TAXI.com

THE HARDEST HELLO
S. Telford

I’ve been having conversations with myself in my head
And saying all those words that I know I should have said
And reciting every sentence I should have spoke to you
But I didn’t have the nerve and you haven’t got a clue
And so you still expect the kisses and your arms around mine
And you still expect those three words and I don’t feel like lying

The hardest hello comes before a goodbye
And sticks in your throat like a tear in your eye
And sounds like a bullet when it rains on your chest
But the hardest hello is sometimes for the best.
But the hardest hello is a word I can’t say
When it hides on my lips as I’m walking away
Convincing myself to give it one more try
Yes, the hardest hello comes before a goodbye

We’ve been having conversations but I can’t find the words
To speak my mind honestly and now the silence hurts
And listening to your voice just changes my mind more
And confuses me beyond belief and shakes me to the core
And so you still expect the kisses and your arms around mine
And you still expect those three words and I don’t feel like lying

The hardest hello comes before a goodbye
And sticks in your throat like a tear in your eye
And sounds like a bullet when it rains on your chest
But the hardest hello is sometimes for the best.
But the hardest hello is a word I can’t say
When it hides on my lips as I’m walking away
Convincing myself to give it one more try
Yes, the hardest hello comes before a goodbye

One of these days I’m sure I’ll have the strength
To break it to you gently, to tell you the bad news.
And one of these days I’ll know exactly what to say
To break it to you gently and watch you as you walk away

The hardest hello comes before a goodbye
And sticks in your throat like a tear in your eye
And sounds like a bullet when it rains on your chest
But the hardest hello is sometimes for the best.
But the hardest hello is a word I can’t say
When it hides on my lips as I’m walking away
Convincing myself to give it one more try
Yes, the hardest hello comes before a goodbye

A few thoughts.

"should have spoken" not "spoke." The singer is literate, so "spoke" clangs.

And I am having a lot of trouble with these two similes:

And sticks in your throat like a tear in your eye

Does a tear stick in your throat? Maybe if I'm swallowing back the tears, but that's a different image. And this guy wants to dump the girl, so why is he crying at all? My sense is he's a coward.

And sounds like a bullet when it rains on your chest

What is "it"? A bullet, the tear, the word? Do bullets rain on chests?

My biggest issue, though, is who would sing this song? When I sing, I try to connect to the audience in an emotion that resonates with them and me. But in this case, if you resonate with them, what are they going to feel? Shame? Cowardice? It's not something I want to share with my audience, or the singer if I'm in the audience. Seriously, the girl in this song thinks he's in love, and he's not, and he won't tell her.

Maybe the song would work better as a retrospective, if the singer got up the courage in the past and is telling us how saying hello was the hardest part of the conversation. That way, you remove that "the singer is a jerk for not saying what he really feels" vibe, because the singer DID say what he felt; it was just really hard to get started.

Just wanted to throw my 2 cents in. I love the idea; that the hardest hello comes before a goodbye. Very insightful, I think. I find the song very wordy, though, and long; I think you'd have trouble hanging on to listeners, if, for example, you intended this to be played on the radio. Thanks for sharing!

Agree it should be "spoken" not "spoke".

Agree it is wordy. You could cut down on the number.
example, random line taken.

And saying all those words that I know I should have said
miss out AND so you have
saying all those words that I know I should have said
then miss out ALL so you have
saying those words that I know I should have said
then miss out THAT so you have
saying those words I know I should have said
then miss out I KNOW so you have
saying those words I should have said.

so
And saying all those words that I know I should have said
has become
saying those words I should have said


The song is good but it the number of words requires culling.