"Good Excuse" is a promotional-only release by the Australian jam band, The John Butler Trio, from their fourth studio album Grand National.
| "Good Excuse" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The John Butler Trio | ||||
| from the album Grand National | ||||
| A-side | "Good Excuse" | |||
| Released | March 2007 | |||
| Recorded | 2004 Sing Sing Studios Melbourne, Australia | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, roots rock, funk | |||
| Length | 3:26 | |||
| Label | Jarrah — AUS Atlantic — US | |||
| Songwriter | John Butler | |||
| Producers | John Butler Mario Caldato Jr. | |||
| The John Butler Trio singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Good Excuse" was released in March 2007 in Australia by Jarrah Records and in the United States by Atlantic Records.
Butler describes the song as a "wake-up call to our self-obsessed consumerist society".[1][2]
Awards
edit"Good Excuse" won 'Blues & Roots Work of the Year' at the 2008 Australasian Performing Right Association Awards.[3]
Video
editThe video for the song was directed by James Hackett and Jean Camden (Hackett Films) and features a combination of 2D and 3D animation together with live action.[4] The video was nominated 'Most Popular Music Video' at the 2008 West Australian Music Industry Awards.
Track listing
editWritten by John Butler[5]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Good Excuse" | 3:26 |
| Total length: | 3:26 | |
Personnel
editJohn Butler Trio
edit- John Butler — vocals, acoustic/amplified 6 string guitar, harmonica
- Shannon Birchall — double bass, backing vocals
- Michael Barker — drums, congas, shaker, tambourine, cow bells, vibraslap, backing vocals
Additional musicians
edit- Michael Caruana — piano, B3 Hammond
Production credits
edit- John Butler — producer
- Mario Caldato Jr. — producer, engineer, mixing
- Shannon Birchall — co-producer
- Michael Barker — co-producer
- Jarrad Hearman — assistant engineer
- Bernie Grundman — mastering
- Tom Walker — artwork
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[6] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ↑ "John Butler Trio Biography". ArtistDirect. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
- ↑ "Grand designs". Sydney Morning Herald. 22 March 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
- ↑ "APRA/AMCOS: 2008 Winners". Australasian Performing Right Association. Archived from the original on 1 April 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
- ↑ "John Butler Trio - Good Excuse". Hackett Films. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ ""Good Excuse" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
- ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2025 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 3 September 2025.