Hey, That's no way to say goodbye

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giampi
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Hey, That's no way to say goodbye

Post by giampi »

In the verse
"But let's not talk of love or chains and things we can't untie"

It seems to me that he sings instead:

"But let's not talk of love or change the things we can't untie"

What do you think?
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LisaLCFan
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Re: Hey, That's no way to say goodbye

Post by LisaLCFan »

I think he does sing "and" in the line "... But let's not talk of love or chains and things we can't untie".

However, to my ear, he does not articulate the "d" and barely articulates the "a", pronouncing it more like "-n-", i.e. "...chains 'n' things...", just like the phrase "this 'n' that".

At least, that's what I've always heard, and it is the official lyric, and so I have no reason to think that he is singing "the" there. If you can post a link to a specific performance in which you think he is singing "the", then I'll have a listen, but if you are referring to the original album version, then I am pretty sure that you are mistaken.
giampi
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Re: Hey, That's no way to say goodbye

Post by giampi »

This is the performance where I got stuck:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gx6s1ARfOk
At 1:31 he even seems to say something like "Let's not talk of love or change, 'n things we can't untie"
even "...love or changing, things we can't untie"

The word "chains", if it is there, it is unrecognizable.

But hey, I'm certainly mistaken, and bow to the official version
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LisaLCFan
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Re: Hey, That's no way to say goodbye

Post by LisaLCFan »

giampi wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 10:34 am ...At 1:31 he even seems to say something like "Let's not talk of love or change, 'n things we can't untie"...
Yes, that is exactly what I said, that he pronounces the and like 'n', and in this case, he clearly pauses before "things", as follows:

But let's not talk of love or chains 'n'
Things we can't untie


Note that he doesn't articulate the "t" in "but", it's more like, "Bu...let's not talk...". That's just the way he sings, he does not always articulate all the letters in the words.
giampi wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 10:34 am ...even "...love or changing, things we can't untie"

The word "chains", if it is there, it is unrecognizable.
Not to me: I still hear "chains 'n'", clearly hearing an "s" sound right before the "-n-" -- sounding like "chainsin".

If you listen to him sing "changes" in the previous lines ("it's just the way it changes...like the shoreline and the sea"), you can clearly hear the soft "g" sound of the "g" in changes, and that sound is not present when he sings "chains 'n'... things", rather, as I said, I hear "chainsin", not "changin'".

But, we all hear what we hear -- perception does vary across different people, and so maybe it is a quirk of your sensory faculties that prevents you from hearing what I hear, the way I hear it, and vice-versa.

Great song, whatever the case. Cheers!
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B4real
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Re: Hey, That's no way to say goodbye

Post by B4real »

I've listened to a lot of versions of that song and I hear what Lisa hears.
Maybe Canadian and Australia accents aren't too far apart after all ;-)

But it's interesting to hear how Julie Felix sings that line and the previous one when she and LC duet the song on TV - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWS8GyKkG_s
It’s just a way of changing, like the shoreline and the sea
but let's not talk of love or chains, things we can't untie…
When they both sing together it seems the last line is sung as above.

It stands to reason to believe that LC must have OK'd the variation or maybe it was part of the original verse.
As far as I know, the album was released in Dec 1967 and some say so was the BBC2 TV duet - but then again some also say the duet was in Jan 1968. Hummm....

Either way, this song has, is, and will always be in my top 10 LC songs!

EDIT: Also, in the link above to my ears and eyes LC doesn't appear to sing the official "smiled".
I hear and see him sing "In city and in forest they smile like me and you" and the same when they sing that line together.
It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to B4real ~ me
Attitude is a self-fulfilling prophecy ~ me ...... The magic of art is the truth of its lies ~ me ...... Only left-handers are in their right mind!
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