The Last Thing on My Mind

 "The Last Thing on My Mind" is a song written by American musician and singer-songwriter Tom Paxton in the early 1960s and recorded first by Paxton in 1964. It is based on the traditional lament song "The Leaving of Liverpool". The song was released on Paxton's 1964 album Ramblin' Boy, which was his first album released on Elektra Records.

The song remains one of Paxton's best-known compositions.

The song is based on the traditional lament song "The Leaving of Liverpool", and also builds on Bob Dylan's song "Farewell". 

"The Last Thing on My Mind" was covered by Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton and released as their debut duet single on October 30, 1967, by RCA Victor. Their version peaked at No.7 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, the first of an almost uninterrupted string of top ten singles they would release over the next several years.  

The single was well received by critics upon release. Billboard gave a positive review of the single, which said that Wagoner and Parton's "initial outing should be a giant." They concluded by saying that "the folk-oriented ballad...has much pop potential." In another positive review, Cashbox called the single "a very effective updating of the contemporary folk ditty," with "an appealing blending of voices" which "makes this a good bet for big chart honors." 

"The Last Thing on My Mind" debuted at No.70 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It would eventually peak at No.7 and spend a total of 17 weeks on the chart. The single's B-side, "Love Is Worth Living", was successful in Canada, peaking at No.4 on the RPM Country Singles chart. 

A solo version by Dolly Parton was released on February 16, 2023, from the Doc Watson tribute album I Am a Pilgrim: Doc Watson at 100. The song was nominated for the 66th Grammy Awards in the Best Country Solo Performance category.

To download the easy alphanotes sheet music, look here. Enjoy!

Lyrics:

Are you going away with no word of farewell
Will there be not a trace left behind
Well, I could have loved you better, didn't mean to be unkind
You know that was the last thing on my mind

It's a lesson too late for the learnin'
Made of sand, made of sand
In the wink of an eye my soul is turnin'
In your hand, in your hand

Are you going away with no word of farewell
Will there be not a trace left behind
Well, I could have loved you better, didn't mean to be unkind
You know that was the last thing on my mind

You've got reasons a-plenty for goin'
This I know, this I know
For the weeds have been steadily growin'
Please don't go, please don't go

Are you going away with no word of farewell
Will there be not a trace left behind
Well, I could have loved you better, didn't mean to be unkind
You know that was the last thing on my mind

As I lie in my bed in the mornin'
Without you, without you
Each song in my breast lies a burnin'
Without you, without you

Are you going away with no word of farewell
Will there be not a trace left behind
Well, I could have loved you better, didn't mean to be unkind
You know that was the last thing on my mind

Are you going away with no word of farewell
Will there be not a trace left behind
Well, I could have loved you better, didn't mean to be unkind
You know that was the last thing on my mind
That was the last thing on my mind