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 doesn't happen again
You and I had to be the standing joke of the year
You were a run-around, a lost and found and not for me, I feel

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

We 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
Well I put up with all the scenes
And this is one scene that's going 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
Say hello and wave goodbye

Under the deep red light I can see the make up slidin' down
Well hey little girl you will always make up
So take off that unbecoming frown
As for me, well I'll find someone who's not goin' cheap in the sales
A nice little housewife
Who'll give me a steady life and not keep going off the rails

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

Say hello and wave goodbye
Say hello and wave goodbye
Wave goodbye

Say hello and wave goodbye
Say hello, wave goodbye
Goodbye

Say goodbye
Say goodbye

We were born before the waves
Who are we to understand?
We were born before the waves
Say goodbye

Through the rain, hail, sleet and snow
Say goodbye
Get on the train, train, train
And say goodbye

Say goodbye
Say goodbye
Say goodbye

In the wind and the rain now, darling
Say goodbye
In the wind and the rain now, darling


Lyrics submitted by BigKaboshProductions

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

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Say Hello Wave Goodbye song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

30 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    Well just from reading the lyrics... it sounds like the persona is in love with a prostitute..

    "someone who's not going cheap in the sales"

    "Under the deep red lights" - a reference to the red-light district perhaps?

    "We tried to make it work...You're used to wearing less" - perhaps she tried to go clean to make things work out with the persona - but ultimately failed.

    Actually, the more I read it, the more it looks that way. I guess it could just be a metaphor for being in love with someone, but it just doesn't ultimately work out because you're too different from one another.

    Kind of like that fatal-flaw that seems to split relationships apart.

    If you think about it like that.. then the song is quite sad, as the persona ultimately gives up on his love.. and settles for the "steady life"

    Just my interpretation.

    sha_shaon June 01, 2005   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Album art
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.