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"'''Longtime Sunshine'''" (sometimes written '''"Long Time Sunshine"''') is a song written by [[Rivers Cuomo]] in [[1994]].
"'''Longtime Sunshine'''" (sometimes rendered as "'''Long Time Sunshine'''") is a song written by [[Rivers Cuomo]].


===Appearences===
===Appearences===
* ''[[Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo]]'' (Demo)
* ''[[Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo]]'' (2007)
* ''[[Pinkerton (Deluxe Edition)]]'' (Studio "Coda Mix")
* ''[[Pinkerton]]'' (Deluxe Edition) (2010)
* ''[[Alone III: The Pinkerton Years 1994-1997]]'' (Demo reprise)
* ''[[Alone III: The Pinkerton Years 1994-1997]]'' (2011)
* [[List of official bootlegs|Several official bootlegs]] (Live)
* [[Official Bootleg series]] (Live)
* ''[[Songs from the Black Hole]]'' (Tracklist 1)
* ''[[Alone IV: The Blue-Pinkerton Years]]'' (2020)
==Overview==
==Overview==
"Longtime Sunshine" was written in January of 1994.  At the time, Rivers was feeling very nervous about the uncertainty of his future.  Said Rivers in the liner notes for ''[[Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo]]'',<br>
{{Alone liner notes|In the midst of struggling to make it as a rock star in Los Angeles, I started longing for the safety, peace, quiet, simplicity, and family structure of my New England childhood.  I thought back to one of my favorite memories, lying in the bottom bunk, my brother in the top, in our bedroom in our farmhouse in Eastford, Connecticut, in the hot, hot, summer, 7, 8 p.m., sun still up, but having to go to sleep because it's our bedtime, one of those big box fans blowing, and my parents, Ma and Steve, sitting at our bedside, singing an old hippie song to us, to calm us down and ease us into sleep, "May the Longtime Sun Shine Upon You."
{{Alone liner notes|In the midst of struggling to make it as a rock star in Los Angeles, I started longing for the safety, peace, quiet, simplicity, and family structure of my New England childhood.  I thought back to one of my favorite memories, lying in the bottom bunk, my brother in the top, in our bedroom in our farmhouse in Eastford, Connecticut, in the hot, hot, summer, 7, 8 p.m., sun still up, but having to go to sleep because it's our bedtime, one of those big box fans blowing, and my parents, Ma and Steve, sitting at our bedside, singing an old hippie song to us, to calm us down and ease us into sleep, "May the Longtime Sun Shine Upon You."


I borrowed the hook phrase from this song and set about writing my own song to capture my feelings of loss and longing. I wrote it on my mom's piano when I was back in Connecticut at Christmas. My mom had a piano because I told her that the house seemed too quiet and I was worried about her living in silence, all alone after my step-dad left. So that is how "Longtime Sunshine" came to exist.
I borrowed the hook phrase from this song and set about writing my own song to capture my feelings of loss and longing. I wrote it on my mom's piano when I was back in Connecticut at Christmas. My mom had a piano because I told her that the house seemed too quiet and I was worried about her living in silence, all alone after my step-dad left. So that is how "Longtime Sunshine" came to exist.


When I recorded this track, I had just bought a clarinet and figured out how to play a few notes. Because of my poor embouchure it sounds very much like a kazoo.}}
When I recorded this track, I had just bought a clarinet and figured out how to play a few notes. Because of my poor embouchure it sounds very much like a kazoo.|''[[Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo]]'' [[Alone liner notes|liner notes]]}}
"Longtime Sunshine" was written by [[Rivers Cuomo]] in December of [[1993]] or January of [[1994]], while visiting his mother for Christmas at her home in Connecticut. The title is borrowed from "May the Long Time Sun Shine," a section from the track "[[Wikipedia:A Very Cellular Song|A Very Cellular Song]]," written by [[Wikipedia:Mike Heron|Mike Heron]] of psychedelic-folk group [[Wikipedia:The Incredible String Band|the Incredible String Band]] for their 1968 album ''[[Wikipedia:The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter|The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter]]''. As a standalone song, "May the Long Time Sun Shine" has became very popular among the hippie movement and even in Sikh religious services in the years since its release and has often been assumed to be a much older or more traditional composition.<ref>Wittstamm, Willem. "May the Long Time Sun Shine Upon You: Where It All Began..." ''Aquarian Times'' Feb/March 2009. https://studentsofyogibhajan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Where-it-all-began.pdf</ref> Cuomo released this demo to fans online in the early 2000s, and later on the demo compilation ''[[Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo]]'' in [[2007]].


The song was later considered for the unfinished "rock-opera" concept album ''[[Songs from the Black Hole]]''. In the context of the album, "Longtime Sunshine" is a slow, piano-driven ballad about lead character [[Jonas]]' longing to return to a simpler time. Though the song was later dropped in subsequent drafts and track listings, the initial draft for the album concluded with the song (concluding with modified lyrics from Cuomo's original demo), following Jonas' decision to sacrifice himself to save the rest of the crew:
Cuomo later retrofitted "Longtime Sunshine" as a song in consideration for a planned (albeit ultimately unfinished) "rock-opera" concept album, ''[[Songs from the Black Hole]]'' (itself intended as a metaphor for Cuomo's disillusionment with rock stardom). Early drafts of ''SFTBH'' featured "Longtime Sunshine" as the closing track, intended to be sung by Cuomo as the story's protagonist, [[Jonas]]. The story for the album concept, however, was never fully developed. In one [[Songs from the Black Hole, draft 1|early draft]], wherein the characters learn the space voyage depicted in the story was, in fact, some sort of filmed experiment, Jonas sings "Longtime Sunshine" after volunteering to remain on a doomed planet orbiting a supernova in order to allow his crewmates to escape.<ref name="pinkdiaries">Cuomo, Rivers. ''[[The Pinkerton Diaries]]''. [[2011]]. Self-published.</ref> Weezer worked on "Longtime Sunshine" at Electric Lady Studios in New York during early sessions for the band's second album (at this time still planned to be ''Songs from the Black Hole''). During these sessions, the band experimented with a featuring an extended coda wherein Cuomo, [[Matt Sharp]], and [[Brian Bell]] sing a medley of "Longtime Sunshine," "[[Why Bother?]]," "[[I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams]]," "[[No Other One]]," and "[[Blast Off!]]" Though this experiment was apparently discarded thereafter,<ref name="rechist8" /> it appeared on the Deluxe Edition of ''[[Pinkerton]]'' in [[2010]]. Short vocal demos for the coda, as well as a potential reprise, later appeared on the compilations ''[[Alone III: The Pinkerton Years 1994-1997|Alone III]]'' in [[2011]] and [[Alone IV: The Blue-Pinkerton Years|Alone IV]]'' in [[2020]].
<pre>turns out there's no goal there to be accomplished. Turns out they were just guinea pigs being filmed the whole time. Thanks for participation. There are 5 light speed transporters that will bring them back but they realize that with Maria's baby there are now 6. Jonas volunteers to be stranded. He sings longtime sunshine as the transporters take off and the star supernovas.


Goodbye friends
Though ''Songs from the Black Hole'' would ultimately be scrapped, [[Karl Koch]] has noted{{Citation needed}} that "Longtime Sunshine" was meant to close ''[[Pinkerton]]'' until "[[Butterfly]]" was recorded on the final day of recording at Sound City in June of [[1996]]. Cuomo revisited the song in [[1997]],<ref name="rechist10" /> recording a home demo in September of that year and and rehearsing it as part of his short-lived side project, [[Homie]]. None of these recordings currently exist in circulation and it was not performed live during this period. During the filming of the second video for "[[Island in the Sun]]" in [[2001]], Cuomo played "Longtime Sunshine" on an acoustic guitar for director [[Spike Jonze]], a few seconds of which could be seen in a behind-the-scenes video released on [[weezer.com]]. It is unknown why Cuomo was playing the song.
Goodbye my girl
I close my eyes as you fly away</pre>


Though the ''Black Hole'' would ultimately be scrapped, [[Karl Koch]] has noted that "Longtime Sunshine" was meant to close ''[[Pinkerton]]'' until "[[Butterfly]]" was written, very late in the sessions. The song lived on, however, and was considered for Cuomo's [[Homie]] music project in [[1997]] (though it was never played live). Cuomo released the original demo to fans online in 2002, and it was later included on the [[2007]] collection ''[[Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo]]''. Later, a version recorded during the ''Pinkerton'' sessions (with a special coda ending) was released in [[2010]] on the Deluxe Edition of ''Pinkerton''. A short, Cuomo-only demo of a reprise of "Longtime Sunshine" also appeared on the compilation ''[[Alone III: The Pinkerton Years 1994-1997]]'' (listed simply as "Longtime Sunshine") in [[2011]]. The track also includes a short, instrumental reprise of the song "[[Superfriend]]".
During a [[Memories Tour]] [[Weezer concert: 06/07/2011 - Austin, TX|concert in Austin, Texas]] on [[June 7]], [[2011]], Weezer performed the song live for the first time, featuring a new arrangement. The song was played live a number of additional times, including on [[the Weezer Cruise]]. The song was brought back for [[Weezer concert: 02/27/2019 (a)|a performance for NPR's ''Tiny Desk'' concert series]] in [[2019]].<ref>NPR Music. "Weezer: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert" ''YouTube''. 9 April 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8UKQJZsv4o</ref> The song was also performed solo by Cuomo at Weezer concerts in [[2023]].
==Known recordings==
{{Known recordings header}}
{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Rivers Cuomo]]|Longtime Sunshine||December [[1993]]/January [[1994]]|?, Connecticut|3:15|
*Released online
*''[[Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo]]''|}}
{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Rivers Cuomo]]|Longtime Sunshine|1995 Longtime Sunshine Reprise.mp3|[[1995]]|?|1:23|''[[Alone IV: The Blue-Pinkerton Years]]''|Demo of coda}}
{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Rivers Cuomo]]|Longtime Sunshine|1995 Longtime Sunshine Vocals#1.mp3|[[1995]]|?|0:25|''[[Alone IV: The Blue-Pinkerton Years]]''|Vocal demo of reprise}}
{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Rivers Cuomo]]|Longtime Sunshine|1995 Longtime Sunshine Vocals#2.mp3|[[1995]]|?|0:28|''[[Alone IV: The Blue-Pinkerton Years]]''|Vocal demo of reprise}}
{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Rivers Cuomo]]|Longtime Sunshine|1995 Longtime Sunshine Vocals#3.mp3|[[1995]]|?|0:36|''[[Alone IV: The Blue-Pinkerton Years]]''|Vocal demo of reprise}}
{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Rivers Cuomo]]|Longtime Sunshine|16 Longtime Sunshine.mp3|[[1995]]|?|0:49|''[[Alone III: The Pinkerton Years 1994-1997]]''|Truncated audio from "<samp>1995 Longtime Sunshine Vocals#3.mp3</samp>" + reprise of "[[Superfriend]]"}}


During the filming of the second video for "[[Island in the Sun]]" in 2001, Rivers played "Longtime Sunshine" on acoustic guitar for director [[Spike Jonze]].  A few seconds of this performance were included in a behind the scenes video released on [[Weezer.com]]. It is unknown why Cuomo was playing the song.
{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|Longtime Sunshine||August/September [[1995]]<ref name="rechist8">[[Recording_History_-_Page_8|Weezer Recording History - Page 8]]</ref>|Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY|4:18|''[[Pinkerton]]'' (Deluxe Edition)|With coda experiment}}
{{Known recordings entry|ffaaaa|[[Weezer]]|Longtime Sunshine||[[September 6]], [[1995]]<ref name="rechist8" />|Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY|||}}


During a [[Memories Tour]] [[Weezer concert: 06/07/2011 - Austin, TX|concert]] on [[June 7]], [[2011]] in Austin, TX, Weezer performed the song live for the first time, featuring a new arrangement. The song was played live a number of additional times, including on [[The Weezer Cruise]]. The song was brought back for [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8UKQJZsv4o| a performance at an NPR Music Tiny Desk concert] in [[2019]].
{{Known recordings entry|ffaaaa|[[Rivers Cuomo]]|Longtime Sunshine||September [[1997]]<ref name="rechist10">[[Recording_History_-_Page_10|Weezer Recording History - Page 10]]</ref>|Boston, MA|||}}
===Title origins===
{{Known recordings entry|ffaaaa|[[Homie]]|Longtime Sunshine||Fall [[1997]]<ref name="rechist10" />|?|||}}
The "old hippy song" that the song is based on is the last four minutes of "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Very_Cellular_Song A Very Cellular Song]," which appears on the Incredible String Band's 1968 album ''The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter'' and was written by band member Mike Heron. The original song does in fact use a Jew's harp, a kazoo-like instrument. As the standalone song "May the Long Time Sun Shine On You," this excerpt became very popular among the hippie movement and even in Sikh religious services after its release and has often been assumed to be a much older or more traditional composition.<ref>Wittstamm, Willem. "May the Long Time Sun Shine Upon You: Where It All Began..." ''Aquarian Times'' Feb/March 2009. https://studentsofyogibhajan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Where-it-all-began.pdf</ref>
===Special Coda Mix===
The "Special Coda Mix" is a version of the song experimented with while the band was working with the ''Black Hole'' concept, and is the version that appears on the Deluxe Edition of ''Pinkerton''. It consists of an overlapping medley of vocals from "Longtime Sunshine", "[[Why Bother?]]", "[[No Other One]]", "[[I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams]]", and "[[Blast Off!]]".


{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|Longtime Sunshine||[[June 7]], [[2011]]|[[Weezer concert: 06/07/2011|Stubb's BBQ, Austin, TX]]|3:49|''[[Weezer concert: 06/07/2011|Live in Austin, Texas]]'' (''Pinkerton'')|}}
{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|Longtime Sunshine||[[July 13]], [[2011]]|[[Weezer concert: 07/13/2011|Zepp Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan]]|3:41|''[[Weezer concert: 07/13/2011|Live in Tokyo, Japan]]'' (''The Blue Album'')|}}
{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|Longtime Sunshine||[[January 21]], [[2012]]|[[Weezer concert: 01/21/2012|Palladium Lounge, Carnival Destiny]]|3:43|''[[Weezer concert: 01/21/2012|Live on the Weezer Cruise - Palladium Lounge]]''|}}
{{Known recordings entry|aaffaa|[[Weezer]]|Longtime Sunshine||[[July 29]], [[2012]]|[[Weezer concert: 07/29/2012|Stir Concert Cove at Harrah's Council Bluffs Casino & Hotel, Council Bluffs, IA]]|3:45|''[[Weezer concert: 07/29/2012|Live in Council Bluffs, Iowa]]''|}}
{{Known recordings footer}}
==Live performances==
*[[Weezer concert: 06/07/2011]]
*[[Weezer concert: 07/13/2011]]
*[[Weezer concert: 08/27/2011]]
*[[Weezer concert: 01/21/2012]]
*[[Weezer concert: 05/31/2012]]
*[[Weezer concert: 06/10/2012]]
*[[Weezer concert: 07/14/2012]]
*[[Weezer concert: 07/29/2012]]
*[[Weezer concert: 11/11/2012]]
*[[Weezer concert: 02/27/2019 (a)]]
*[[Weezer concert: 04/24/2023]]
*[[Weezer concert: 07/04/2023]]
==Personnel==
==Personnel==
===Demo version===
===Demo version===
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*[[Matt Sharp]]
*[[Matt Sharp]]
*[[Pat Wilson]]
*[[Pat Wilson]]
==Audio==
==Audio==
<youtube>kifG4IcB_hU</youtube> <youtube>44USiU5Nglo</youtube>
<youtube>kifG4IcB_hU</youtube> <youtube>44USiU5Nglo</youtube>
<youtube>0qoEFDRHnyo</youtube> <youtube>fuQgWjgfiJY</youtube>
==Lyrics==
==Lyrics==
===1994 demo===
{{Lyric box|
===Solo demo===
<poem>Sometimes I wanna pack it all up
<poem>Sometimes I wanna pack it all up
Get on a bus and move to Vermont
Get on a bus and move to Vermont
Or Maine, or any of those states back east
Or Maine, or any of those states back east
That I remember.
That I remember
 
Sometimes I wanna go back to school
Sometimes I wanna go back to school
An east coast college with some history
An east coast college with some history
I'd be satisfied, I know, in the simple things
I'd be satisfied, I know
In the simple things


Longtime sunshine
Longtime sunshine
Longtime sunshine upon me
Longtime sunshine upon me


Sometime I wanna build a house
Sometimes I wanna build a house
With a wood stove or a fire place
With a wood stove or a fireplace
In the middle of the living room
In the middle of the living room
An old piano
An old piano
Sometimes it don't seem so bad
Sometimes it don't seem so bad
To settle down with a good woman
To settle down with a good woman
Leave this lonely life behind forever, and ever
Leave this lonely life behind
Forever, and ever


Longtime sunshine
Longtime sunshine
Line 123: Line 144:
Sometimes I wanna get in a car
Sometimes I wanna get in a car
Close my eyes and drive real fast
Close my eyes and drive real fast
Keep on going 'til I get some place
Keep on going till I get some place
Where I can truly rest
Where I can truly rest


Longtime sunshine
Longtime sunshine
Longtime sunshine upon me
Longtime sunshine upon me
</poem>
</poem>}}{{Lyric box|
===''Pinkerton'' sessions===
<poem>Sometimes I wanna pack it all up
Get on a bus and move to Vermont
Or Maine, or any of those states back east
That I remember
Sometimes I wanna go back to school
An east coast college with some history
I'd be satisfied, I know
In the simple things
 
Longtime sunshine
Longtime sunshine upon me
 
Sometimes I wanna build a house
With a wood stove or a fireplace
And in the middle of the living room
An old piano
Sometimes it don't seem so bad
To settle down with a good woman
Leave this lonely life behind
Forever, and ever
 
Longtime sunshine
Longtime sunshine upon me
Longtime sunshine
Longtime sunshine upon me


===''Pinkerton'' sessions===
<poem>[...]
Goodbye friends, goodbye my girl
Goodbye friends, goodbye my girl
Close my eyes as you fly away
Close my eyes as you fly away
Keep on going 'til you get some place
Keep on going till you get some place
Where you can truly rest.
Where you can truly rest
 
Longtime sunshine
Longtime sunshine upon me
Longtime sunshine
Longtime sunshine upon me


[JONAS:]
Longtime sunshine
Longtime sunshine
Longtime sunshine upon me
Longtime sunshine upon me


(Rivers, repeated:) Longtime sunshine, longtime sunshine, longtime sunshine upon me
[WUAN:]
(Brian, repeated:) Why bother? It's gonna hurt me, it's gonna kill when you desert me
Why bother? It's gonna hurt me
(Matt, repeated:) He is in my eyes, he is in my ears, he is in my blood, he is in my tears
It's gonna kill when you desert me
(Rivers:) No, there is no other one. No, there is no other one. Can't have any other one, even though I would with one
 
(Rivers:)Blast off! Up to the stars we go, and leave behind everything I use to know
[DONDÓ:]
Somebody's giving me a whole lot of money to do what I think I want to
He is in my eyes, he is in my ears
He is in my blood, he is in my tears
No, there is no other one
No, there is no other one
Can't have any other one
Even though I would with one
 
[JONAS:]
Blast off! Up to the stars we go
And leave behind everything I use to know
Somebody's giving me a whole lot of money
To do what I think I want to
So why am I still feeling blue?
So why am I still feeling blue?
Oh, Wuan and Dondó
Oh, Wuan and Dondó
</poem>
</poem>}}
 
==See also==
==See Also==
*[[List of Rivers Cuomo songs]]
* [[List of Rivers Cuomo songs]]
*[[List of Weezer songs]]
* [[List of Weezer songs]]
==References==
==References==
<references />
<references />
[[Category:Songs from the Black Hole]]
[[Category:Songs from the Black Hole]]
[[Category: Weezer songs]]
[[Category:Weezer songs]]
[[Category: Rivers Cuomo]]
[[Category:Rivers Cuomo]]
[[Category:Homie songs]]
[[Category:Homie songs]]
[[Category:Songs that appeared on the 4 and 5 Star Demos of Rivers Cuomo list]]
[[Category:Songs that appeared on the 4 and 5 Star Demos of Rivers Cuomo list]]
[[Category:Songs on Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo]]
[[Category:Songs on Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo]]
[[Category:Self-produced Rivers Cuomo songs]]
[[Category:Alone series]]
[[Category:Songs on Alone III: The Pinkerton Years]]
[[Category:Songs on Alone III: The Pinkerton Years]]
[[Category:Songs on Alone IV: The Blue-Pinkerton Years]]
[[Category:Alone series]]
[[Category:Alone series]]
[[Category:Self-produced Rivers Cuomo songs]]
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