.com/ William Garvey, Writer of "Goodbye Horses" - Garvey Music site]
* [http://www.garveymedia.com/ William Garvey, Writer of "Goodbye Horses" - Garvey Media site]
* [http://www.psyche-hq.de/Goodbye_Horses.html Psyche's cover of "Goodbye Horses"]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zc8HCbWXRU Psyche performing "Goodbye Horses" - taken from the "Imaginary Life" DVD]
* [http://www.carrierflux.com/Carrier_Flux-Goodbye_Horses-%5BQ-Lazzarus_cover-Silence_of_the_lambs%5D.mp3 Carrier Flux's cover of "Goodbye Horses"] (inMP3 format)
* [http://www.myspace.com/ludwyg Ludwyg's adaptation of "Goodbye Horses" entitled "Horses in The Mirror"]
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