Undun (song)

"Undun" is a song recorded by Canadian rock group The Guess Who. It spent two weeks at #21 on the Canadian Singles Chart in November–December 1969 and reached #3 on the AC chart. In the US, it reached #15 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart and #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of November 29, 1969.

It was written by Randy Bachman after hearing Bob Dylan's "Ballad in Plain D", which included the phrase "she was easily undone". Bachman's song tells the story of a girl he had seen at a party who, after consuming LSD, slipped into a coma. The song takes its structure from new jazz guitar chords Bachman had learned from his friend and neighbour Lenny Breau. The flute part required the learning of a new instrument by Burton Cummings. Bachman says, “Burton could play the sax, and we discovered that a flute used the same fingering. We went to a music store, bought a flute, and he learned how to play the solo. He’d never played the flute in his life.” Bachman used his Gibson ES-335 and a 1957 Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins to record the guitar parts. During the Guess Who's 2000 reunion Running Back Thru Canada tour, Bachman's former bandmate Cummings declared the song to be one of Bachman's finest compositions and "one of the best songs ever written by any Canadian songwriter". Bachman himself has stated that "Undun" is his favourite song from his time as a member of The Guess Who.

The original 4:17 version of "Undun", complete with a country guitar section at the end, appeared on The Guess Who's 1969 album, Canned Wheat, and an edit was initially released as the B-side of the single "Laughing" which peaked on August 23, 1969. The song gained popularity when disc jockeys started turning the "Laughing" record over.

Legacy
Numerous jazz and other musicians have recorded "Undun". These include Phish, Hennie Bekker, Steve Cole, The Phil Dwyer Septet, Kurt Elling, Ranee Lee, Sophie Milman, Hugo Montenegro, and Alexander Zonjic. The song was covered by the Trans-Canada Highwaymen for their 2023 album, Explosive Hits Vol. 1.

The song plays in the background of a fight scene between Robert De Niro and Bridget Fonda in Quentin Tarantino's 1997 film Jackie Brown.

Personnel

 * Burton Cummings – vocals, flute
 * Randy Bachman – guitar
 * Jim Kale – bass
 * Garry Peterson – drums