Standin' in the door of the Pink Flamingo cryin' in the rain
It was a kind of so-so love
And I'm gonna make sure it never happens again
You and I, it had to be the standing joke of the year
You were a sleep-around, a lost and found and not for me, I feel

I tried to make it work, you in a cocktail skirt
And me in a suit but it just wasn't me
You're used to wearing less
And now your life's a mess, so insecure you see
I put up with all the scenes
And this is one scene that's goin' to be played my way

Take your hands off me, hey
I don't belong to you, you see
And take a look in my face, for the last time,
I never knew you, you never knew me,
Say hello goodbye,
Say hello and wave goodbye

Under the deep red light
I can see the make-up slidin' down
Hey little girl you will always make up
So take off that unbecoming frown
What about me, well, I'll find someone
That's not goin' cheap in the sales
A nice little housewife, who'll give me a steady life
And won't keep going off the rails

Take your hands off me
I don't belong to you, you see
Take a look in my face, for the last time
I never knew you, you never knew me
Say hello goodbye
Say hello and wave goodbye

We've been involved for quite a while now
And to keep you a secret, has been hell
We're strangers meeting for the first time, ok?
Just smile and say hello

Say hello then wave goodbye
Say hello then wave goodbye
Say hello then wave goodbye
Say hello then wave goodbye
Say hello, wave goodbye
Say hello then wave goodbye
Say hello, say goodbye
Goodbye
Say goodbye
Goodbye


Lyrics submitted by Milkman82, edited by echolot

Say Hello, Wave Goodbye Lyrics as written by Marc Almond David Ball

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Say Hello, Wave Goodbye song meanings
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15 Comments

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  • +4
    General Comment

    Take your hands of me, I don't belong to you, you see... Take a look at my face for the last time.. I never knew you, you never knew me... Say hello, wave goodbye.

    Difficult, but one of them must have the strength to end a relationship that doesn't work and lovers don't match. I don't think it's about Marc realizing he's gay, cause he's planning to find a "nice little housewife". It's more about being attracted to a certain person, but that's all, there is no future for you two and, although you like them, you feel tired of them and you get them out of your life.

    And me, I also don't like David Gray's cover (don't find it awful though), but Nouvelle Vague's one is pretty worth a listen:) No-one catches up Soft Cell's version, of course!!!<3

    InBetweenTheLineson April 05, 2012   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    According to Marc Almond, this song is actually about a prostitute and her "lover". He feels that she is beneath him (no pun intended), probably guilty at his relationship with her and so he is leaving her.

    wumingon May 31, 2009   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    This is one of my top 10 fav songs. It reminds me of a relationship I had. It was a bad deal It was a kind of so so love And I'm gonna make sure it never Happens again You and I it had to be The standing joke of the year when I listen to this song , and I listen to it almost every day, it reminds that mistakes are often made , but we dont have to keep making them Great "piss off" song

    scanon December 21, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    renod2, couldn't disagree more. David Gray has some great numbers on that album but I didn't rate his interpretation of this; I think he oversimplifies it. Like all great artists Marc Almond plays this different each time he performs it, but it's typically full of passion, venom and bitterness about a failed relationship. Other times he seems just plain vindictive and even humourous and mocking. I think it plays on anger and resentment as a way of dealing with the pain of a failed relationship he really wanted to work. After all, he starts the song out by 'crying in the rain', and the 'nice little housewife' line seems sarcastic, as if that's not really what he wants at all. He seems unwillingly resigned to a more boring life after failing to keep up with someone that turned out to be a little too dangerous and exciting for him. I think he's secretly disgusted with himself for not being able to handle this girl, but deals with that by blaming her. I don't know about the hidden gay meaning that others mention, or the suggestion the girl is a prostitute. I just know it's a masterpiece that captures perfectly a complex set of emotions most of us have probably experienced at some point.

    jonboy7on October 22, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    One of the deepest and most romantic songs from the 80s and in history, just about people living crazy and non conventional lives and the impossibility of being together due to their way of living, even if there was some kind of love and the likely farewell...

    PeluCrespinson November 01, 2018   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This is one of the greatest love songs ever written - sadly destroyed by the David Gray bedwetter's mix. Awesome with Marc Almond's wandering vocal and delivered with real emotion and power. Obviously about the break up of a relationship and the bitterness that ensues after he 'tried to make it work'. Phenomenal - the original anyway.

    Rozzeron January 28, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Yeah, I agree, that David Gray version is disgusting, it's 9 flippin minutes long, and so terrible, I really don't like that Bob Dylan wannabe.

    Well I heard this song at my work [abercrombie and fitch] and I loved it, but when i downloaded it, I got the original song, which isn't the one they play at my work. I did some digging and found the fast-paced one, it's on their Very Best Of CD, it's soooo much better than the slow original in my opinion. Great song though.

    stryker311on April 22, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Nice one Rozzer...one of the best love? songs ever

    babyboomeron August 26, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    "Excellent" cover by David Gray? Are you kidding?? He even had the nerve to change the lyric from "you were a sleeparound" to "you were a runaround", presumably because the average Gray fan might burst into tears if the great man sang anything that wasn't housewife-friendly. I detest Gray forever for the grievous murder he inflicted on this song.

    Urban Cannibalon September 13, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Such a good song!

    Andrew Evenstaron December 06, 2008   Link

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