The Power of Good-Bye
Encyclopedia
"The Power of Good-Bye" (released as double A-side single with "Little Star" in the UK) is a song written by American
singer Madonna
and Rick Nowels
for Madonna's seventh album
Ray of Light
(1998). It was produced
by Madonna, William Orbit
and Patrick Leonard
, and received a positive reception from music critics. The song was released as a single
in the fall of 1998 (see 1998 in music
), and although it failed to match the chart success of its predecessor "Ray of Light
", which reached the top five in several countries, it reached number one in Mexico
, number four in Germany
, the top ten in the United Kingdom
and Canada
, and the top twenty in the United States
, where it became Madonna's thirty-seventh top-twenty single.
s and an electronic music
sound, with lyrics reflecting on a painful breakup. Australian music critic and friend of Madonna, Molly Meldrum, claimed the lyrics were about Sean Penn
. The version that was released as a single and included on the album Ray of Light is quite different from the original demo
version. In the summer of 2002, demos recorded during the Ray of Light recording sessions were leaked to the Internet, with one of the demos being for "The Power of Good-Bye". The demo version features a stronger rhythm and more drum and bass
. The lyrics are also different, including the sentence 'Walk away' instead of 'Do you wanna go higher' (in the album's booklet, the lyrics 'Walk away' were never changed) and the final message: 'God help me, learn to say goodbye, please give me the power of goodbye'.
In the UK, "The Power of Good-Bye" was released as a double A-side with "Little Star", a track from Ray of Light. In the rest of Europe, the song was included on the major single releases as a B-side. Also notable is that the European releases included several experimental remixes of the song by Luke Slater
plus one remix by Dallas Austin
, who previously worked with Madonna on her Bedtime Stories
(1994) album.
, the song debuted at number six and stayed on the singles chart for nine weeks, selling 180,000 copies.
Elsewhere the song was also a success, usually charting within the top twenty. Among the countries where the song charted in the top twenty are Mexico
, Canada
, Germany
, Japan
, the Netherlands
, and the United States (peaking at number eleven). "The Power of Good-Bye" debuted and peaked at number two on the Spanish Singles Chart, making it the only single from Ray of Light not to reach number one in Spain.
The success of the song brought Ray of Light back into the top ten on many album charts more than seven months after its release. The success of the single was also influenced by Madonna's one-month European promotional tour, which took her across Europe promoting the album and the song on a variety of music television shows. "The Power of Good-Bye" is one of the few singles that Madonna has performed on the BBC
program Top of the Pops
.
for "The Power of Good-Bye" was directed by Matthew Rolston
, and was filmed from August 8–10, 1998 at Silvertop House in Los Angeles, California
and Malibu Beach. The video shows Madonna and her lover playing chess and ultimately Madonna destroying the chess board, symbolizing an end to their relationship. Madonna also goes walking by the sea, but it is unclear whether she drowns herself in the last scene. Throughout the video, there are the scenes of Madonna sitting, singing and slowly dancing in front of the curtain. Madonna's lover in the video is played by Croatian actor Goran Višnjić
. The video is mostly colored blue.
The video premiered on MTV
on September 10, 1998, a few minutes before the MTV Video Music Awards show began. The video was occasionally played on The WB Network after the television show Felicity, which played the song as the background music during its TV ads.
The video created some controversy due to its ending. It is debatable, but many Madonna's fans believe she commits suicide
at the end of the video, drowning herself in the ocean. Just before the music video ends, Madonna is shown on the beach again, happier than before. Therefore, the drowning of her character may represent the element water, which represents rebirth. The use of water-images - as well as the use of the other three elements - was an important part of the album, with the theme appearing in songs, such as "Swim".
The music video recreates the famous chess playing scene from 1968's The Thomas Crown Affair
(with Steve McQueen
and Faye Dunaway
). The video was also influenced by the 1946 Joan Crawford
film Humoresque
, recreating the beach scenes where Crawford roams the ocean shore and passes a man walking his dog. Can also be related to section ii of The Wasteland, A Game Of Chess by T.S. Eliot resembling a relationship between a man and woman, struggling with their relationship.
US cassette single (9 17160-4)
US promo CD single (PRO-CD-9499-R)
US CD single (9 17160-2)
JP Maxi-CD (WPCR-2297)
AU Maxi-CD (9362 44591 2)
EU 12" vinyl (9362 44590 0)
EU CD single (9362 17121 9)
UK promo CD single (W459CDDJ)
UK Maxi-CD (9362 44598 2)
GR CD single (9362 44592-2)
{| class="wikitable"
!Country
!Certification
!Sales/Shipments
|-
|Austria
|align="center"|Gold
|align="center"|20,000
|-
|Germany
|align="center"|Gold
|align="center"|250,000
|-
|Sweden
|align="center"|Gold
|align="center"|20,000
|}
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
and Rick Nowels
Rick Nowels
Richard Wright Nowels Jr. is a Grammy / Ivor Novello award-winning songwriter/producer who has worked with many of the most vibrant artists in contemporary music...
for Madonna's seventh album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Ray of Light
Ray of Light
Ray of Light is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on March 3, 1998 by Maverick Records and distributed by Warner Bros. Records. After giving birth to her daughter Lourdes, Madonna collaborated with Patrick Leonard and William Orbit in developing the album...
(1998). It was produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Madonna, William Orbit
William Orbit
William Orbit is an English musician, composer and record producer, perhaps best known to most for his work on Madonna's album Ray of Light. He has also co-produced several unreleased Madonna songs originally recorded for other albums...
and Patrick Leonard
Patrick Leonard
Patrick Raymond Leonard is an American songwriter, keyboardist and music producer, known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna on many different recordings....
, and received a positive reception from music critics. The song was released as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in the fall of 1998 (see 1998 in music
1998 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...
), and although it failed to match the chart success of its predecessor "Ray of Light
Ray of Light (song)
A high-speed electronic dance song, "Ray of Light" has received stylistic comparisons to rave, psychedelic and acid music. The track contains strong techno elements, as well as disco, trance and Eurodance influences, and it sees Madonna deepen her dance roots and go for a more electronic sound...
", which reached the top five in several countries, it reached number one in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, number four in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the top ten in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and the top twenty in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where it became Madonna's thirty-seventh top-twenty single.
Song information
"The Power of Good-Bye" is a ballad featuring numerous string instrumentString instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
s and an electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
sound, with lyrics reflecting on a painful breakup. Australian music critic and friend of Madonna, Molly Meldrum, claimed the lyrics were about Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
. The version that was released as a single and included on the album Ray of Light is quite different from the original demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
version. In the summer of 2002, demos recorded during the Ray of Light recording sessions were leaked to the Internet, with one of the demos being for "The Power of Good-Bye". The demo version features a stronger rhythm and more drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
. The lyrics are also different, including the sentence 'Walk away' instead of 'Do you wanna go higher' (in the album's booklet, the lyrics 'Walk away' were never changed) and the final message: 'God help me, learn to say goodbye, please give me the power of goodbye'.
In the UK, "The Power of Good-Bye" was released as a double A-side with "Little Star", a track from Ray of Light. In the rest of Europe, the song was included on the major single releases as a B-side. Also notable is that the European releases included several experimental remixes of the song by Luke Slater
Luke Slater
Luke Slater is an English electronic musician, DJ and record producer, who has concentrated on techno since the beginning of the 1990s....
plus one remix by Dallas Austin
Dallas Austin
Dallas Austin is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician, based in Atlanta, Georgia. Some of his most notable clients include Michael Jackson, TLC, Boyz II Men, Pink, Monica, Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Stacie Orrico, Another Bad Creation, Fishbone, Sugababes, Anastacia, Namie Amuro, Kim...
, who previously worked with Madonna on her Bedtime Stories
Bedtime Stories (Madonna album)
Bedtime Stories is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on October 25, 1994 by Maverick Records. Madonna collaborated with Dallas Austin, Babyface, Dave "Jam" Hall and Nellee Hooper, deciding to move into a more R&B direction...
(1994) album.
Chart performance
In the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the song debuted at number six and stayed on the singles chart for nine weeks, selling 180,000 copies.
Elsewhere the song was also a success, usually charting within the top twenty. Among the countries where the song charted in the top twenty are Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and the United States (peaking at number eleven). "The Power of Good-Bye" debuted and peaked at number two on the Spanish Singles Chart, making it the only single from Ray of Light not to reach number one in Spain.
The success of the song brought Ray of Light back into the top ten on many album charts more than seven months after its release. The success of the single was also influenced by Madonna's one-month European promotional tour, which took her across Europe promoting the album and the song on a variety of music television shows. "The Power of Good-Bye" is one of the few singles that Madonna has performed on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
program Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
.
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "The Power of Good-Bye" was directed by Matthew Rolston
Matthew Rolston
Matthew Russell Rolston is an American photographer and music video director. Rolston is known for his signature lighting techniques and detailed approach to art direction and design, and has been repeatedly identified throughout his career with the revival and modern expression of Hollywood glamour...
, and was filmed from August 8–10, 1998 at Silvertop House in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and Malibu Beach. The video shows Madonna and her lover playing chess and ultimately Madonna destroying the chess board, symbolizing an end to their relationship. Madonna also goes walking by the sea, but it is unclear whether she drowns herself in the last scene. Throughout the video, there are the scenes of Madonna sitting, singing and slowly dancing in front of the curtain. Madonna's lover in the video is played by Croatian actor Goran Višnjić
Goran Višnjic
Goran Višnjić is a Croatian actor who has appeared in American and British films and television productions. He is best known for his role as Dr. Luka Kovač in the hit television series ER...
. The video is mostly colored blue.
The video premiered on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
on September 10, 1998, a few minutes before the MTV Video Music Awards show began. The video was occasionally played on The WB Network after the television show Felicity, which played the song as the background music during its TV ads.
The video created some controversy due to its ending. It is debatable, but many Madonna's fans believe she commits suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
at the end of the video, drowning herself in the ocean. Just before the music video ends, Madonna is shown on the beach again, happier than before. Therefore, the drowning of her character may represent the element water, which represents rebirth. The use of water-images - as well as the use of the other three elements - was an important part of the album, with the theme appearing in songs, such as "Swim".
The music video recreates the famous chess playing scene from 1968's The Thomas Crown Affair
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968 film)
The Thomas Crown Affair is a 1968 film by Norman Jewison starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. It was nominated for two Academy Awards and won the Award for Best Song with Michel Legrand's "Windmills of Your Mind"...
(with Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
and Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway is an American actress.Dunaway won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Network after receiving previous nominations for the critically acclaimed films Bonnie and Clyde and Chinatown...
). The video was also influenced by the 1946 Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
film Humoresque
Humoresque (film)
Humoresque is a 1946 Warner Bros. feature film starring Joan Crawford and John Garfield in an older woman/younger man tale about a violinist and his patroness. The screenplay by Clifford Odets and Zachary Gold was based upon a novel by Fannie Hurst...
, recreating the beach scenes where Crawford roams the ocean shore and passes a man walking his dog. Can also be related to section ii of The Wasteland, A Game Of Chess by T.S. Eliot resembling a relationship between a man and woman, struggling with their relationship.
- Director: Matthew Rolston
- Producer: Nicola Doring
- Director of Photography: Pascal Lebegue
- Editor: Dustin Robertston
- Production Company: HSI Productions
Track listings and formats
US 7" vinyl (7-17160)US cassette single (9 17160-4)
- A "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Album Version) — 4:10
- B "Mer Girl" — 5:32
US promo CD single (PRO-CD-9499-R)
- "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Dallas' Low End Mix) — 4:34
- "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Album Version) — 4:10
US CD single (9 17160-2)
- "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Album Version) — 4:10
- "Mer Girl" — 5:32
JP Maxi-CD (WPCR-2297)
AU Maxi-CD (9362 44591 2)
- "The Power Of Good-Bye" — 4:13
- "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Dallas' Low End Mix) — 4:34
- "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Luke Slater's Super Luper) — 8:45
- "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Luke Slater's Filtered Mix) — 6:07
- "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Fabien's Good God Mix) — 8:22
EU 12" vinyl (9362 44590 0)
- A1 "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Dallas' Low End Mix) — 4:34
- A2 "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Luke Slater's Super Luper) — 8:45
- B1 "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Fabien's Good God Mix) — 8:22
- B2 "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Album Version) — 4:10
EU CD single (9362 17121 9)
- "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Album Version) — 4:10
- "Little Star" — 5:18
UK promo CD single (W459CDDJ)
- "Little Star" — 5:18
UK Maxi-CD (9362 44598 2)
GR CD single (9362 44592-2)
- "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Album Version) — 4:10
- "Little Star" — 5:18
- "The Power Of Good-Bye" (Dallas' Low End Mix) — 4:34
Charts and certifications
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia ARIA ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... Singles Chart |
33 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 4 |
| Belgian Flemish Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... |
31 |
| Belgian Wallonie Ultratop 40 Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
20 |
| Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
6 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
6 |
| Eurochart Hot 100 Singles Eurochart Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles has been compiled by Billboard and Music & Media magazine since March, 1984. The chart is based on national singles sales charts in 15 European countries: Austria, Belgium , Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,... |
2 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 4 |
| French SNEP Singles Chart | 21 |
| German Singles Chart | 4 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
23 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 8 |
| Japanese Oricon Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... International Singles |
7 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 25 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 2 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 3 |
| Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
8 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
6 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
11 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay | 26 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales Hot 100 Singles Sales The Hot Singles Sales chart is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It measures sales of commercial singles and is one of three component charts, along with the Hot 100 Airplay and the Hot Digital Songs, that determine the chart positions of singles on the... |
13 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 14 |
{| class="wikitable"
!Country
!Certification
!Sales/Shipments
|-
|Austria
|align="center"|Gold
|align="center"|20,000
|-
|Germany
|align="center"|Gold
|align="center"|250,000
|-
|Sweden
|align="center"|Gold
|align="center"|20,000
|}
Release history
| Country | Date |
|---|---|
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
September 22, 1998 |
| Europe Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting... |
November 16, 1998 |
| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
November 26, 1998 |