Warning: spoilers ahead for The Last of Us episode 3.
The Last of Us delivered an absolutely stellar piece of TV with the release of episode 3, leaving viewers in tears as they watched Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank’s (Murray Bartlett) love story unfold in the show.
It has also sparked a renewed interest in Linda Ronstadt’s hit song Long, Long Time, thanks to it being featured in pivotal moments in the story, resulting in it soaring on streaming platform Spotify.
In the episode, Bill and Frank first meet four years into the pandemic, with the former hesitantly welcoming the latter into his home.
After serving him a magnificent meal, an energised Frank decides to play the song in question on the piano, singing along with it, much to Bill’s discomfort.
Bill, who isn’t fond of other people touching his things, asks Frank to stop before taking over himself, delivering a gentler and more stirring rendition of the song.
This leads to them sharing their first kiss, before sleeping together for the first time ahead of spending the rest of their lives at each other’s sides.
The song is played again at the end of the episode, when Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) drive away in Bill’s truck, after the teenager played the old cassette tape.
Long, Long Time – which is also the name of the episode – was written by Gary White and was a major hit for Linda in 1970.
It includes heartfelt lyrics such as: ‘’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.’
Spotify revealed that on Sunday January 29 – the night that the episode came out – ‘there was a more than 4,900% increase in US streams of Long, Long Time by Linda Ronstadt’ between 11pm and midnight ET.
The post-apocalyptic show airs every Sunday in the US and 6pm Pacific Time and 9pm Eastern Time, with episodes also dropping at 2am GMT in the UK.
Series co-creator Craig Mazin recently opened up about the choice of song for the episode, telling IndieWire about the piano scene: ‘I had the thought that this would happen, that there was a song that would be played, and that we would be surprised by who was good at it and who was bad at it.
‘I remember saying to Neil [Druckmann], “I’m not sure what the song is, I just know that it has to be this incredibly sad song about yearning for love, and never getting love, and just making your peace with the fact that you will always be alone. But it can’t be on the nose. And it can’t be a song that we all know.”’
Craig turned to his friend Seth Rudetsky, a host on Sirius XM On Broadway, for help, who immediately came up with Long, Long Time.
Hot Property Picks from Metro
Bed in conservatory listed as 'studio flat' to rent for £1,200 per month
We bought an uninhabited island for £24,000 — it was a lot cheaper than a house deposit
London’s ‘secret’ village with ‘stunning views’ named one of UK’s best to live in
The former owners of my house asked to look inside 30 years on — my answer shocked them
Nuclear bunker with Renaissance-style interiors could be yours for £15,000
The Last of Us is available to watch on Sky and NOW, with new episodes released on Mondays.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
Share this with