"Layla" (Coda) by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon

Let’s make the best of the situation
Before I finally go insane
Please don’t say we’ll never find a way
And tell me all my love’s in vain
—"Layla" verse lyrics

The song, “Layla,” was released in 1972 on “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970),” the only studio album recorded by the band Derek and the Dominos.

Nezami Ganjawi, the twelfth century Persian poet, tells the tragic tale of love between Layla and Majnun. Layla’s father marries her off to a man she does not love, and Majnun (meaning “madman”) goes insane in his obsession for her.

Legendary guitarist and singer Eric Clapton had been introduced to this story, and saw a parallel in his love for the English model and photographer, Pattie Boyd. At the time, Boyd was married to Clapton’s friend, and Beatle, George Harrison. Boyd married Clapton a few years following her and Harrison’s divorce. George, Ringo and Paul performed at their wedding. (John Lennon was notably not invited.)

The signature piano section, often referred to as the song’s coda, was memorialized by Martin Scorsese in a classic scene of the 1990 film, “Goodfellas.”