'Goodbye' by Bo Burnham
From Bo Burnham’s COVID-borne masterpiece, INSIDE, ‘Goodbye’ is a bittersweet piano ballad that somehow tugs at the heartstrings while simultaneously tickling the funny bone in a way that only Bo can do. And to me, there is no better song to see out the year, and bid farewell to what has been an incredible time as part of your editorial team. For those of us moving onto pastures new at the end of the year, the Courier’s audience will no longer be ours to inform, entertain, and occasionally pander to. The song’s standout, existentially profound lyric, “Does anybody want to joke when no one’s laughing in the background?” echoes gratitude to an audience who makes all the tapping away at the keyboard worth it. I find myself returning to the lines “Has it only been an hour?” and “Do I really have to finish?” repeatedly. My own time at the Courier may have been brief, but I have gained so much from that time that I could have been here for years, and I really wish it didn’t have to end. And in that short time, I’ve had more laughs than I could count, which I’m reminded of each time the lyrics cut through the song’s melancholic mood with a humour knife. While the year’s end brings to a close countless hours in the Courier office and seeing our incredible writers mingle at our SMAs, the friendships forged there will endure, I’m sure. So I’ll close this out with a couple of lines from the song’s opening verse: “I’ll see you when I see you / You can pick the street / I’ll meet you on the other side.” It’s been a blast. Now, all that’s left to say is “so long… byeeee!”
- Tom Wood
'Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)' by Green Day
*bittersweet sigh* As a study abroad student in a one-year programme, the end hits hard as you realize that the people you love seeing every day are about to disperse, some near and some quite far. Like many other study-abroad students, I didn’t know what to expect, but I’ve had the “time of my life,” and hearing this song brings up a slideshow in my head of this unforgettable past year. While this is a breakup song, in this case, it’s a reflection on one of the best choices I’ve ever made and a see-you-later to some of the best people I’ve met.
- Taylor Roth
'Someone Like You' by Adele
When I think of a song that encapsulates the emotions of saying goodbye, nothing comes to mind quite like ‘Someone Like You’ by Adele. This is arguably Adele’s greatest musical masterpiece. This perfectly encapsulates the complex emotions of a breakup with its poignant lyrics and heartfelt emotion sung with every note. The sombre piano chords sustained throughout the entire song heightens the authentic heartbreak that Adele’s strong vocals emulate. The lyrics take the listener on an emotional journey as they reminisce on their past love and look towards the future with a bleak love lust. Then as the bridge comes around it invites the listener to reflect on their own experience with previous romances, before they end the song with bittersweet tears dripping down their eyes.
- Callum Borkowski
‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ by Elton John
This song is the perfect choice for me – getting the balance between nostalgia and cinematic grandeur just right. The Yellow Brick Road, of course, is a reference to the iconic path in The Wizard of Oz. In Elton John’s version, it becomes symbolic of leaving behind the idealised celebrity life. To me, it’s a powerful metaphor for graduating. The road reflects a unique, and also sometimes glamorised, chapter of life, full of twists and turns, and new discoveries. But as the lyrics suggest, your future ultimately lies beyond that path, out in the unknown future. Musically, it’s lush and sweeping, with strings and piano – classic Elton John – which makes saying goodbye feel both sentimental and hopeful.
- Christine Soloch
'Futile Devices' by Sufjan Stevens
I have always been someone who hates goodbyes. I did. But over the last few years, I've learnt that goodbyes are not always bad. Instead of a full stop, it's more of a semicolon; until we meet again. So, my pick for the best song about saying goodbye is ‘Futile Devices’ by Sufjan Stevens. I chose this because it is about the process of separating from someone you have begun to love like family, and how even the little things they do and existing next to them feels like home and happiness. And this is exactly how I will feel when I say goodbye to my friends from university. But it’s not goodbye; until we meet again.
- Dhwani Masand
'White Mustang' by Lana Del Ray
Lana Del Rey’s 'White Mustang' captures the ache of letting go, turning a romantic goodbye into something beautifully tragic. The track, awash in dreamy melancholy, is intended to feel and sound like the question: why am I staying? It’s a farewell to a turbulent love, where passion and chaos once reigned. Del Rey’s lyric “summer’s meant for loving and leaving” sums up the fleeting nature of the song, intense but unsustainable. In the final chorus she shifts from “white mustang” to “you’re a wild mustang,” transforming her lover into a symbol of untamed freedom and someone she can’t hold onto but also can’t forget.
- Ebony Maude
'Outro' by Vulfpeck
Once you've heard the sax entry on Vulfpeck's stupendous instrumental jam 'Outro', you don't forget it in a hurry. Reveling in a sort of pained ecstasy, Joey Dosik's bravura alto sax solo feels like the ultimate melody to soundtrack the end credits of an especially brilliant feature film. There's something in Jack Stratton's thrashed-out piano chord progression, or Joe Dart's elaborate bass lines, or Theo Katzman's steadily climaxing drums, that feels unmistakably like a great big goodbye to something remarkable. Dosik's melodies are joyful but never overtly sentimental, striking a fine balance between mourning the past and celebrating it. It's the song I listen and cry to whenever something major in my life ends - high school, sixth form, a great summer, my degree. 'Outro' is completely wordless, and all the better for it: feelings as big as these will always defy language.
- Bertie Kirkwood