Let Her Go

"Let Her Go" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Passenger. It was recorded at Sydney's Linear Recording and co-produced by Mike Rosenberg (a.k.a. Passenger) and Chris Vallejo. The recording features Australian musicians Stu Larsen, Georgia Mooney, Stu Hunter, Cameron Undy, and Glenn Wilson. "Let Her Go" was released on 24 July 2012 as the second single from Passenger's fourth album, All the Little Lights.

For other uses, see Let Her Go (disambiguation).
"Let Her Go"
Single by Passenger
from the album All the Little Lights
Released24 July 2012
Recorded2011
StudioLinear Recording, Sydney
GenreFolk rock, soft rock
Length
  • 4:12 (album version)
  • 3:37 (radio edit)
Label
  • Embassy of Music
  • Black Crow Records
  • Nettwerk
Songwriter(s)Michael Rosenberg
Producer(s)
  • Mike Rosenberg
  • Chris Vallejo
Passenger singles chronology
"The Wrong Direction"
(2012)		 "Let Her Go"
(2012)		 "Holes"
(2013)
Music video
"Let Her Go" on YouTube
Audio sample
18-second sample from Passenger's Let Her Go
  • file
  • help

The song became a sleeper hit, achieving international success and topping the charts in many countries around the world. As of July 2014, it has sold over one million digital copies in the UK, and over four million in the US.[1][2] In 2014, the song was nominated for the Brit Award for British Single of the Year, and won Passenger the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Most Performed Work.[3][4]

Background

The lyrics of the song are poetic and melancholic, describing the regrets associated with ending a relationship. The chorus describes situations in which one does not appreciate what he/she has until it is gone, and relates this to love. The verses give detailed scenes involving a heartbroken man dealing with his breakup.

"Let Her Go" is driven by a chorus which is repeated five times throughout the song. The second half of the final chorus is performed a cappella. Including acoustic guitar and vocals from Rosenberg, backing vocals, piano, drums, bass, and strings, the song is instrumentally diverse. The song is performed in the key of G major, played with a capo on the seventh fret of the guitar. Rosenberg's vocals span from D3 to the high note of E4.[5]

Commercial performance
Passenger performing "Let Her Go" live in Bogotá, Colombia during his Runaway Tour.

"Let Her Go" was released in July 2012 as the second single from Passenger's third album All the Little Lights. The song became a hit first in the Netherlands after Dave, a Dutch fan, e-mailed Passenger expressing his wish to introduce the song to some Dutch radio stations, claiming it could be a hit there.[6] This resulted in the song trending on Dutch stations and finding enormous commercial success with the Dutch public. The song became a hit first in the Netherlands, reaching number two in the Dutch Top 40 in November 2012 and spending a total of four non-consecutive weeks at that position. The next month that year, it topped at number one.[7]

Since 2013, and after initial success in the Netherlands, "Let Her Go" has reached number one in Australia,[8] Austria,[9] Belgium,[10] Czech Republic,[11] Denmark,[12] Finland,[13] Germany,[14] Greece,[15] Ireland,[16] Israel,[17] Italy,[18] Luxembourg,[19] Mexico,[20] New Zealand,[21] Norway,[22] Slovakia,[23] Sweden[24] and Switzerland,[25] number two in the UK Singles Chart,[26] number five in the US on the Billboard Hot 100[27] and number one on Billboard Hot Rock Songs,[28] making it his first international success. The song has sold over 1 million digital copies in the UK,[1] and over 4 million in the US as of July 2014.[2] In October 2019, "Let Her Go" surpassed one billion streams on the music service Spotify, making it one of the most played songs on the service.[29]

Music video

The music video was uploaded on 25 July 2012, directed and produced by the Australian video artist Dave Jensen and Tavic.[30] It shows the stage being prepared for a Passenger concert, with footage of Passenger performance with his backing band and shots of the audience present reacting.

As of August 2023, the video has received over 3.4 billion views on the video-sharing website YouTube, making it the 24th most viewed video of all time on the site.[31]

Track listing
Digital promo
No.TitleLength
1."Let Her Go"4:13
CD single
No.TitleLength
1."Let Her Go" (Album Version)4:12
2."Let Her Go" (Acoustic)4:27
Digital download
No.TitleLength
1."Let Her Go"4:13
2."Let Her Go" (Acoustic)4:27
3."Let Her Go" (Live Version)4:05

Cover versions

In 2013, Jasmine Thompson released a cover version.

British singer Birdy recorded a cover version called "Let Him Go" in 2013 on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.[32]

An unreleased acoustic version of the song was donated to support college radio in the USA on the 2013 College Radio Day Vol. 2 album. The song was limited to being on only the CD version of the album (only 1,500 copies have been pressed).[33]

Italian pianist Costantino Carrara published a piano arrangement of this song on 6 December 2013, that quickly became the most popular Let Her Go piano cover with more than 20 million views.[34]

In August 2014, Glen Templeton made a country cover of the song.[35]

American trance singer JES released her cover version of the song titled "Let Him Go" in 2019.[36]

The song is sampled heavily in Central Cee's 2022 single "Let Go".[37]

"Let Her Go" was used in a Budweiser commercial shown during Super Bowl XLVIII.[38] It was used also in the season 7 finale of the Canadian Show Heartland as the send-off song and in "500 Years of Solitude",the 100th episode of The Vampire Diaries.

Bluegrass band The Travelin' McCourys recorded the song at Nashville studio the Butcher Shoppe, releasing the version on 13 January 2017.

The song has been used in various 'Good Ending' memes.

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[110] 7× Platinum 490,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[111] Platinum 30,000*
Belgium (BEA)[112] 2× Platinum 40,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[113] Diamond 800,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[114] Platinum 30,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[115] Gold 5,057[115]
France (SNEP)[116] Gold 75,000*
Germany (BVMI)[117] Platinum 300,000^
Italy (FIMI)[118] 6× Platinum 300,000‡
Netherlands (NVPI)[119] Platinum 20,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[120] 2× Platinum 30,000*
Norway (IFPI Norway)[121] 2× Platinum 20,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[122] 2× Platinum 80,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[123] 5× Platinum 200,000‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[124] 3× Platinum 90,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[125] 5× Platinum 3,000,000‡
United States (RIAA)[126] 6× Platinum 4,000,000[2]
Streaming
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[127] 6× Platinum 10,800,000†

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

See also

Release history
Country Release date Format
United States 24 July 2012 (2012-07-24) Digital download
Europe 5 November 2012 (2012-11-05)
United Kingdom 25 February 2013 (2013-02-25) CD
United States 24 September 2013 (2013-09-24) Contemporary hit radio
Canada 13 May 2013 (2013-05-13)

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