"Long Long Time" is a song written by Gary White[1] which became a hit for Linda Ronstadt in 1970. "Long Long Time" is about a lasting love for someone who never became a lover.
Linda Ronstadt version
In 1970, Linda Ronstadt released the song as a single and on the album Silk Purse.[1] The single spent 12 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 25,[2] while reaching No. 15 on Canada's "RPM 100" (her first single there),[3] No. 8 on Canada's CHUM 30 chart,[4] and No. 20 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart.[5][6]
The song is played during the third episode (which shares the name with the song but adds a comma to the episode title that the song release does not contain)[15] of the 2023 television series The Last of Us, serving as a motif for the relationship between Bill and Frank.[16] After the episode was broadcast, Spotify announced that streams of the song increased by 4,900% over the previous week;[17] several outlets compared it to the 2022 resurgence of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" after its use in the fourth season of Stranger Things.[18][19][20] In the period after the episode was broadcast, the song topped three separate Billboard charts, more than 50 years after its release, placing at No. 1 on the Rock Digital Song Sales ranking dated February 11, 2023.[21]
The song also features in a scene from the 2024 comedy road movie Drive-Away Dolls.