Hello Goodbye [Dennis DeYoung]

Hello Goodbye
Written by Dennis DeYoung
Lead Vocals by Dennis DeYoung 

Two nine back in sixty four
I watched it all from my front room door
In the winter of our discontent
Four lads sounding heaven sent

Singin' yeah, yeah
The girls were a-shriekin'
Yeah, yeah, yeah
We was eight days a-weekin'
Ooh ooh
Singing yeah, yeah
It was all so excitin'
Yeah, yeah, yeah
We was Hard Days a Nightin'
Ooh ooh

We bought tickets to ride down to strawberry fields
On a Magical Bus where nothing was real
And we learned every note every word every song
As John and I sang along
As John and I sang along

Hello goodbye
Hello goodbye
Hello goodbye

So the whole world formed a band
And played a million one night stands
Down the road towards Penny Lane
Hey Jude was our refrain

And they played on
The world was explodin'
They played on
Bare foot Abbey Roadin'
Ooh ooh

And we knew in a flash they were second to none
Round the moon and the stars, we'd follow the sun
From Rome to Hague to a Norwegian night
A jukebox satellite

Hello goodbye
Hello goodbye
Hello goodbye

Then later that night
With Mr. Moonlight
Outside the high school dance
There was magic in the air
When I saw her standing there
Man it was true romance

And it was all right
They played Revolution
Yeah alright
It was the grandest illusion
Ooh like Little Richard said ooh

And they came and they went in a blink of an eye
Like the title they wrote hello and goodbye
Those days may be lost but never those songs
When the whole world sang along beep beep

Hello goodbye
Hello goodbye
Hello goodbye

Hello goodbye, hello goodbye, hello (goodbye)

Interpretation

Dennis is reflecting on the big influence of The Beatles ("four lads sounding heaven sent") on his life, starting with their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964 ("two nine back in sixty four"). The girls went wild for the Fab Four at the airport, in the studio, and everywhere the Beatles were seen in public. Everyone was enthralled, learning the words and music by heart, singing along to their records and the songs on the radio.

There are references to many Beatles songs:
The 1967 television movie Magical Mystery Tour features a tour bus, and the soundtrack includes the song Strawberry Fields. The movie was available in the USA in 1968, the same year The Who released their song Magic Bus, so Dennis might be referring to either or both songs.

The album cover for Abbey Road shows the Beatles crossing the street barefoot ("they played on...bare foot Abbey Roadin'").

The Beatles meteoric rise shocked the world, and their impact was global. On a more personal level, their music was playing at a high school dance when Dennis saw Suzanne and fell in love.

Just like the title of the Beatles song Hello, Goodbye, we said hello to the music but said goodbye to soon (the Beatles played their last concert in 1966, recorded their last song in 1969, and broke up in 1970). Fortunately, we have memories and their music, so we don't really have to ever truly say goodbye.

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