Songfacts®:

• During this contemplative and atmospheric track, Ellie Rowsell contemplates humanity's self-importance.
  
  You were the first person here
  And the last man on the Earth
  But does a light shine on you?
  
  The singer/guitarist explained to Apple Music that she was grappling with the idea of arrogance: "On one hand, it's about my own inner turmoil with my own ego, and on a broader term, the ego of everyone," she said. "They were the things that were rolling around in my head at the time."
• The song originated with a lyric inspired by a line in Kurt Vonnegut's 1963 satirical postmodern novel, Cat's Cradle.
  
  Who were you to ask for anything more?
  Do you wait for your dancing lessons to be sent from God?
  
  Roswell explained: "I had written the line 'Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God' in my notes. But then I thought: 'Uh, your peculiar travel suggestion isn't a dancing lesson from God, it's just a travel suggestion! Why does everything need to mean something more.'"
• Released as the lead single from Wolf Alice's Blue Weekend album, "The Last Man On Earth" starts off in a dreamy piano-led mood before morphing into a string-led rock waltz. "It took me quite a short amount of time to complete it," Rowsell said about the writing process with her bandmates and producer Markus Dravs. "We messed around with a few versions, but it didn't change much. It was one of those songs that you didn't want to ruin with too much thought."
• Canadian musician Owen Pallett, who has also worked with Arcade Fire, Pet Shop Boys, and Snow Patrol, plays the violin and viola as part of the string section. Pallett has recorded his own material under the name Final Fantasy.
• Wolf Alice gave the song its live debut during the March 5, 2021 episode of Later… with Jools Holland.
• The album title came from a cab journey in Belgium where Wolf Alice were recording Blue Weekend. It was a sunny, blue-sky day and as they drove Rowsell suggested to drummer Joel Amey that they go to a nearby forest "on the next blue weekend."
  
  "Blue is a nice color, but it also means sad," Rowsell said to NME. "And I often think the weekend is so fun, but lots of drama takes place then so sometimes it's the catalyst for your downfall."
• A 46-minute film also titled Blue Weekend accompanies the album. Directed by Jordan Hemingway, it premiered at the Picturehouse, Soho, in London on June 10, 2022. London-based photographer and videographer Jordan Hemingway filmed all the Blue Weekend videos. He's also worked with Yves Tumor and on campaigns for Gucci and Nike.
• While recording Blue Weekend at ICP Studios in Brussels, Wolf Alice unexpectedly found themselves secluded in the studio due to COVID lockdowns. But instead of unraveling into cabin-fever chaos, something unexpectedly lovely happened. Bassist Theo Ellis described the period as having a "weird family vibe... actually amazing."
  
  They lived together, worked every day, and starred in their own unofficial "studio sitcom."