Songoftheday 4/7/23 - I know they say if you love somebody you should set them free, but it sure is hard to do...

 

 

"The Long Goodbye" - Brooks & Dunn

from the album Steers & Stripes (2001)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #39 (two weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 3

 

Today's song comes from the country music duo Brooks & Dunn, whose seventh album Steers & Stripes had returned then to their former glory with two #1 country radio hits that crossed over to the top-40 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart, "Ain't Nothing 'Bout You" and "Only In America". For their third single, the duo would import a ballad from the other side of the Atlantic. "The Long Goodbye" was written by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Paul Brady with Ronan Keating, who is a member of the Irish "boy-band" Boyzone. Originally released in 2000, Brady's version went to #22 on the Irish singles chart. The lyrics have Brady wallowing in sadness after a bad breakup, trying to figure out what went wrong and if he didn't do enough to save the relationship. It's resigned without being angry, and the orchestration swelling behind his vocals makes a great impact...

Brooks and Dunn along with producer Mark Wright smartly kept the string section background, the best part of Brady's version, while Ronnie Dunn imparts a world-weariness in his gruffer (and higher-pitched voice) that really pierces the lyrics' despair. It's among the best performaces the duo ever delivered, if not their best, and it carried their fortunate if unplanned post-9/11 momentum on "Only In America" to a better direction...

Brooks & Dunn's version of "The Long Goodbye" scored the duo a third #1 hit on Billboard's Country Songs chart from the album, while reaching the top-40 on the Hot 100 in March of 2002. 

The fourth single from Steers & Stripes was the Mexican pastiche "My Heart Is Lost To You", which climbed to #5 on the Country Songs chart, and stopped short of the top 40 on Billboard's Hot 100 at #48. That was followed by "Every River", which Kix Brooks sung lead on, which peaked at #12 on the Country Songs list and #75 on the Hot 100. 

Brooks & Dunn will be back to the series.

(10/10)

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In 2003, Keating recorded the song for his own solo album Destination, and released it as a single. His "Long Goodbye" made the top ten in the United Kingdom (#3) and Ireland (#10)...

and finally, Faith Hill performed the song on a tribute concert to the duo...

SOTD will be back Monday with an R&B singer who prefers you'd text, perhaps.