"Goodbye Girl" is the first single released from
Squeeze's second album ''
Cool for Cats''. Three different versions were recorded: one for the UK single, one for the American single, and one for the album. In the UK, the single reached number 63 on the
UK Singles Chart.
Background
"Goodbye Girl" notably features a percussive track arranged by drummer
Gilson Lavis which featured unique array of bottles, tins, and other items.
Glenn Tilbrook
Glenn Martin Tilbrook (born 31 August 1957, in Woolwich, London) is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is the lead singer and guitarist of the English new wave band Squeeze, a band formed in the mid-1970s who broke through in th ...
commented, "Gilson's influence in the arrangement was massive, not bringing the drums in until the third verse. Gilson had four percussion parts that he overdubbed one after the other that went throughout the song."
Chris Difford
Christopher Henry Difford (born 4 November 1954) is an English musician. He is a founding member and songwriter of the rock group Squeeze.
Early life
Difford was born in Greenwich, London, on 4 November 1954, the youngest of three sons. His m ...
offered similar praise, stating, "Gilson constructed a washing line of bottles and bits of metal and tin and played them instead of a drum kit. It was a very inventive thing to do, slightly surreal, but it worked a treat."
The song was written by
Glenn Tilbrook
Glenn Martin Tilbrook (born 31 August 1957, in Woolwich, London) is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is the lead singer and guitarist of the English new wave band Squeeze, a band formed in the mid-1970s who broke through in th ...
(music) and
Chris Difford
Christopher Henry Difford (born 4 November 1954) is an English musician. He is a founding member and songwriter of the rock group Squeeze.
Early life
Difford was born in Greenwich, London, on 4 November 1954, the youngest of three sons. His m ...
(lyrics). Tilbrook commented, "It had a jolly tune, which later to my horror someone pointed out sounded like
the Muppets
The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, slapstick, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Musical theatre, musical Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Cre ...
theme tune."
The song additionally features Tilbrook and Difford's trademark harmonies, with the latter commenting, "Our trademark octave apart vocal is all over it."
Release
"Goodbye Girl" was released as the debut single from the band's sophomore 1979 album ''
Cool for Cats''. The single reached number 63 on the
UK Singles Chart and would be outperformed commercially by subsequent singles on the album. The three different versions of the song are musically different sounding and have different intros. Also, the lyrics are different in each of the three versions. In the album version, the singer meets the girl in a "''barroom''", but in the U.K. and U.S. singles he meets her in a "''poolroom''". The location is altered in the second verse from a "''motel''" in the album version and the U.S. single to a "''hotel''" in the U.K. single version. More significant changes are in the last verse of each version. The album version describes losing a "''blue address book''" and "''the money in the fur coat''". The U.K. single version replaces these items with a "''silver razor''" and "''the money in the waistcoat''". The U.S. single replaces these once again with a "''silver bracelet''" and "''the money in the billfold''". The locations of where the singer's wife has moved changes in each version as well. For the album version it is ''"My wife has moved to
Guernsey
Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...
"'' which was changed to
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
in the U.S. single to be more geographically recognizable to listeners, but oddly enough changed to "
Jersey
Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
" for the U.K. single.
The song has since appeared on compilations such as ''
Singles – 45's and Under
Singles are people not in a committed relationship.
Singles may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series
* ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe
* ''Singles'' ...
''.
In 2007, the reunited Squeeze recorded a new, guitar-heavy version of "Goodbye Girl" for an
Under Armour
Under Armour, Inc. is an American sportswear company that manufactures footwear and clothing, apparel headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
History 20th century
Under Armour was founded on September 25, 1996, by Kevin Plank, a ...
television advertisement.
Reception and legacy
Writer Anna Borg ranked the song fourth on her list of best Squeeze songs, writing, "Famous for confounding US audiences with odd slang like 'lino' for
linoleum
Linoleum is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), Pine Resin, pine resin, ground Cork (material), cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a Hessian fabric, hes ...
, 'Goodbye Girl' is classic Squeeze in that it tells a story with a rather dire ending for our romantic hero. Always a cad during the pick up, he rarely gets to keep the girl. In this case, he doesn't even get beyond a little kissing."
Tarkio, featuring
Colin Meloy
Colin Patrick Henry Meloy (born October 5, 1974) is an American musician, singer-songwriter and author best known as the frontman of the Portland, Oregon, indie folk rock band the Decemberists. In addition to vocals, he performs with an acousti ...
of
The Decemberists
The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2000. The band consists of Colin Meloy (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (piano, keyboards, accordion, backing vocals ...
, recorded "Goodbye Girl" in 1998. It was released on the Kill Rock Stars record label in 2006.
The Shins
The Shins are an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. The band is the project of singer-songwriter James Mercer, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's c ...
covered the song for Levi's Pioneer Sessions in 2010.
Track listing
# "Goodbye Girl" (3:05)
# "Saints Alive" (2:29)
References
External links
Squeeze discography at Packet of Three
{{authority control
Squeeze (band) songs
1978 singles
Songs written by Glenn Tilbrook
Songs written by Chris Difford
1978 songs
A&M Records singles