‘The Last of Us’: Linda Ronstadt’s Chapter 3 song ‘Long Long Time’ explodes into stream views

SPOILERS WARNING!

*If you haven’t yet seen the third episode of “The Last Of Us”, titled “Long, Long Time”, read no further! We reveal the most important points of the chapter, including its conclusion.

The new episode “The Last of Us” shocked the whole world. The third chapter tells in one hour and fifteen the twenty-year relationship between Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett), from their chance meeting to their unforgettable goodbye, destroying the hearts of any human being with feelings. And part of the responsibility is Linda Ronstadt, rock icon since the 70s, whose song “Long Long Time” is an integral part of the chapter that gives its title its name.

‘Long Long Time’ is a romantic ballad that manages to capture the essence of the love story between Bill and Frank: fear, loneliness, the desire to love and be loved. It’s the song that really brings them together, when Frank starts covering it on piano and Bill tells him to stop, taking over in a startling and groundbreaking performance.

This is the beginning of their relationship, but it will also mark its end: before the end of the episode, it is Ellie who puts the tape in the car that Frank and Bill left behind, along with everything else, and that now serve Joel and her to continue their journey. Joel doesn’t want to listen to music at first, but when he recognizes the song he asks him to leave it: “This is good, it’s Linda Ronstadt”recognizes the protagonist, excited. “OMG”. Ellie likes the song too, but she just answers, smiling: “Better than nothing”. So, Joel opens the metal gate and we see them walk away from the bedroom window where the couple rest, as we hear Linda Rontadt for the first time in its original version it sings: “I think I will love you for a long, long time”.

Oh, so all our hearts were breaking last night…? #The Last of Us pic.twitter.com/upTiav0MLw

? SpotifyNews (@SpotifyNews) January 30, 2023

Fans were also able to appreciate the song that accompanies what is considered one of the best love stories ever seen in a series. The official Spotify account shared that compared to the previous week, “Sunday 29 January, between 11pm and midnight [hora estadounidense], there was a 4,900% increase in views of Linda Ronstadt’s ‘Long Long Time’ in the US”, which coincides with the time fans could have already finished the third episode. Although it is not yet among the artist’s most listened to songs, ‘The Last Of Us’ definitely gave the song a boost, which in 1970 remained on the Billboard 100 best-selling singles chart for twelve weeks in the world. United States. , peaking at number 25.

It still is too early to find out if ‘Long, Long Time’ will become the same viral phenomenon what happened with ‘Stranger Things’ and the song ‘Running up That Hill’ by Kate Bush or ‘Wednesday’ and ‘Bloody Mary’ by Lady Gaga, but it is clear that he is on the right track.

find the perfect song

It wasn’t easy to find the song. Craig Mazin, co-creator of the series, has spent hours and hours looking for the perfect song, according to what he tells in the official podcast of the series. “I remember telling Neil [Druckmann]: ‘Not sure what song it is, but I know It has to be an incredibly sad song about wanting love and never getting it, and coming to terms with the idea that you’ll always be alone. But it can’t be obvious. And it can’t be a song that we all know'”. Eventually, she decided to ask a friend who works in musical entertainment and has help “the musical knowledge of an encyclopedia”. Just thirty seconds after describing what she was looking for, her friend responded with a headline: ‘Long Long Time’ by Linda Ronstadt. “I remembered a little bit about the song”reports Mazin. “I put it on and thought ‘Wow. This is it'”. So it was.