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Goodbye Horses
"Goodbye Horses" is a song recorded by American singer Q Lazzarus. It was written by Q Lazzarus's bandmate, William Garvey, and released in 1988, with an extended version released three years later. It is a synth-pop, dark wave, new wave, and dance song with lyrics based on "transcendence over those who see the world as only earthly and finite" and androgynous vocals from Q Lazzarus.
After Q Lazzarus played a demo tape for Jonathan Demme while driving him in her taxi, which included a demo of "Goodbye Horses", he featured the song in his crime comedy film Married to the Mob (1988). It then became a cult hit after he used it in a scene of his film The Silence of the Lambs (1991), which was widely lauded for the usage. Since then, it has been used in various films, television series, and video games, often with references to its use in The Silence of the Lambs, and has been covered by numerous artists.
"Goodbye Horses" was written by songwriter William Garvey and performed by Q Lazzarus, both of whom were bandmates in the band Q Lazzarus and the Resurrection. According to friends of Garvey, the two band mates had a tumultuous relationship with one another. Q Lazzarus disappeared from the public eye after the band disbanded in 1995, while Garvey died in 2009.
The song, a "haunting", "dreamlike" synth-pop, dark wave, new wave, and dance ballad, features Q Lazzarus's androgynous vocals, layered synthesizer parts, and a drum machine beat. Its lyrics were based by Garvey on "transcendence over those who see the world as only earthly and finite", with the "horses" in the song representing "the five senses from Hindu philosophy". Evan Sawdey of PopMatters wrote that "Goodbye Horses" has a "strangely entrancing thump" and "sad, tragicomic elements" in the lyrics, describing it as "quirky". It was described by Tracy Moore in Vanity Fair as a "gothy, somber ode", and by Tyler Jenke of Tone Deaf as "rather creepy". A music video was also made for the song in 1987, directed by Leslie Mentel.
In the 1980s, Q Lazzarus worked as a taxi driver in New York City and was unsigned, with record labels allegedly turning her away due to her dreadlocks. One day, in 1985, she picked up director Jonathan Demme and producer Arthur Baker in her taxi during a blizzard after the two finished doing the final mix on Little Steven's music video for his song "Sun City". After dropping off Baker, Q Lazzarus asked Demme if he was in the music business, then proceeded to play her demo tape, which included "Goodbye Horses". After listening to the tape, Demme was impressed, saying, "Oh my God, what is this and who are you?"
"Goodbye Horses" quickly became a cult hit after Demme used it in a scene from his 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs. In the scene, the film's antagonist, serial killer Buffalo Bill (portrayed by Ted Levine) puts on makeup in the mirror and plays with his nipple ring while his victim, Catherine Martin (Brooke Smith), attempts to escape from a deep pit. As the song plays, Buffalo Bill says to himself, "Would you fuck me? I'd fuck me. I'd fuck me so hard", and then begins dancing naked into a video camera with his penis and testicles tucked between his legs as Catherine cries in the background. "Goodbye Horses" was not in the script, and other songs by David Bowie and Mick Jagger were also considered for the scene. It was originally rehearsed to Bob Seger's 1980 song "Her Strut", but "Goodbye Horses" was eventually chosen, with Levine saying that it became "a little gentler", "stranger", and "more feminine" as a result.
Under the Radar and Time Out included the use of "Goodbye Horses" in The Silence of the Lambs on their lists of the best usages of songs in films. Lauren Down wrote for Under the Radar that it was "nigh on impossible" to separate "Goodbye Horses" from the film's scene, remarking they become "inextricable" once "he [Buffalo Bill] steps backwards in self-admiration". Howard Gorman of NME included the song on his list of songs that "became inextricably linked to the horror movies they were ultimately featured in", writing, "Regardless of how great a track this is...not even an MIB neuralyser can prevent us from recreating [Buffalo Bill's] unsettling mangina-meets-Bon Jovi moment in our heads whenever we hear it."
Bustle's Jack O'Keeffe wrote that Levine's performance was "etched into pop culture history through...the song 'Goodbye Horses' in other media". "Goodbye Horses" was included on Flavorwire's list of the creepiest soundtrack songs, where they wrote that the "infamous 'tuck' scene" in The Silence of the Lambs is "invariably associated" with the song. Billboard's Ron Hart wrote that the inclusion of "Goodbye Horses" in The Silence of the Lambs "immortalized" the song as a "classic". Time Out's Keith Uhlich labeled the song "enrapturing" and called the scene "a pop-cultural touchstone".
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Goodbye Horses
"Goodbye Horses" is a song recorded by American singer Q Lazzarus. It was written by Q Lazzarus's bandmate, William Garvey, and released in 1988, with an extended version released three years later. It is a synth-pop, dark wave, new wave, and dance song with lyrics based on "transcendence over those who see the world as only earthly and finite" and androgynous vocals from Q Lazzarus.
After Q Lazzarus played a demo tape for Jonathan Demme while driving him in her taxi, which included a demo of "Goodbye Horses", he featured the song in his crime comedy film Married to the Mob (1988). It then became a cult hit after he used it in a scene of his film The Silence of the Lambs (1991), which was widely lauded for the usage. Since then, it has been used in various films, television series, and video games, often with references to its use in The Silence of the Lambs, and has been covered by numerous artists.
"Goodbye Horses" was written by songwriter William Garvey and performed by Q Lazzarus, both of whom were bandmates in the band Q Lazzarus and the Resurrection. According to friends of Garvey, the two band mates had a tumultuous relationship with one another. Q Lazzarus disappeared from the public eye after the band disbanded in 1995, while Garvey died in 2009.
The song, a "haunting", "dreamlike" synth-pop, dark wave, new wave, and dance ballad, features Q Lazzarus's androgynous vocals, layered synthesizer parts, and a drum machine beat. Its lyrics were based by Garvey on "transcendence over those who see the world as only earthly and finite", with the "horses" in the song representing "the five senses from Hindu philosophy". Evan Sawdey of PopMatters wrote that "Goodbye Horses" has a "strangely entrancing thump" and "sad, tragicomic elements" in the lyrics, describing it as "quirky". It was described by Tracy Moore in Vanity Fair as a "gothy, somber ode", and by Tyler Jenke of Tone Deaf as "rather creepy". A music video was also made for the song in 1987, directed by Leslie Mentel.
In the 1980s, Q Lazzarus worked as a taxi driver in New York City and was unsigned, with record labels allegedly turning her away due to her dreadlocks. One day, in 1985, she picked up director Jonathan Demme and producer Arthur Baker in her taxi during a blizzard after the two finished doing the final mix on Little Steven's music video for his song "Sun City". After dropping off Baker, Q Lazzarus asked Demme if he was in the music business, then proceeded to play her demo tape, which included "Goodbye Horses". After listening to the tape, Demme was impressed, saying, "Oh my God, what is this and who are you?"
"Goodbye Horses" quickly became a cult hit after Demme used it in a scene from his 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs. In the scene, the film's antagonist, serial killer Buffalo Bill (portrayed by Ted Levine) puts on makeup in the mirror and plays with his nipple ring while his victim, Catherine Martin (Brooke Smith), attempts to escape from a deep pit. As the song plays, Buffalo Bill says to himself, "Would you fuck me? I'd fuck me. I'd fuck me so hard", and then begins dancing naked into a video camera with his penis and testicles tucked between his legs as Catherine cries in the background. "Goodbye Horses" was not in the script, and other songs by David Bowie and Mick Jagger were also considered for the scene. It was originally rehearsed to Bob Seger's 1980 song "Her Strut", but "Goodbye Horses" was eventually chosen, with Levine saying that it became "a little gentler", "stranger", and "more feminine" as a result.
Under the Radar and Time Out included the use of "Goodbye Horses" in The Silence of the Lambs on their lists of the best usages of songs in films. Lauren Down wrote for Under the Radar that it was "nigh on impossible" to separate "Goodbye Horses" from the film's scene, remarking they become "inextricable" once "he [Buffalo Bill] steps backwards in self-admiration". Howard Gorman of NME included the song on his list of songs that "became inextricably linked to the horror movies they were ultimately featured in", writing, "Regardless of how great a track this is...not even an MIB neuralyser can prevent us from recreating [Buffalo Bill's] unsettling mangina-meets-Bon Jovi moment in our heads whenever we hear it."
Bustle's Jack O'Keeffe wrote that Levine's performance was "etched into pop culture history through...the song 'Goodbye Horses' in other media". "Goodbye Horses" was included on Flavorwire's list of the creepiest soundtrack songs, where they wrote that the "infamous 'tuck' scene" in The Silence of the Lambs is "invariably associated" with the song. Billboard's Ron Hart wrote that the inclusion of "Goodbye Horses" in The Silence of the Lambs "immortalized" the song as a "classic". Time Out's Keith Uhlich labeled the song "enrapturing" and called the scene "a pop-cultural touchstone".