Artists cover each other's songs all the time. Sometimes someone brings something new and fresh to the tune. Take "I Will Always Love You," for example. Dolly Parton, who wrote and recorded the song, brought her own subtle, special magic to it. Then, years later, Whitney Houston came along and sang it for her film, The Bodyguard. Her ultra-dramatic version was an enormous smash hit. Each woman did it her way.
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In much the same sense, Conway Twitty sang "Goodbye Time" in 1988. Written by Roger Murrah and James Dean Hicks, it was on his album, Still in Your Dreams. Blake Shelton took a shine to the tune and he sang it for an album of his own in 2004. Smart move! "Goodbye Time" became a Top Ten success for Shelton early in his career, helping to pave the way for his later stardom. Shelton went on to great acclaim for his singing, recording, and coaching on the television contest show, The Voice.
'Goodbye Time' Is A Mournful, Melancholy Song About A Couple Parting Ways And Blake Shelton Did It Justice
Country music is sometimes deeply sad. This song belongs in that column. "Goodbye Time" is about a couple that has come to the end of the road in their relationship. The narrator is bidding farewell to the person who was once their loving partner. The lyrics are laden with regret, anguish, and that forlorn, pit-in-your-stomach feeling.
"It's your life, you say you need a change
Don't all the dreams we've seen come true mean anything?
You say it's different now and you keep staring at the door
How can you walk away? Don't I matter anymore?
If being free is worth what you leave behind
And if it's too late for love to change your mind
Then it's goodbye time
If we had known our love would come to this
We could have saved our hearts the hurt of wasted years
Well, it's been fun, what else can I say?
If the feelings gone, words won't stop you anyway...."
In fact, the song is so heavy with emotion that one singer who it was offered to, Reba McEntire, declined it. She was splitting from her spouse at that time and it just must have hit too close to home for her.
