Say Goodbye (2022 Version)

Robert James

Meh.

Originally written for the 2010 RPM Challenged and finished about a year and a half later. It was called Dogfight and the lyrics were about… Top Gun, or Hot Shots, or some air combat shit. I can remember sitting at my desk in the cellar writing the lyrics and thinking to myself that not only were they absolutely terrible, but I had no idea where they were coming from.

It originally went onto the list of songs to re-record in 2016, my second attempt at a project like this, and it was moved back and forth to and from the dropped list at least twice. In fact, when I started putting together then MIDI tracks, bass and drums, it was literally still on the dropped list. I told myself I would only finish it if I rewrote the lyrics, so I replaced the shitty lyrics with slightly less shitty but still pretty shitty lyrics and carried on.

This version sounds better and feels better and is better than the original, but I still don’t love it. It does have a four bar long drum solo though, so kick ass.

The guitar tracks are all my Gibson Les Paul Standard. Pedals/Amp on the rhythm are a Klon KTR into a Malaise Forever Black Lives Matter (a combination I think I am starting to fall out of love with) into a Fender Bassbreaker 18/30. The leads used a Ryra The Klone into a Wren and Cuff Super Russian into a Fender Bassbreaker 15.

Verse 1
Say goodbye
to old times
don’t ask why
just apply

Verse 2
Final chance
to advance
passing glance
circumstance

Chorus
You cannot escape it
You cannot replace it
you cannot deface it
You cannot erase it

You cannot defeat them
You cannot unseat them
You cannot delete them
You cannot mistreat them