2012 single by Train
"50 Ways to Say Goodbye" is a song by American pop rock band Train. It is the second single from their sixth studio album, California 37 and is the fifth track on the album. It is considered to be adult contemporary pop radio music. It was released in the United States on June 11, 2012. It is their most recent top 40 hit, peaking at number 20 on the Hot 100. It was certified gold by the RIAA on September 20, 2012 and has since been certified triple platinum.[1]
Although the song is called "50 Ways to Say Goodbye", the song only references 11 unique excuses.
Composition
"50 Ways to Say Goodbye" is a pop rock song in the key of E♭ minor. It is in common time with a tempo of 140 beats per minute. It utilizes electric guitars and a mariachi influenced brass section and acoustic guitar.
The first verse of the song also has a very similar melody to Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera" from the musical of the same song.
Singer Pat Monahan said the song "was just a gag about a girl breaking up with a boy and being just so immature that the only way to handle it was just to tell your friends that she's dead."[2]
The lyrics are a tongue-in-cheek narrative where, to save face, the singer claims he will say his girlfriend died in a variety of outlandish ways rather than admit she dumped him. The song had some inspiration from Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" and was originally going to be titled "50 Ways to Kill Your Lover". That title was tossed as it could attract controversy.[3]
The theme of the song also follows the 1998 release of The Vandals’ "My Girlfriend's Dead" from their album Hitler Bad, Vandals Good, written by Warren Fitzgerald, in which rather than face the reality that his girlfriend left him, he tells that his girlfriend died in a variety of ways.[4]
Critical reception
Nick Bassett of The Re-View compared "50 Ways to Say Goodbye" to its predecessor, saying that "whilst it lacks that Summery carefree vibe [of "Drive By"], this newbie is still buoyed by a jaunty radio-friendly chorus".[5]
Music video
The music video was directed by Marc Klasfeld and features David Hasselhoff, Taryn Manning, Jonathan Lipnicki, and a Mariachi trio, in addition to band members Pat Monahan, Jimmy Stafford, and Scott Underwood (Stafford and Underwood have since left the band). The video is set in a supermarket with Monahan explaining to Hasselhoff and various other customers and staff members the absence of his girlfriend. Stafford portrays the store cashier and Underwood plays the butcher, while the girlfriend is played by Manning. The grocery store scenes are interspersed with cutaways to the various excuses Pat makes for his girlfriend's absence, as well as scenes of the band performing onstage. Towards the end of the video, a fan who was holding up signs consoling Pat for the supposed loss of his girlfriend finally holds up a sign that says "Rack City Bitch", a reference to "Rack City" by Tyga. At the end of the video, Pat's girlfriend is revealed to be alive, and says hello to him and Hasselhoff, who stand awkwardly as she continues her shopping.
