"Here Comes Goodbye" Analysis

Rascal Flatts is arguably the greatest all-male band in all of contemporary Country music. Their songs are loved by millions and they have numerous fans. They have sold millions of records and have various top hits on the Country music charts. From their vocal ranges to their instrumentals; everything they do within their music is exemplary. Even though Rascal Flatts is a Country band, many of their songs have been made into Pop hits by major artists like; Cascada. Their lyrics speak to millions and they can always make a good connection with their audiences. The songs of Rascal Flatts deal with many themes, to name a few; love, hope, dreams, and heartbreak. Heartbreak is a feeling that everyone has to go through at some point in their life. The song “Here Comes Goodbye” contains various poetic devices which exemplify the song writing abilities of the members of Rascal Flatts.

Rascal Flatts uses a first-person narrative mode throughout their song “Here Comes Goodbye”. First-person narrative mode always refers to the focal character as “I” or “we”; in this case the focal character is referred to as, “I”. As soon as the song starts, the point of view is known right within the first verse; “I can hear the truck tires coming up the gravel road/And it’s not like her to drive that slow, nothing’s on the radio/Footsteps on the front porch, I hear my doorbell/She usually comes right in, now I can tell…” The first verse of the song is a prime example of the first-person narrative mode which is used in this song. The use of first-person narrative mode helps the songwriter connect to their audience more. As well as first-person narrative mode, imagery is used as well. The imagery used in the first verse is sound. Examples of imagery using sound are; “I can hear the truck tires coming up the gravel road/nothing’s on the radio/Footsteps on the front porch, I hear my doorbell…” Each of these lines within the first verse use imagery through sound and make you feel as though you are hearing what the focal character is hearing. Another use of a poetic device within the first verse is alliteration. Alliteration is the repetition of sounds at the beginning of words. The use of alliteration if found in several places throughout the first verse; “…truck tires…/Footsteps on the front porch/She usually comes…now I can tell…” are exemplary examples of the use of alliteration throughout the first verse.

Rascal Flatts continues on to tell about the pain and heartbreak that is on the way. In the chorus of the song, a motif is recognized; “Here comes goodbye/Here comes the last time/Here comes the start of every sleepless night/The first of every tear I’m gonna cry/Here comes the pain/Here comes me wishing things had never changed/And she was right here in my arms tonight/But here comes goodbye…” They express the use of motif by consistently using “Here comes” and then explaining what is coming; goodbye, or in other words, heartbreak. Also in the chorus, objectification is used as well; “Here comes the pain…” This shows an abstract quality, pain, which is being treated as if it were a concrete or physical object. Another poetic device is used in the line; “The first of every tear I’m gonna cry…” This hyperbole is an extravagant exaggeration that was cleverly used to express all of the sorrow, pain, heartbreak, and loneliness the focal character will have to venture through.

In the second verse, Rascal Flatts then goes on to talk about everything that is going on; “I can hear her say ‘I love you’ like it was yesterday/And I can see it written on her face that she had never felt this way/One day I thought I’d see her with her daddy by her side/And violins would play Here Comes The Bride…”in this second verse, a variety of poetic elements are used. In the first and second lines of the verse; “I can hear her say ‘I love you’ like it was yesterday/And I can see it written on her face that she had never felt this way…” characterization is used. They are using the speech and description of another character to convey how the focal character is feeling and how he cannot believe what is going on. Imagery is also used to convey the focal characters’ thoughts about the future and how he thought, “One day [he] thought [he’d] see her with her daddy by her side/And violins would play Here Comes The Bride…” He had envisioned that he could see her walking down the aisle with her father one day, but that day will never come now.

Rascal Flatts’ lyrics are applicable with vast majority of people. There will always be a day in everyone’s life when a “goodbye” will come. However, these “goodbyes” could vary from the love of your life to a loved one in your family. It is an inevitable thing that somebody will leave you one day. Unfortunately, within everyone’s lifetime, they will have to say goodbye to somebody or something eventually.