Amanda Palmer and The Righteous Babes Cover Sinéad O’Connor’s “The Last Day of Our Acquaintance”

Last month, Sinéad O’Connor died at 56. Since Sinéad’s loss, the song that’s been hitting me hardest is “The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance,” a gut-twisting breakup ballad from her 1990 album I Do Not What What I Haven’t Want. A few artists have tried covering her songs. Now, Amanda Palmer has taken on “The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance” with some friends, making some big changes but honoring the power of the original.

For her version of “The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance,” Amanda Palmer has teamed up with the Righteous Babes, a supergroup affiliated with Ani DiFranco’s label. The members of the Righteous Babes — Gracie And Rachel, Holly Miranda, Jocelyn Mackenzie — have all done big things outside the context of their group. Palmer also got a string arrangement from Jherek Bischoff, the composer who’s probably best-known for his work with David Byrne. (In the past, Palmer and Bischoff have worked together to honor fallen greats like David Bowie and Prince.)

This cover of “The Last Day of Our Acquaintance” immediately dives into the lyrics. The song takes its time with itself going line by line; it takes about a minute to get through the first verse. There is a theme of having no closure in the song. “I’ll talk but you won’t listen to me I know what your answer will be”. A theme of lacking love afterwards. “I know you don’t love me anymore You used to hold my hand when the plane took off”.

The song talks about how time flies and how relationships deteriorate over time. “Two years ago there just seemed so much more And I don’t know what happened to our love”. It continues to talk about failed relationships over time, despite this, the protagonist and their lover find closure. “Days and day Our friendship has been stale And we will meet later to finalize the details”.  There is a theme of abuse in the song; it appears the protagonist has “taken me for granted”.

In the third minute, the instrumental becomes much louder as the last lyrics are spoken. It’s as if the protagonist of the song is unable to keep it together. The lyrics repeat themselves; they represent how their friend (or lover) won’t give them closure. “I know your answer already”.