"So Far Away" is a song written by Carole King, which appeared on her 1971 album Tapestry. The recording features James Taylor on acoustic guitar. In addition to Taylor, and King on piano, instruments include Russ Kunkel on drums, Charles Larkey on bass guitar and Curtis Amy on flute.
The lyrics express longing for a lover who is far away. AllMusic critic Bill Janovitz notes that while the lyrics start by focusing on the physical distance between the lovers, the lyrics use that as a jumping-off point to explore emotional distance between lovers as well. Rolling Stone stated King's "warm, earnest singing" on the song brought out the song's sadness. Cash Box said of it that "Carole weaves a magnificent ballad spun of soft, melodic phrasing and soothing piano accompaniment topped off with the superb Lou Adler production touch." Record World called it a "finely crafted cut". In 2017, Paste ranked the song number four on their list of the 12 greatest Carole King songs, and in 2022, American Songwriter ranked the song number two on their list of the 10 greatest Carole King songs. It was performed at Amy Winehouse's funeral by friends and family as it was one of Winehouse's favorite songs. In 2024 Ultimate Classic Rock critic Michael Gallucci rated it as the 29th greatest soft rock song, saying that it incorporates "one of [King's] most beautiful melodies."
Personnel Carole King – piano, vocals Curtis Amy – flute Russ Kunkel – drums Charles "Charlie" Larkey – bass guitar James Taylor – acoustic guitar
Covers In 1995, Rod Stewart's cover of the song was included on the tribute album Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King. In the US, it was released as a single and peaked at #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It reached #4 on the Canadian AC chart.RPM Magazine. Adult Contemporary - Volume 63, No. 4. Adult Contemporary - Volume 63, No. 4. March 11, 1996. "So Far Away" was later included on his 1996 ballad compilation album If We Fall in Love Tonight.
In popular culture The song was featured in Sofia Coppola's 1999 film The Virgin Suicides.
Chart history
Weekly charts Carole King original Chart (1971) Peakposition Canada RPM 100 Singles17 Canada RPM Adult Contemporary12 U.S. Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[ Billboard Singles charts for singles from Tapestry] on allmusic3 U.S. Billboard Hot 10014US Cashbox Hot 10013 U.S. Record World Singles Chart5 Rod Stewart cover Chart (1996) Peakposition Canada RPM Adult Contemporary4 Germany74 U.S. Adult Contemporary2
Year-end charts Chart (1971)RankU.S. Adult Contemporary (Billboard)Billboard, December 25, 1971.U.S. (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)118
Certifications Carole King original
References
External links [ Review] at Allmusic