"Just a Song Before I Go" | ||||
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Single by Crosby, Stills & Nash | ||||
from the album CSN | ||||
B-side | "Dark Star" | |||
Released | June 17, 1977 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:14 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Graham Nash | |||
Producer(s) |
David Crosby Stephen Stills Graham Nash The Albert Brothers | |||
Crosby, Stills & Nash singles chronology | ||||
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"Just a Song Before I Go" is a song by Crosby, Stills and 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]
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.
Chart (1977) | Peak position |
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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 |
Chart (1977) | Position |
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U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [11] | 47 |