Say Goodbye (Cheap Trick song)


"Say Goodbye" is a song by the American rock band Cheap Trick, released in 1997 as the lead single from their thirteenth studio album Cheap Trick. The song was written by guitarist Rick Nielsen, lead vocalist Robin Zander and bassist Tom Petersson, and produced by Cheap Trick and Ian Taylor.

Background

After the commercial failure of the band's 1994 album Woke Up with a Monster, Cheap Trick left Warner Bros. Records and signed with the indie label Red Ant Records. The band released Cheap Trick, their second eponymous album, in 1997, with "Say Goodbye" being released as the US single. The song reached No. 119 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Chart and No. 39 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart. The song was a bigger success in Canada, where it reached No. 13. Red Ant's parent company Alliance Entertainment Corporation would declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy eleven weeks after the album's release and the band were left an unsigned act again. The single remains Cheap Trick's last appearance on the Billboard Hot 100.
A music video was filmed to promote the single, which later featured on a bonus DVD which came with certain editions of the band's 2003 studio album Special One. The band also performed the song live on the American TV show Hard Rock Live in 1997, along with "Dream Police", "Surrender", "I Want You to Want Me" and "Carnival Game".

Release

"Say Goodbye" was released on CD and cassette in America by Red Ant Entertainment, and on CD in Australia and Japan by Cortex and the Victor respectively. For the American single, the A-side was titled "Say Goodbye ". The B-side, "Yeah Yeah", was taken from Cheap Trick, and was also written by Nielsen, Zander and Petersson. The Japanese CD version was released as a 3-inch CD with a snap-pack design.

Critical reception

In a review of the single, Doug Stone of AllMusic described the song and its B-side as "two first-class tunes from Cheap Trick's artistically-pleasing but ultimately ill-fated revival". Stone commented that "Say Goodbye" "delivers an irksome send-off which quotes Dylan and the Beatles", while "Yeah Yeah" "is a strong and snarly album cut". In a review of Cheap Trick, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic listed the song as one of the album's "terrific moments". Billboard described the song as "gloriously melodious" and "one of Cheap Trick's best ever bits of Beatlemania". Rolling Stone spoke of the B-side in a review of the album, commenting on Zander's "shredded-Lennon bellow".

Track listing

;CD single
  1. "Say Goodbye " - 3:30
  2. "Yeah Yeah" - 3:12
;CD single
  1. "Say Goodbye " - 3:30
;CD single
  1. "Say Goodbye" - 3:34
  2. "Yeah Yeah" - 3:12
;3-Inch CD single
  1. "Say Goodbye" - 3:30
  2. "Yeah Yeah" - 3:14
Cassette single
  1. "Say Goodbye " - 3:30
  2. "Yeah Yeah" - 3:12

    Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

;Cheap Trick
;Additional personnel