Once there was a day
We were together all the way
An endless path unbroken
But now there is a time
A torture less sublime
Our souls are locked and frozen
Once we were years ahead but now those thoughts are dead
Let me go
All hopeless fantasies are making fools of me
Let me go
I walk alone and yet I never say goodbye
Let me go
A change of heart a change of mind and heaven fell that
night
Let me go
I tried but could not bring
The best of everything
Too breathless then to wonder
I died a thousand times
Found guilty of no crime
Now everything is thunder
Daytime all I want is
Nighttime I don't need the
Daytime all I want is
Nighttime I don't need the
The best years of our lives
The hope of it survives
The facts of life unspoken
The only game in town
I'll turn the last card down
And now the bank is
broken
Found guilty of no crime
They were the best years of our lives
I'll turn the last card down
Lyrics taken from /lyrics/h/heaven_17/let_me_go.html
Heaven 17 Let Me Go - 12'' Extended Version
Once there was a day
We were together all the way
An endless path unbroken
But now there is a time
A torture less sublime
Our souls are locked and frozen
Once we were years ahead, but now those thoughts are dead
Let me go (Let me go)
All hopeless fantasies are making fools of me
Let me go
I walk alone, and yet never say goodbye
Let me go (Let me go)
Change of heart, a
change of mind, and heaven fell that night
Let me go
I tried but could not bring
The best of everything
Too breathless then to wonder
I died a thousand times
Found guilty of no crime
Now everything is thunder
Daytime, all I want is
Nighttime, I don't need the
Daytime, all I want is
Nighttime, I don't need the
Daytime, all I want is
Nighttime, I don't need the
Daytime, all I want is
Nighttime, I don't need the
Got to, got to, got to, got to
let me go
Ba-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da
Find more lyrics at ※ Mojim.com
Ba-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da
Ba-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da
Ba-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da
Ba-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da
Ba-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da
Ooh
Once we were years ahead, but now those thoughts are dead
Let me go (Let me go)
All hopeless fantasies are making fools of me
Let me go
I walk alone, and yet never say goodbye
Let me go (Let me go)
Change of heart, a change of mind,
and heaven fell that night
Let me go
The best years of our lives
The hope of it survives
The facts of life unspoken
The only game in town
I'll turn the last card down
And now the bank is broken
Broken
Ba-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da
Ba-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da
Ba-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da
Ba-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da
Ba-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da
Ba-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da
Ooh
Once there was a day
We were together all the way
An endless path unbroken
But now there is a time
A torture less sublime
Our souls are locked and frozen
Once we were years ahead
But now those thoughts are dead let me go
(Let me go)
All hopeless fantasies are making fools of me, let me go
I walk alone and yet I never say goodbye, let me go
(Let me go)
A change of heart, a change of mind
And heaven fell
that night, let me go
I tried but could not bring
The best of everything
Too breathless then to wonder
I died a thousand times
Found guilty of no crime
Now everything is thunder
Daytime, all I want is nighttime, I don't need the
Daytime, all I want is nighttime, I don't need the
Daytime, all I want is nighttime, I don't need the
Daytime, all I want is nighttime, I don't need the
Got to, got to, got to, got to let me go
Once we were
years ahead
But now those thoughts are dead, let me go
(Let me go)
All hopeless fantasies are making fools of me, let me go
I walk alone and yet I never say goodbye, let me go
(Let me go)
A change of heart, a change of mind
And heaven fell that night, let me go
The best years of our lives
The hope of it survives
The facts of life unspoken
The only game in town
I'll turn the last card down
And now the bank is broken
Found guilty
of no crime
They were the best years of our lives
I'll turn the last card down
| "Let Me Go (Instrumental)" | |||
| 30 October 1982 | |||
| |||
| 4:19 | |||
| Virgin | |||
| |||
| British Electric Foundation | |||
|
"Let Me Go" (labelled as "Let Me Go!" on the sleeve of the single) is a single by Heaven 17, taken from (and released several months before) their second album The Luxury Gap. It reached #41 on the UK Singles Chart, the lowest chart placement among the singles from that album but their highest at the time of the single's release.[1]
In 1983, the song also spent five weeks at #4 on the American dance chart and entered the US Billboard Hot 100.[citation needed]
About the song[edit]
Allmusic cites the song as "a club hit that features Glenn Gregory's moody, dramatic lead above a percolating vocal and synth arrangement."[2]
Band member Martyn Ware has acknowledged Let Me Go as Heaven 17's finest song: "Melodically its beautiful" and “There’s a certain sonata form to it as well where it builds and then it dies down towards the end. You end with the same chord as the first chord. It feels like an integrated piece of art to me.”[3]
The song was recorded at AIR Studios, London and the band were using studio technology as a musical tool. For example, the opening vocal of the song consists of 118 multi-tracked voices singing in 14-part harmony.[3]
It was one of the first commercial releases to feature the Roland TB-303, a bass synthesiser which later played a pivotal role in the later acid house movement.[4]
Legacy[edit]
The song appeared at #81 on Q101 Top 500 Songs of "All Time".[5]
Formats[edit]
7" Single- "Let Me Go" – 4:19
- "Let Me Go" (Instrumental) – 4:59
- "Let Me Go" (Extended Version) – 6:14
- "Let Me Go" (Instrumental) – 4:54
Appearances in popular culture[edit]
- It was the first track heard on the opening episode of That 80's Show.
- The distinctive bassline and drum machine is sampled on "Ce Jeu", a track by French band Yelle, released in September 2007.
Chart performance[edit]
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] | 78 |
| Canadian Singles Chart[7] | 41 |
| Finnish Singles Chart (Suomen virallinen lista)[8] | 24 |
| Irish Singles Chart[9] | 26 |
| UK Singles Chart[10] | 41 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[11] | 74 |
| U.S. Dance/Club Play Singles[12] | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart[12] | 32 |
References[edit]
- ^ Heaven 17 Official Charts
- ^ liner notes from the album, "Billboard: Top Dance Hits, 1983", Rhino Records
- ^ a b Living the High Life: Heaven 17 interview Classic Pop 5 October 2018
- ^ "MATRIXSYNTH: The First Roland TB-303 Tracks". Matrixsynth.blogspot.com. 9 April 2007. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
- ^ "Heaven 17 - The most complete archive". Heaven17.de. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 137. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1961: HAS - HEL". Blogspot (in Finnish). Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Archived from the original on 26 January 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
- ^ "Official Charts Company". Retrieved 6 January 2010.
- ^ "Record Reviews, Streaming Songs, Genres & Bands". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
- ^ a b "Record Reviews, Streaming Songs, Genres & Bands". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 November 2016.