"Here Comes Goodbye"
Single by Rascal Flatts
from the album Unstoppable
ReleasedJanuary 20, 2009 (2009-01-20) (Radio)
March 10, 2009 (2009-03-10) (iTunes)
GenreCountry
Length4:04
LabelLyric Street
Songwriter(s)Clint Lagerberg
Chris Sligh[1][2]
Producer(s)Dann Huff
Rascal Flatts[3]
Rascal Flatts singles chronology
"Here"
(2008)		 "Here Comes Goodbye"
(2009)		 "Summer Nights"
(2009)
Music video
"Here Comes Goodbye" at CMT.com

"Here Comes Goodbye" is a song written by American Idol season 6 finalist Chris Sligh and Clint Lagerberg[1][4] and recorded by American country music group Rascal Flatts, who released it in January 2009 as the first single from their album Unstoppable and the twenty-third single of their career. This song debuted at number 29 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts dated for February 7, 2009 and became their 10th number one on the chart dated April 25, 2009. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals" in 2010.

History

Lagerberg came up with the opening line "I can hear the truck tires coming up the gravel road" after thinking about his childhood home in Maine, which had a long gravel driveway.[5] Sligh then decided to take the line and make it into a song where "something's coming, and it's not good."[5] The opening piano melody came from a melody that Sligh played when Lagerberg was checking on Sligh's daughter, and decided to use it because they thought that it would capture the listener's attention.[5]

Content

"Here Comes Goodbye" is a power ballad beginning with piano accompaniment. The lyric explains the male narrator's realization that his lover is about to leave him. A string section and electric guitar accompaniment backs the song from the second verse onward, and an electric guitar solo precedes the bridge.

Critical reception

The song has received mixed reviews from music critics. Jim Malec of The 9513 gave it a "thumbs down" rating. His review criticized it for "having an overly dramatic production in contrast to its underdeveloped lyrics", which he thought "made the song sound awkward". He describing Gary LeVox' vocals as "atypically restrained andricher and considerably less whiney [sic] than usual" in the first verse but said that his delivery became "hilarious in its urgency" as the song progressed.[1] Blake Boldt of Country Universe gave it a C rating, also thinking that LeVox "gracefully handle[d]" the first verse but "tumbl[ed] into operatic tendencies toward the end." He also considered it a "copycat" of the band's 2006 single "What Hurts the Most".[6]

Matt Bjorke of Roughstock gave a more favorable review. Although he referred to the song's structure as a "well-worn power ballad path", he considered LeVox' performance "nuanced" and overall thought that the song was "better than anything on the trio's previous album Still Feels Good."[7]

Music video

The music video was directed by Shaun Silva. The video features a family visiting a graveyard of a lost father. The man is accompanied by a small boy, waiting to take him to heaven, who is revealed to be the daughter's son, whose grave is side by side with her father's. Throughout the video, the band's members are shown singing the song in a snowy backdrop. It was filmed over 3 days: the first day the band was filmed on an LA soundstage; the second and third days were filmed on a snowy ranch property in Park City, Utah. Actress Kadee Strickland from the ABC show Private Practice was cast as the lead female.

Chart performance

Rascal Flatts released "Here Comes Goodbye" to radio on January 20, 2009. It is the group's twenty-third single release overall, and the lead-off single to their sixth studio album, Unstoppable.[3] The song debuted at number 29 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts dated for February 7, 2009 and reached number 1 on the chart dated April 25, 2009. To claim the top spot, "Here Comes Goodbye" jumped 6-1, the biggest climb to Number One since Taylor Swift sent "Our Song" 6-1 on the chart dated December 22, 2007.[8] "Here Comes Goodbye" is also the group's tenth Number One.

Chart (2009) Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[9] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[10] 11
US Billboard Pop 100 23
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[11] 13
Canada Country (Billboard)[12] 4
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[13] 48
Japan (Japan Hot 100)[14] 33

Year-end charts

Chart (2009) Position
US Country Songs (Billboard)[15] 34
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[16] 30

Cover versions

References

  1. 1 2 3 Malec, Jim (February 2, 2009). "Rascal Flatts — "Here Comes Goodbye"". The 9513. Archived from the original on May 27, 2010. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
  2. ↑ Reynolds, Donna (January 26, 2009). "Chris Sligh scores a big one". Syracuse. Retrieved February 2, 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Rascal Flatts Unveiling New Single, "Here Comes Goodbye"". CMT. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
  4. ↑ Reynolds, Donna (2009-01-26). "Chris Sligh scores a big one". Syracuse.com. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
  5. 1 2 3 Horner, Marianne (May 25, 2009). "Story Behind the Song: A Gravel Road Paves the Way". Country Weekly. 16 (15): 30.
  6. ↑ Boldt, Blake (January 24, 2009). "Rascal Flatts — "Here Comes Goodbye"". Country Universe. Retrieved February 2, 2009.
  7. ↑ Bjorke, Matt. "Rascal Flatts — "Here Comes Goodbye"". Roughstock. Archived from the original on February 3, 2009. Retrieved February 2, 2009.
  8. ↑ Trust, Gary. "Ask Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved April 18, 2009.
  9. ↑ "Rascal Flatts Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  10. ↑ "Rascal Flatts Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  11. ↑ "Rascal Flatts Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  12. ↑ "Rascal Flatts Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard.
  13. ↑ "Rascal Flatts Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  14. ↑ "Rascal Flatts Album & Song Chart History - Japan Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Best of 2009: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  16. ↑ "Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
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