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