Greg Boyer Reflects Without Regret on New Single “Perfectly Gone”
Veteran songwriter Greg Boyer shares “Perfectly Gone,” a spare, thoughtful folk-pop reflection shaped by restraint, atmosphere, and emotional economy. Inspired by a breakup and written during a period immersed in rockabilly and folk influences, the track feels less like a lament and more like a moment of calm acceptance; an acknowledgement rather than a reckoning.
“There’s no big story behind the title,” Boyer says simply. “The two words worked well together.”Â
That same directness defines the song itself. Built around repetition rather than escalation, “Perfectly Gone”uses its title as a subtle anchor; a quiet hook that reinforces the song’s emotional stillness rather than pushing toward resolution.
The track’s journey to release was anything but immediate. Written years ago and buried in a forgotten folder, “Perfectly Gone” resurfaced almost by accident.Â
“I had completely forgotten about it,” Boyer recalls. “It was rejuvenated in two takes, and now it’s one of my favourites.”Â
That rediscovery lends the song an added sense of distance and perspective; a reflection viewed through time rather than raw immediacy.
Producer Malcolm Burn helped shape the song’s understated mood, choosing an atmospheric palette that mirrors its emotional clarity. A lap steel guitar provides a restrained, open-ended solo, reinforcing the song’s dreamlike calm rather than interrupting it. Boyer’s lyricism remains intentionally minimal, leaning on images instead of narrative detail. As Terri Thal (Bob Dylan’s first manager) once remarked after hearing the track, it’s “an acknowledgement, not a mourning… and it doesn’t go into interminable detail.”
Measured, emotional, and quietly resolute, “Perfectly Gone” resists over-explanation. It sits comfortably in the space between feeling and release; brief by design, and all the stronger for it.