Chuck Taylors and The Pillows

Goodbye to You

As most of you probably know, "Goodbye to You" is a song written and performed by Michelle Branch. Its a song about someone going through changes, but they have something they want to hold onto. This song has been around and she even released it as a single. I knew it existed, but never really listened to it. Recently, I've bought a used copy of Michelle Branch's first album, "The Spirit Room," and really listened to this song. This was the perfect time for me to listen to it. I feel like I'm going through the same thing the character in the song it going through. One thing I noticed when I graduated, that I wasn't sure if it was normal or not, was to scramble to get closer to all my friends, that I was really good friends with in high school. I knew they meant a lot to me, but I never dreamed of life without them. Now I am afraid I'm really going to lose them, since distance can have a factor on relationships, and I couldn't imagine living without the support of the people who supported them longest(you know who you are, Beth, Chelsey, and Rachel). As I thought of all this while I listened to this song, I got a lump in my throat, then felt a small tear slip down my face. This has only happened with one other song, "Emotionless," a song about how the lead singer feels about his father, which is very similar to the way I feel about my father. This whole thing made me question my understanding of what makes somebody able to really feel the song their singing. At one time, I thought you had to write your own songs to really be able to put emotion into the song, but after these two songs, I really feel like I could sing these two songs with just as much emotion as the writer who originally sang them. Sorry Britney, I know in my lifetime I criticized you a lot because you never wrote you music, until recently, if you have really been to "Hit Me Baby, One More Time" maybe you really felt what you were singing(not that I understand how some can go through "Hit Me Baby, One More Time"). So here I am in college, finally understand that I don't have to become an expert song writer to be a punk rock musician(as in someone who isn't sold out and true to themselves). Not to say that after I get some more life experiences I'm not going to try to write some songs, but I can sing somebody else's work as long as it is something I feel can sound just a true coming out of my mouth. If you happen to be a song writer looking for a singer to record a demo, I'm free, e-mail me. Later Days.