Goodbye Horses

"Goodbye Horses" is a song written and performed by William Garvey and sung by Q Lazzarus in 1988. There are three versions of the song. They clock in at 3:12, 4:20, and the extended version at 6:27.

In other media

Silence 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 his penis tucked between his legs as to give the appearance of a vagina. Originally in the film, Clarice Starling discussed both sheep and horses 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 by Jonathan Demme. In 1991, 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 by Jay and Silent Bob, when Jay, having bemoaned his boredom while milling around outside the Mooby'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 because Jason Mewes spent all of the licensing budget on transsexual prostitutes.

Fully Flared

A 2007 release of Lakai Limited Footwear's skateboard team video, 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.

Family Guy

The song is featured the Family Guy episode Stew-roids.

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 band Gil Mantera's Party Dream. 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 limited Australian Tour CD collection entitled "Club Salvation". When the trailer for Clerks 2 appeared promoting the movie, Psyche entered the Top Ten downloads on iTunes Electronic chart. The song remains a staple in the band's live repertoire to this day.

External links

• William Garvey, Writer of Goodbye Horses - Garvey Music site
• William Garvey, Writer of Goodbye Horses - Garvey Media site
• Psyche's cover of Goodbye Horses
• Psyche performing Goodbye Horses - taken from the "Imaginary Life" DVD
• Carrier Flux's cover of Goodbye Horses (in MP3 format)
• Ludwyg's adaptation of Goodbye Horses entitled "Horses in The Mirror"