The Story Behind Julian Lennon’s 1985 Hit “Too Late For Goodbyes” and Why it Was Never About John Lennon

Following the release of his 1984 debut Valotte, which hit the top 20 at No. 17 on the Billboard 200, Julian Lennon had back-to-back hits, including his debut single “Too Late for Goodbyes.” Lennon recalled writing the song on his keyboard while living in his first apartment in London.

“I had an old reel-to-reel Fostex in my first flat or apartment in London, which was in Kensington,” remembered Lennon on the origins of the song. “I remember just being in my living room. It was on the top floor walk-up of six flights. I just remember sitting there with a keyboard and writing this track.”

Videos by American Songwriter

‘It’s much too late for goodbyes.’

Featuring legendary Belgian jazz musician  Jean “Toots” Thielemans on harmonica, and written entirely by Lennon, the lyrics come to terms with the end of a relationship.

Ever since you’ve been leaving me
I’ve been wanting to cry
Now I know how it feels for you
I’ve been wanting to die

But it’s much too late for goodbyes
Yes, it’s much too late for goodbyes

Time has gone since I’ve been with you
And we’ve been starting to lie
Now it seems you don’t care for me
And I don’t understand why

But it’s much too late for goodbyes
Yes, it’s much too late for goodbyes

[RELATED: Julian Lennon and Gregory Darling Revisit Old Song “A New Dream”]

John Lennon

Lennon followed “Too Late for Goodbyes” with the title track, which also went to No. 2 in Canada and peaked at No. 4 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Once released, Valotte also earned Lennon a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist in 1986.

Despite what listeners may have speculated, “Too Late for Goodbyes” was never about Lennon’s relationship with his father, John Lennon. After Lennon’s divorce from his first wife, and Julian’s mother, Cynthia, in 1968, they didn’t see one another much.

Instead, Julian’s song was initially written about a girl, then referenced other relationships in his life at the time. “Initially, it was about a girl, a relationship,” he said. “Then it was a few other friends in the room, and I was bouncing ideas back and forth.”

He continued, “I just ended up with that particular phrase and title, and it seemed to stick. So it made sense to me, and voilà. … That’s it. No hidden agendas on that one.”

The Video

The music video for “Too Late for Goodbyes,” directed by Sam Peckinpah, who also directed the video for “Valotte,” features Lennon performing with his band as a silhouette of a person that could resemble John Lennon dances is seen dancing in a dimly lit doorway.

“The early days of MTV certainly had a tremendous effect on most everybody at that point in time because that’s when I felt the industry was a bit more exciting,” said Lennon, “because you really did in those days look forward to not only the latest new songs that were coming out by your favorite artists, but you wanted to see what they looked like, and sometimes that was the closest you were going to get if you couldn’t go to their shows.”

After the release of Valotte, Lennon released The Secret Value of Daydreaming in 1986 and the 1989 album Mr. Jordan, featuring the hit “Now You’re in Heaven,” which went to No. 1 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart.

Several years later, Lennon released his fourth album, Help Yourself, in 1991, along with Photograph Smile (1998) and Everything Changes (2011). In 2022, Lennon also released his seventh album, Jude, featuring an image of him as a child on the cover, taken by May Pang in 1974.

Photo: Hulton Archive / Getty Images