Talk:Goodbye Stranger

Untitled
I heard this song on the radio station Frank FM frequently. The opening bar in the outro has the guitarist just playing one note and bending it. The other bars have more than one note, but they get played really fast. &mdash;Gm1121983 00:38, 6 August 2006 (UTC)
 * On Frank? Do you listen to that station every single day? &mdash;Mr. Conrad 00:41, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

I used to listen to it at work, but no one likes that station anymore. Now, we listen to 101 The Rose. &mdash;Gm1121983 00:43, 6 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Frank was a good station when they first started, but now they play nothin' but shit! Don't you like the Rose better? &mdash;Mr. Conrad 00:45, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

No, because they cut the end off of some of the songs such as "Kiss from a Rose" by Seal and "If It Makes You Happy" by Sheryl Crow. Frank usually plays the whole song. &mdash;Gm1121983 00:49, 6 August 2006 (UTC)
 * What do you mean Frank usually plays the whole song? They don't let "Goodbye Stranger" play its entirety. &mdash;The Pope

Well, they cut it off when it gets to the fading part. If the song has a clean ending rather than fading out, they will let it play its entirety, and then the DJ talks right after the song stops. &mdash;Gm1121983 00:54, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

Fun Fact to be changed
Rick Davies sings the verses, and he does the backing vocals during the chorus. This needs to be changed in some way because Rick sang lead on "Goodbye Stranger", and it's Roger who sings backup. Rick sings this part during the chorus.

''Sweet ''devotion It's not for me Just give me motion ''And set me free ''And the Land and the Ocean ''Far ''Away ''It's the life I've chosen ''Every Day ''So Goodbye Mary, Goodbye Jane ''Will we ever meet again

&mdash;Squidward Tentacles 15:04, 26 February 2007 (UTC)

Actually, Rick does the backing vocals. I think he sings the verses, and he sings that part when Roger sings the chorus. I believe John Helliwell sings his part near the end. Comments? &mdash;Gm1121983 02:23, 9 March 2007 (UTC)
 * I think he sings the ooh's in the outro of "Goodbye Stranger" and he plays the sax. &mdash;Bill Conrad 02:31, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

The guitar solo during the conclusion is performed on Dougie Thomson's bass guitar, which uses a Wah-wah pedal. Is this really true? I watched the video clip for the "guitar solo during the Supertramp's song 'Goodbye Stranger' played by Logicaltramp" on the Google website. I think that was Roger on lead guitar. &mdash;Gm1121983 01:43, 10 March 2007 (UTC)
 * John Helliwell also does the whistling before the falsetto chorus comes in for the second time. WikiPro1981X (talk) 05:35, 7 January 2011 (UTC)


 * It's Roger Hodgson playing the Wah-wah guitar. I found that out here. &mdash;Gm1121983 04:43, 10 March 2007 (UTC)

Live Version?
The article says,

"...female vocals. In the live version, Rick sang some of the falsetto, but Roger and John sang backup."

What live version is being referred to? 198.22.236.230 (talk) 18:48, 20 November 2007 (UTC)
 * See video --76.117.69.147 (talk) 07:16, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

Song's meaning
Should they mention how it was written about rehabilitation from drugs? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.129.216.137 (talk) 03:22, 28 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Pot? Marijuana? --Benjamin Allen Lessig (talk) 01:36, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

Its about supertramp studying with jehovah's witnesses. look at the lyrics, then look at what witnesses teach. --70.48.59.216 (talk) 00:00, 28 August 2008 (UTC)

It's about one night stands. --24.94.251.19 (talk) 09:30, 9 April 2013 (UTC)

It's a play on one night stands with reference to Marijuana. I think he means spending the night with girls smoking pot. I don't see any reference to rehabilitation or hard drugs, but there is suggestion that he is unsure if he will be smoking pot again. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.25.163.105 (talk) 09:27, 28 November 2013 (UTC)

The best analysis I have found is this one. I am convinced that the two voices are there on purpose (instead of only a single singer), with different lyrics and positions for each of the protagonists. The song is obviously about a departure between the two protagonists. Now for the reasons, it gets more blurry, there seems to be some wordplay between one night stands and drug addiction. Although the real meaning might seem elusive, it's clear the first protagonist sung by Rick is more about living a care-free life, whereas the second protagonist seems a lot more posed, responsible. It is also debatable whether the two protagonists are persons or representing two facets of one person's personnality, but this point might be just moot, it might be an ambiguity on purpose, since this does not change the story's meaning anyway. It would be great to add some info about the song meaning, as this is a big part of the song (the lyrics are very meaningful), but I could not find any "official" analysis or interview about that? --Lrq3000 (talk) 15:24, 5 November 2017 (UTC)
 * Found a source, indeed the song is constructed so that there are two protagonists talking to each other. About the marijuana and one night stands I could not find any info, but I think this is of less importance (it is more part of interpretation rather than historical context & meaning). Please check out the new section Context and meaning. --Lrq3000 (talk) 16:48, 5 November 2017 (UTC)

Its about Satanism. He says "the devil is my savior" in the lyrics. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:6C56:6400:9EB:450F:243C:9032:4093 (talk) 20:59, 16 September 2023 (UTC)

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External links modified
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