Music, The Last of Us, TV Shows

What Was that Linda Ronstadt Song on The Last of Us Episode 3?

Nick Offerman The Last of Us
Image: HBO

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The Last of Us episode 3 featured a song that has fans of the hit HBO show clamoring for more Linda Ronstadt, and I couldn’t be more excited to see this classic get the attention it deserves.

While I’ll keep this post relatively spoiler-free, the episode starred “Ron Swanson” actor Nick Offerman in an unexpected role that sees him playing piano and singing the enduring Ronstadt tune from her 1970 album Silk Purse.

The Last Of Us episode 3 and Linda Ronstadt

Once the episode aired on Sunday night, Spotify reported a 4900% increase in streams of the song on their platform between 11 p.m. and midnight ET.


One might call this the “Kate Bush Effect,” named for the same trend earlier this year for Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” that was featured on Stranger Things’ Season 4.

But the Ronstadt song was not only featured in the episode, it also acted as the episode’s title and the lyrics play a pivotal role in the episode’s story. Again, no spoilers, but… well, just check out these lyrics, written by Gary White:

“Love will abide, takes things in stride. Sounds like good advice but there’s no one at my side. And time washes clean love’s wounds unseen. That’s what someone told me but I don’t know what it means. Cause I’ve done everything I know to try and make you mine. And I think I’m gonna love you for a long, long time.”

Long Long Time spent 12 weeks at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970, eventually earning the singer a Grammy Award for the song in 1971.

The Last of Us Episode 3 Linda Ronstadt
Long, Long Time Chart – Wikipedia

Growing up in the 70s and 80s, I remember the song fondly from my childhood. Linda Ronstadt may be one of the greatest voices of our time and it was certainly great to see her getting this much attention from a popular modern TV show.

And just because I can’t get enough of her voice, here’s a live version: 

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    Shawn has been infatuated with the post-apocalyptic genre since he wore out his horribly American-dubbed VHS of the original Mad Max as a child. Shawn is the former Editor-in-Chief at Massively.com, creator of the Aftermath post-apocalyptic immersion event, and author of "AI For All," a guide to navigating this strange new world of artificial intelligence.
    He currently resides on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere with his wife and four children.

    Don't even think about sharing this article.

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