The Last Farewell

"The Last Farewell" is a song by the British

Ron Arthur Webster (1944–1994), a silversmith from Solihull Birmingham, England, sent Roger Whittaker his poem entitled "The Last Farewell", and this song became one of the selections to appear on the radio programme. Webster was working for a company called "Lancaster Engraving" in Hockley.^[2] He was travelling home on the upper deck of a Midland bus on a cold and rainy night and wished he were somewhere warm instead. That is when the inspiration for the song came to him. Webster told the Coventry Evening Telegraph, according to an article published on the 10th September 1975, that he had been writing songs in his spare time for about 15 years. He had written The Last Farewell with Roger Whittaker in mind. But this was already before the singer had invited listeners to his radio programme to submit poems.

It was recorded, and featured on Whittaker's 1971 album New World in the Morning (A Special Kind of Man in the US and Canada). It is one of the fifty all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) physical copies worldwide.

According to Whittaker, the wife of a

The response in America led to the single's success in other parts of the world, including the United Kingdom, peaking at number 2 on the

Whittaker says much of the appeal of "The Last Farewell" comes from the classical-sounding nature of the opening French horn solo. This arrangement was done by Zack Lawrence for the song's initial airing on Whittaker's radio programme.^{[citation needed]}

From the mid-1970s until about 1981, television station WGN-TV, "Chicago's Very Own Channel Nine" used the introductory fanfare in its station identification.^[7]

The song has since been covered by many artists. In 1976, Elvis Presley included "The Last Farewell" on his album From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee. This version was released as a posthumous single in the UK in 1984, peaking at number 48 in December.^[8]

Also reaching the UK singles chart with a version of "The Last Farewell" was the Ship's Company and Royal Marine Band of HMS Ark Royal, just before the aircraft carrier was decommissioned by the Royal Navy in December 1978. It peaked at number 41 in January 1979.^[9]

Östen Warnerbring wrote lyrics in Swedish called Ännu kan en sjöman längta hem ("Still, a Seaman Can Long for Home"), and recorded the song on his 1976 eponymous album.^[10] and by Vikingarna on the 1977 album Kramgoa låtar 5.^[11] With other lyrics, and entitled Å vi e AIK, the song has been used as entrance music for AIK.^[12]

• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1975 (U.S.)