"Before You Go" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter

Lewis Capaldi Lewis Marc Capaldi (born 7 October 1996) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. In March 2019, his single "Someone You Loved" (2018) topped the UK Singles Chart where it remained for seven weeks, and in November 2019, it reached number ...

, released as a single from the extended edition of his debut studio album ''

Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent ''Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent'' is the debut studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi. It was released on 17 May 2019 through Vertigo Records in Europe and Capitol Records in the United States, and distributed globally ...

'' on 19 November 2019. The song was made available upon pre-order of the extended edition. The song was sent to US radio stations on 6 January 2020, as his second US single. It reached number one on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

in November 2019, and on the UK Singles Chart in January 2020, becoming Capaldi's second chart-topper in the UK and third in Ireland.

Background and composition

Capaldi revealed in a social media post that the song was "by far the most personal tune" he had ever written. According to ''

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolator or Idolater may also refer to: * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), a 2005 album by Blood Stain Child * ''Idolator'', a 1986 album by Ole Evenrud * "Idolater", a ...

'', the song "deals with the emotional aftermath of suicide", and was inspired by the

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

of Capaldi's aunt while Capaldi was a child. "Before You Go" is played in the

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 112 BPM and key signature of E♭ major.

Critical reception

Clash Music ''Clash'' is a Music magazine, music and fashion magazine and website based in the United Kingdom. It is published four times a year by Music Republic Ltd, whose predecessor Clash Music Ltd went into liquidation. The magazine won awards includin ...

s Robin Murray called the track "trademark Capaldi", further describing it as "a rousing piece of acoustic songwriting with a driving vocal".

Music video

Released on 24 January 2020, and directed by Kyle Thrash, the video is of happy moments recalled by a group of friends as they pay tribute to a young woman (played by actress Sasha Lane), whose suicide has shocked them, with clips of

playing his guitar and singing appearing occasionally. The video has gained over 331 million views as of June 2023.

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. *

– songwriting, vocals * Ben Kohn – songwriting, production, bass guitar * Pete Kelleher – songwriting, production, keyboards * Tom Bames – songwriting, production, drums * Phil Plested – songwriting, background vocals * Vern Asbury – guitar * Rory Dewar – Art Design * Robert Vosgien – master engineering *

Mark "Spike" Stent Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & the Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Sheeran, ...

– mixing * Chris Bishop – vocal engineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Usage in media

Capaldi has performed the song for ''

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'', the Swiss Music Awards,

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

Streamy Awards The YouTube Streamy Awards, also known as the Streamy Awards or Streamys, are an awards show presented annually by Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter to recognize excellence in online video, including directing, acting, producing, and wr ...

, and ''

Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve ''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve'' (''NYRE''), billed since 2008 as ''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest'', is a New Year's Eve television special broadcast by American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The special broadcasts ...

''. American singer

Jesse McCartney Jesse McCartney (born April 9, 1987) is an American actor and singer. He achieved fame in the late 1990s on the daytime drama ''All My Children'' as JR Chandler. He later joined the boy band Dream Street, and eventually branched out into a s ...

performed the song during the finale of ''

The Masked Singer ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

s third season. It was also sung by English singer

Charlie Simpson Charles Robert Simpson (born 7 June 1985) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician from Suffolk. He is a member of the pop punk band Busted (band), Busted and the rock band Fightstar. AllMusic has noted that Simpson is "perhaps the only p ...

during the finale of the UK version's fourth series. The song was featured in the final scene of the twelfth series finale of the BBC school-based drama '' Waterloo Road'', with the students singing the song in honour of a classmate who recently died in a fire.

References

{{authority control 2019 singles 2019 songs 2020 singles 2020s ballads Capitol Records singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Lewis Capaldi songs Songs about suicide Songs based on actual events Songs written by Lewis Capaldi Songs written by Ben Kohn Songs written by Peter Kelleher (songwriter) Songs written by Tom Barnes (songwriter) Song recordings produced by TMS (production team) UK singles chart number-one singles Universal Music Group singles Vertigo Records singles Pop ballads