Tom Rush helped to usher in the era of the singer/songwriter. He did so in part by showcasing the efforts of other burgeoning writers before their fame took off. Tom Rush also proved that he could pen his own captivating tunes, with his 1968 “No Regrets” standing out as a bona fide classic.
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Rush wrote the song based on a single lonely moment during the time he was dating a special girl. As it turns out, “No Regrets” would anticipate the eventual collapse of that relationship.
“Regrets” Only
Tom Rush was attending Harvard University when he first became a major player in the folk music scene. As that scene started to lose some of its popularity during the pop-rock explosion of the 60s, he began to pivot away from material based on folk traditions and toward songs that spoke to the here and now.
On his 1968 album The Circle Game, Rush stood out from the pack by highlighting the work of several talented songwriters who had yet to make their mark on the public at large but soon would. The album featured covers of tracks by Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, and James Taylor.
Rush saved the last song on the album for an original. He explained to Scenes Media that the song emerged from a specific incident and turned out to be quite prophetic.
“I was living in Cambridge, and this lovely, young lady named Jill Lumpkin, who became my girlfriend long term, came up from New York to spend the weekend with me,” Rush said. “I’d never spent that many days and nights alone with somebody before. I took her to Logan Airport Monday morning. I put her on a plane back to New York, and it felt strange walking away alone, so I went back, and I wrote the song basically imagining it was the end of a long relationship. Which, in fact, came true when we split up a few years later.”
Exploring the Lyrics of “No Regrets” by Tom Rush
“No Regrets” captures that wistful gray area in between the resignation that a relationship is doomed and the fear of moving on without it. The narrator understands right off the bat that their affair is spent.
“I know your leavin’s too long overdue / For far too long I’ve had nothing new to show to you.”
But when he makes that decision, he’s caught unaware by the new reality.
“Then it felt so strange to walk away alone.“
In the second verse, Rush evokes the suddenly bereft nature of the narrator.
“The hours that were yours echo like empty rooms / The thoughts we used to share I know keep alone / I woke last night and spoke to you / Not thinkin’ you were gone.”
His existence has been drastically altered by his choice to leave. The final verse brings friends attempting to offer consolation into the picture, but it’s a poor substitute.
“Strange faces in your place can’t keep the ghosts away / Just beyond the darkest hour, just beyond the dawn.”
When the chorus comes around, however, he resolutely stands firm, doing the courageous but devastating thing and facing the inevitable.
“We’d only cry again / Say goodbye again.”
Tom Rush, who was so adept at covering others, benefited a great deal when The Walker Brothers did their version of this song and turned it into a big hit in Great Britain. “No Regrets” puts a brave face on a breakup, but Rush’s deft reveal of the desolate aftermath makes the damage done painfully clear.
Photo by Tom Hill/WireImage
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