50 Ways to Say Goodbye

"50 Ways to Say Goodbye"
Single by Train
from the album California 37
B-side "Brand New Book"
Released June 11, 2012
Format
Genre
Length 4:08
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Train singles chronology
"Drive By"
(2012)		 "50 Ways to Say Goodbye"
(2012)		 "Bruises"
(2012)
Music video
"50 Ways To Say Goodbye" on YouTube

"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 officially impacted adult contemporary and pop radio in the United States on June 11, 2012. It peaked at number 20 on the Hot 100. It was certified gold by the RIAA on September 20, 2012.[1] The success of the song led to an android app titled "50 Ways to Survive". The app's gameplay is inspired by the lyrics of the song and also features an instrumental version of the song playing in the background.

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.[2][3]

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 he was dumped by her.

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".[4] The melody of the song has also been compared with the song "The Phantom of the Opera" from the musical of the same name by Andrew Lloyd Webber.[5][6][7]

Music video

The music video was directed by Marc Klasfeld and features David Hasselhoff, Taryn Manning, and a Mariachi trio. It is set in a supermarket (Jimmy portrays the checker and Scott plays the butcher), with cutaways to the various excuses Pat makes for his girlfriend's absence and the band performing onstage.

Track listing

  1. "50 Ways to Say Goodbye" – 4:08
  1. "50 Ways to Say Goodbye" – 4:08
  2. "Brand New Book" – 3:47

Credits

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2012-13) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[9] 16
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[10] 2
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[11] 17
Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[12] 4
Illegal chart entered Finnishdowload|7
Iceland (Tonlist)[13] 12
Israel (Media Forest)[14] 8
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[15] 14
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[16] 50
US Billboard Hot 100[17] 20
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[18] 4
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[19] 11
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[20] 4
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[21] 17

Year-end charts

Chart (2012) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[22] 81

Release history

Country Date Format Label
United States June 11, 2012[23] Adult contemporary radio airplay Columbia Records, Sony Music
July 31, 2012[24] Mainstream radio airplay

References

  1. ↑ http://riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?content_selector=gold-platinum-searchable-database
  2. ↑ "50 Ways to Say Goodbye". SheetMusicDirect. Retrieved on 2013-02-25.
  3. ↑ http://www.karaoke-version.com/custombackingtrack/train/50-ways-to-say-goodbye.html
  4. ↑ "Train: 50 Ways To Say Goodbye (Official Music Video)".
  5. ↑ "Train: 50 Ways to Say Goodbye (TRAINVEVO) (Comment by JA Products)".
  6. ↑ "LISTEN: New Train Single Sounds Like Phantom Of The Opera Theme Song. Hear '50 Ways To Say Goodbye.'(Comment by JA Products)".
  7. ↑ "Comparison - Train's 50 Ways To Say Goodbye & Phantom Of The Opera".
  8. ↑ "Train - 50 Ways to Say Goodbye" (in German). Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Train – 50 Ways To Say Goodbye". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  10. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Train – 50 Ways To Say Goodbye" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
  11. ↑ "Train Album & Song Chart History" Canadian Hot 100 for Train.
  12. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201250 into search.
  13. ↑ "Icelandic Singles Chart". Tonlist.is. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
  14. ↑ "Train – 50 Ways To Say Goodbye Media Forest". Israeli Airplay Chart. Media Forest.
  15. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Train search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  16. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2012-08-18" UK Singles Chart.
  17. ↑ "Train Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Train.
  18. ↑ "Train Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot Rock Songs for Train.
  19. ↑ "Train Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Train.
  20. ↑ "Train Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for Train.
  21. ↑ "Train Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Pop Songs for Train.
  22. ↑ "Best of 2012 - Hot 100 Songs". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-12-14.
  23. ↑ http://www.allaccess.com/hot-modern-ac/future-releases
  24. ↑ http://www.allaccess.com/top40-mainstream/future-releases

External links