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Goodbye songs
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 10:32 am
by Traxan
So I'm in kind of a morose mood and looking around at songs where the writer is saying goodbye to the fans.
The one that’s hitting me the hardest even though the writer wasn’t dying at the time is “The Garden” by Rush. Not that Peart predicted his death in eight years, but it was the last song he ever wrote on the last Rush album and it seems clear interpretation (including by most fans) that Peart is saying I’m done and goodbye.
Another obvious track is “Till The End” on Motorhead’s last album. Several people have said that reading these lyrics, they got the feeling Lemmy knew that this would be his last album. He was in pretty bad shape even when the album came out it only got worse and those lyrics are very poignant.
There’s also “Keep Me In Your Heart” by Warren Zevon and “Don’t Worry About Me” by Joey Ramone, both songs written and recorded as those two men were dying of cancer. I’m not a fan of them but I understand what they were saying.
What else ya got?
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 10:35 am
by MattleyCrue
Goodbye - Enuff ZNuff
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 10:40 am
by Mojo
"Show Must Go On" is pretty obvious. Brian knew exactly where Freddie was headed when he wrote it.
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 10:40 am
by LAglamrocker
Mane Attraction
Farewell To You..last White Lion song
Band saying good bye to fans and career
Probably last song Cobain heard before Courtney came into the room

Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 11:06 am
by MetalSludgeCEO
"I Hate Kissing You Goodbye" >
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC-9NBhxTxw
Of course...
$tEvil
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 11:49 am
by Traxan
Would Johnny Cash's rendition of "Hurt" count?
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 11:55 am
by Rocker4Real
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 12:05 pm
by Chip Z'Hoy
Purple Mountains - the entire self-titled album
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 12:24 pm
by Sleek
Not a goodbye song per se, but the way Diary of a Madman ends, so sad and epic always just leaves me sitting there for a couple seconds afterwards thinking: "And that was it. The final song on Randy Rhoads final album." because it sounds like exactly that.
The big fanfare leading up to that last: Dun dun! Sounds like an ending. A permanent ending.
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 12:45 pm
by TheDeadBastard
I don't think Buckley intended this to be a "see you later song" but it basically ended up being that:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MMXjunSx80
Don't going swimming in the Mississippi kids!
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 12:55 pm
by keyofgee
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 1:48 pm
by HoldenSSV
Night Ranger - Goodbye
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 2:06 pm
by daveg
HoldenSSV wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2025 1:48 pm
Night Ranger - Goodbye
Don't think this is about saying goodbye to fans. Unless they knew their next album would just about bury them.
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 2:58 pm
by Hatchets Molly
HoldenSSV wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2025 1:48 pm
Night Ranger - Goodbye
That's the one I was going to say. Has a good melody, and I like nostalgic stuff that reminds me of summers in high school, getting laid by my first real gf, that kind of stuff.
Edit: Sorry. Didn't read the OP. Was just scrolling and thinking of "Goodbye songs."
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 4:48 pm
by Hair I Go Again
They're not "goodbye to the world"-type songs, but here are two for the hell of it:
--Hardcore Superstar ended their modern classic "You Can't Kill My Rock 'N Roll" with a song called -- wait for it -- "Goodbye" (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9nOK2cb-qU). It's essentially a "the show's over, thanks for coming, see you next time" song.
--Mr. Big just released an absolutely dreadful new song in Japan called "Forever In Our Hearts" that will apparently serve as their farewell single. They're obviously not dying, but you'll want to do so after you hear it. Here's a sample:
https://music.apple.com/jp/album/foreve ... 1794514712
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 6:00 pm
by TheRiotRoom
Warren Zevon-Keep Me In Your Heart. Dude knew he was dying of cancer and went into the studio to record one last album.
https://youtu.be/RMTKb-pgxGI?si=Kdsm3D7dYNbk05ST
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 7:18 pm
by mrsnikkisixx
David Bowie’s entire Blackstar album
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 10:27 pm
by GoodJudge
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MCuXhBz3cJ0
Wolfsbane - Say Goodbye. Last track on the bonus disc to the last (initial break-up) album. They said in the cd booklet that it hadn't been written as a farewell song, but then Blaze got the Maiden offer, so...
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 11:47 pm
by Hellsinkey
Alice In Chains' Died & Get Born Again may have been written by Jerry Cantrell as a hint to Layne Staley to shape up. Died was the last song Layne sang.
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2025 2:05 am
by risingfarce
Mojo wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2025 10:40 am
"Show Must Go On" is pretty obvious. Brian knew exactly where Freddie was headed when he wrote it.
Prior to "The Show Must Go On" there was "Was It All Worth It". Then with "The Show Must Go On" there was "These Are The Days Of Our Lives". After that there was "Mother Love".
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2025 9:13 am
by HORRORHOLIC1979
Slipknot - Goodbye
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2025 12:41 pm
by Demon Kogure
Thin Lizzy, "Heart Attack"
Last song on their last album
"My heart can't handle the strain that's shaking it"
"Papa, I'm dying of an overdose"
"I tried to warn you there was something wrong"
Shit's brutal
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2025 1:53 pm
by Earl Skakel
Traxan wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2025 10:32 am
So I'm in kind of a morose mood and looking around at songs where the writer is saying goodbye to the fans.
The one that’s hitting me the hardest even though the writer wasn’t dying at the time is “The Garden” by Rush. Not that Peart predicted his death in eight years, but it was the last song he ever wrote on the last Rush album and it seems clear interpretation (including by most fans) that Peart is saying I’m done and goodbye.
Another obvious track is “Till The End” on Motorhead’s last album. Several people have said that reading these lyrics, they got the feeling Lemmy knew that this would be his last album. He was in pretty bad shape even when the album came out it only got worse and those lyrics are very poignant.
There’s also “Keep Me In Your Heart” by Warren Zevon and “Don’t Worry About Me” by Joey Ramone, both songs written and recorded as those two men were dying of cancer. I’m not a fan of them but I understand what they were saying.
What else ya got?
I knew Lemmy for a very long time essentially being neighbors and I used to take him to my dentist but man the last time I was him was at Sunset Oil(gas station on Sunset/San Vicente)and he looked like a walking skeleton and I think he died about a week later and the image of him looking at me that night is burned in my brain.
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2025 4:29 am
by DavidLeeLarsUlrichRoth
Not a goodbye to the fans, per say, but Goodbye to Romance was Ozzy's goodbye to his days in Black Sabbath.
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2025 4:50 am
by AliceManson
Gregg Allman My Only True Friend.
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Fri Feb 14, 2025 5:28 am
by veritas
Alice In Chains: It's Over Now
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2025 7:03 am
by DavidLeeLarsUlrichRoth
BernieTaupson wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2025 4:34 am
DavidLeeLarsUlrichRoth wrote: ↑Fri Feb 14, 2025 4:29 am
Not a goodbye to the fans, per say, but Goodbye to Romance was Ozzy's goodbye to his days in Black Sabbath.
Bullshit. He didn’t write any of it. Much like Suicide Solution he has invented a story well after the fact about what the song is about.
I agree; however, when I said "Ozzy's farewell", I meant him singing it, not necessarily writing it (Randy and Bob Daisley, mostly).
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2025 1:00 pm
by factchecker
Fire and Ice by POISON is a guilty pleasure of mine and even better when played live (7 days live). I'd say Richie Kotzen's lead guitar and backing vocals mog that of the over-rated "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" that schmucks used to play as a loser anthem in any (now long closed) bikers Pub.
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2025 3:19 pm
by MickeyG
GoodJudge wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2025 10:27 pm
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MCuXhBz3cJ0
Wolfsbane - Say Goodbye. Last track on the bonus disc to the last (initial break-up) album. They said in the cd booklet that it hadn't been written as a farewell song, but then Blaze got the Maiden offer, so...
This is what came to my mind as I was reading through the replies. Good song too.
Re: Goodbye songs
Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2025 5:12 am
by Nobodyspecial
Night Ranger - Goodbye
Dokken - Walk Away
LA Guns - It's over now
Def Leppard - Goodbye
Bon Jovi - Never say goodbye
White Lion - Farewell to you