Songfacts®:

• "The Last Benedict" features typically surreal Kurt Wagner lyrics with a pinch of self-effacing humor.
  
  And I pretend I hear an ocean
  And I can almost smell the sea
  Let's say that writer was an a--hole
  Let's just say that asshole wasn't me
  
  Wagner told Uncut magazine what he references in his songs is usually routed in some kind of experience, usually his, and that helps make it true for him.
• The title doesn't appear in the lyrics. Asked what "The Last Benedict" is about, Wagner replied:
  
  "We were playing at an event called Pickathon and on the morning of the show, I'd come down to breakfast a bit late and there was one sad eggs Benedict left in the serving tray.
  
  Then at some point later, the film Giant was on the television, and at the end, there's this bemused, beaten up Rock Hudson staring at his grandson, and he says something to the effect of 'the last Benedict.'"
• Wagner interlaces his vocals with those of a quasi-opera singer. He told Music OMH the singer is Andrew Broder, the frontman of indie rock band Fog. Broder helped him flesh out the piano ideas on the album and "likes to contribute in that kind of way."
  
  Broder performed the vocal live. "It seemed oddly appropriate and enhanced the mood," Wagner said.
• The song is the closing track of Showtunes. Kurt Wagner, the only permanent member of Lambchop, recorded it remotely with Jeremy Ferguson, who acted as co-producer and engineer.
• Showtunes takes inspiration from musical theater, hence the name. Wagner can't play piano, but he figured out a way to convert his guitar tracks into MIDI piano for the record.