13 Songs That Say Goodbye
Saying goodbye to someone you care for is an uphill task but at some point in life we all have to experience all the emotions that come with the task. Goodbyes are a signal to the end of something. If you looking for some songs that resonate with this stage in life, here is a list of songs you can try out.
1. Westlife – Seasons In The Sun
The song is Westlife’s cover of the song of the same name by Terry Jacks which itself is an English version cover of ‘Le Moribond’ by Jacques Brel. The lyrics of the track bring out the message of saying goodbye to an old chapter in life that has ended and looking forward to a new challenge. You say goodbye to those whom you shared the whole experience with and appreciate all the time you spent together.
2. Hannah Montana – I’ll Always Remember You
The track was featured in Hannah Montana Forever which was the final season. She reveals to her boyfriend Jesse that she has been moonlighting as Hannah Montana while being a normal teenage girl Miley Stewart. He ends up breaking up with her after not being able to handle “two girls”.
Lyrically, Hannah sings about the end of a chapter in her life and is thankful for the moments she shared with her ex-boyfriend. She wishes him luck and hopes the world opens up to him. It is hard for her to say goodbye.
3. Rihanna – Farewell
This is the closing original track on Rihanna’s standard edition of Talk That Talk. She is saying goodbye to a lover who is leaving to find better opportunities in life. She is trying to hold herself back so that he doesn’t try to change his mind and stay.
4. James Blunt – Goodbye My Lover
This is the third single from the Back to Bedlam album released in 2005 and it was the highest-selling album of 2005 in the UK. James recorded the song while he stayed with Carrie Fisher in Los Angeles in her bathroom. They had no money to get a decent studio so they cut costs by recording it in a bathroom.
Lyrically, James Blunt is saying goodbye to an ex-lover who meant so much to him.
5. NSYNC – Bye Bye Bye
This is the quintet’s most popular song and was part of the album No Strings Attached. Lyrically, they are saying goodbye to a girl who has just been a pain to them.
The song has been speculated to be about their former manager Lou Pearlman who had been sued by several of the bands that he once oversaw. He had been sentenced to 25 years and passed away due to a stroke.
6. Alicia Keys – Goodbye
The song was off her album ‘Songs In A Minor”. She sings about how she is finding it hard to say goodbye to a lover who she loves so much. The song applies to anyone who must leave someone behind.
7. Tyrone Wells – Time Of Our Lives
The song is about moving on from one period of his life to another and the difficulty of saying goodbye. In an interview with Campus Circle, Tyrone Wells had this to say about the song:
I wrote that with a friend of mine. We were just talking about that time in life when you are moving from one reality to the next. So for me, I was thinking about when I left high school and I packed all my stuff into my little Sirocco, which is a Volkswagen, and left Spokane, Wash to move down to Southern California. That was rolling around in my head, knowing I had to say goodbye to all these people that I knew and loved. It’s kind of like a coming-of-age thing that happens to all of us: leave home and start making your own life.
8. Sarah McLachlan – I Will Remember You
This is a pop rock song that first appeared on The Brothers McMullen in 1995. It peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is a reflective look back at a relationship with a past love and cherishing the moments they had together.
9. Train – 50 Ways To Say Goodbye
The lyrics are a tongue-in-cheek narrative which is about being dumped by a girl. The singer claims he will say his girlfriend died in a variety of outlandish ways rather than admit he was dumped by her.
10. Carrie Underwood – Don’t Forget To Remember Me
Lyrically the song talks about Underwood moving away from home and finding her own place to live. Her mother tells her not to forget her and that she will be there anytime that she needs her.
11. Backlash ft Aarya – Never A Goodbye
12. Miley Cyrus – Slide Away
The song was released after Miley broke up with her husband Liam and it talks about Miley planning to move on. It tells us that if you love something, you need to let go.
Miley and Liam first met while filming The Last Song. They dated on and off in the decade after and married in December 2008 but announced they were splitting again in August 2019.
13. Dolly Parton – I Will Always Love You
The song made Parton become the first ever artist ever to earn a number-one record twice with the same song as a singer and three times as a writer. It is the second single from her thirteenth solo studio album, Jolene.