Old friends, lost love and the final moments with both… that’s a hell of a recipe for a sad country song.
Back in 2017, off his Blink You’ll Miss It album, Mike Ryan gave us the perfect song to reflect back on our lives and the moments when one part of it faded into the next. When you said “so long” to what you knew so you could look ahead at what’s to come. He gave us a “Damn Good Goodbye.”
From the last time sneaking beers with your buddies to the last time you see your first love, this song tells these growing up moments in such a simple and relatable way you just can’t help but to remember those times in your life when you left something or someone behind.
It’s a hell of a walk down memory lane.
“We met up at my place
‘Cause my folks were out of town
It was our last night together
We were gonna make it count
We were headed off out to Auburn, Texas Tech, and Kansas state
Like a band of brothers breaking up
With one more show to play
So we drink a case of Shiner
And all my daddy’s Maker’s Mark
Pull them speakers on the back porch
Sat around and smoked cigars
We sang along and laughed till dawn
And watched that red sunrise
That was a damn good goodbye
They ain’t ever easy
And sometimes they go bad
Oh but sometimes they turn into
The best times you ever had
Nothing makes a memory
That you’ll take with you all your life
Like a damn good goodbye”
The whole last verse is pretty spot on, but those last three lines get me every time I hear it…
