A Timeless Lament of Unrequited Love and Enduring Hope
Ah, where does one even begin to speak of Linda Ronstadt and her timeless lament, “Long Long Time“? For many of us who’ve seen a fair few seasons come and go, this song isn’t just a melody; it’s a photograph, a memory, a feeling that still aches in a tender corner of the heart. Released in June 1970 as a single from her sophomore album, Silk Purse, it swiftly became one of her earliest breakout hits, a gentle yet profound wave in the vast ocean of music at the dawn of the new decade. It climbed the charts, reaching a respectable No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100, and even higher in Canada, hitting No. 15 on RPM 100 and No. 8 on the CHUM 30 chart. It also garnered Linda Ronstadt a well-deserved Grammy nomination in 1971 for Best Contemporary Female Vocal Performance, a testament to the raw, unvarnished emotion she poured into every syllable.
The story behind “Long Long Time” is as poignant as the song itself. It was penned by Gary White, and Linda Ronstadt first encountered it when songwriter David Bromberg brought her to a small club to hear White play. She recounted in her memoir, Simple Dreams, how she was immediately captivated, even requesting he re-open his guitar case to play it for her again. There was something in those chords, that melody, that spoke to a profound longing. Despite her own self-critique about her vocal performance on the original recording – she once famously said she felt she “butchered it” – the song resonated deeply with listeners. The magic, as she later realized, was inherent in the composition itself, a quality that even jaded session musicians found themselves drawn into. The arrangement, with its slightly gritty orchestra string section and pedal steel guitar, was unusual for the time, lending it a unique, touching emotional quality that set it apart.
At its core, “Long Long Time” is a tender, heartbreaking ode to unrequited love – a love that exists solely within the confines of one’s own heart, a love for someone who, despite all efforts, never reciprocated or perhaps even acknowledged its presence. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of quiet suffering: “Love will abide, take things in stride / Sounds like good advice but there’s no one at my side.” It speaks to the futility of trying to “make you mine” when the object of affection is oblivious, or perhaps simply uninterested, “fell all over girls you never knew.” This isn’t the dramatic, fiery pain of a breakup; it’s the persistent, dull ache of a love that never quite bloomed, a longing kept secret, nurtured in solitude. “Living in the memory of a love that never was” – that line, for anyone who’s ever held a torch for someone out of reach, cuts straight to the bone. It’s about a deep, abiding affection that persists, even when hope has long since faded, promising to “love you for a long long time,” even if that love must remain an unspoken truth.
For those of us who came of age with this song, it evokes a particular kind of nostalgia. It takes us back to a time when feelings were often kept closer to the vest, when the quiet agony of an unexpressed crush felt like the weight of the world. It reminds us of youthful innocence, and the first brushes with the complexities of human connection. The simplicity of the arrangement, the clarity of Ronstadt‘s voice – even if she later found fault with it – makes the emotion feel incredibly pure and accessible. It wasn’t a showy vocal performance, but an honest, vulnerable one that allowed the listener to project their own experiences onto the narrative.
In recent times, “Long Long Time” found a remarkable resurgence, decades after its initial release, thanks to its prominent inclusion in the acclaimed 2023 television series, The Last of Us. Its use as a poignant motif for a specific storyline introduced it to a new generation, proving that the universal themes of enduring love and quiet devotion transcend time and genre. This resurgence saw streams of the song skyrocket by an astonishing 4,900% and propelled it to the top of several Billboard charts, more than 50 years after it first graced the airwaves. It’s a powerful testament to the song’s timeless message and Linda Ronstadt‘s enduring artistry. For us, the older crowd, it’s a sweet reminder of a song we cherished, now being discovered anew, its resonance undimmed by the passage of years. It’s a song that proves some emotions, some melodies, are simply meant to last for a long, long time.