"Goodbye" is a song written by Paul McCartney and performed by Mary Hopkin. It was released on 28 March 1969, and it reached No. 2 in the UK singles chart, prevented from reaching the top position by the Beatles' single "Get Back". In the US, released 7 April 1969, the song reached No. 13 on the singles chart. In the Netherlands and Ireland the single peaked at No. 1. McCartney's demo was officially released on the 2019 reissue of Abbey Road.
Background
The song was conceived as a follow-up to the success of Hopkin's first single, produced by McCartney, titled "Those Were the Days", which was highlighted on her debut albumPostcard, one of the first records issued by the newly founded Apple Records. In later years, McCartney had little recollection of creating the song, which was written in a great hurry to capitalise on Hopkin's popularity, but he did recall being told by a boat skipper from the Orkney Islands that it was the man's favourite song, which seemed appropriate to McCartney since, "if you think of it from a sailor's point of view, it's very much a leaving-the-port song." Allmusic critic Richie Unterberger described it as a "pleasant and catchy romp, rather like a Continental European folk love ballad in tone, with a dash of music hall."
Recording
To assist Hopkin in learning the song, McCartney recorded a solo demo at his home, 7 Cavendish Road, London, in February 1969. The song was arranged by Richard Hewson, who had also orchestrated "Those Were the Days," and produced, along with its flip side, "Sparrow", by Paul McCartney on 1 March 1969 at Morgan Studios in Willesden. To better match Hopkin's voice, the key was raised from C major to E major. The recording was Apple's first official double-A-side, and the first Apple record to feature a full-fledged picture sleeve. For the recording, Hopkin sang and performed acoustic guitar, while McCartney played bass guitar, an acoustic guitar introduction and solo, along with lap-slapping percussion and drums. Backing vocals, horns and strings, in Hewson's arrangement, were overdubbed. The session was filmed by Apple's Tony Bramwell for a promotional clip. In the footage, Hopkin can be seen miming to the song inside the studio, combined with shots of her and McCartney in the control room listening to a playback. The flip side "Sparrow" was written by Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle, a songwriting duo signed to Apple Publishing. The recording took place on 2 March 1969; Hopkin sang and played guitar, McCartney added maracas, a session musician played upright bass, and Hewson arranged a choir part. Mary Hopkin met her future husband, record producerTony Visconti, while making foreign-language versions of the song. The song was one of only two hits to be omitted from the compilation disc The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave Away, issued originally in 1971 and re-released in 1979. On 28 April 2014, "Goodbye" was released digitally along with "Those Were the Days" on Mary Hopkin Music.
For many years bootleg recordings existed of McCartney's original demo of the song, recorded for Mary Hopkin. The international online magazine PopMatters published McCartney's demo along with critical commentary expressing a preference for the composer's version over Hopkin's rendition. The original demo by McCartney was officially released on the Super Deluxe Edition of Abbey Roadin September 2019.
Cover versions
A bilingual version of this song, recorded in French and English, was made by Canadian singer Renée Martel in 1970.
10,000 Maniacs recorded a version of the song during the sessions for their 1987 album In My Tribe. It was released as the B-Side to the Don't Talk12" single
