Hootie & the Blowfish formed in 1986. The quartet met when they were freshmen at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Bryan heard Rucker singing in the showers of the dorm they shared and was impressed by his vocal ability. They began playing cover tunes as The Wolf Brothers; eventually they collaborated with Felber, a former high school bandmate of Bryan's, and Jim "Soni" Sonefeld as Hootie & the Blowfish.
Brantley Smith was the original drummer for the band. He left the group to pursue music ministry, but he has made scattered guest appearances with the band (he played cello on their MTV Unplugged performance in 1996, and played drums at Gruene Hall in Gruene, Texas, on June 27, 2008).
The group independently released two cassette demo EPs in 1991 and 1992. In 1993, they pressed 50,000 copies of a self-released EP, Kootchypop. Their mainstream debut album was Cracked Rear View (1994). It was an instant success, ultimately going platinum 16 times in the U.S. and becoming the best-selling album of 1995. The album was propelled by four hits, "Hold My Hand" (U.S. #10), "Let Her Cry" (U.S. #9), "Only Wanna Be with You" (U.S. #6), and "Time" (U.S. #14). Miami Dolphins' Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino appeared in the band's video for the song "Only Wanna Be with You", along with several other athletes.
The band won the "Best New Artist" award at the 1996 Grammy Awards. Hootie & the Blowfish appeared on MTV Unplugged on the eve of the release of their second album, 1996's Fairweather Johnson. Though sales began promisingly, and it contained the hit single "Old Man and Me" (U.S. #13), the album sold four million copies in the U.S.
In 1995, Hootie & the Blowfish contributed the song "Hey Hey What Can I Do" to the Encomium tribute album to Led Zeppelin. Their cover of Canadian group 54-40's "I Go Blind", originally released on the soundtrack to the TV series Friends in 1995, did not appear on Cracked Rear View or Fairweather Johnson, but nevertheless became a hit at radio in 1996 after three singles from Fairweather Johnson had been released. Both "Hey Hey What Can I Do" and "I Go Blind" were later released on the collection Scattered, Smothered and Covered.
Hootie and the Blowfish started their own record label, Breaking Records, in 1996 as a subsidiary of Atlantic. They had planned to focus on signing local Carolina acts. Edwin McCain and Cravin' Melon were both associated with the label at one point, but did not release any material on it. Meat Puppets, Jump, Little Children, Treadmill Trackstar and Treehouse released one album each on Breaking Records. The label folded in 2000.
In 1998, they performed on Frank Wildhorn's concept album of the musical The Civil War.
In 200, the band released a B-sides and rarities compilation in 2000 entitled Scattered, Smothered and Covered.
The band covered the 1968 Orpheus hit "Can't Find the Time" in 2001 for the soundtrack of the Jim Carrey movie, Me, Myself and Irene. Orpheus leader Bruce Arnold performed the song with the band during several concerts on the West Coast of the United States in 2001.
In 2009, Hootie and the Blowfish performed live in a ballet which chronicled their rise and success in the 1990s.
In 2008, Rucker announced in an AOL Sessions interview that Hootie and the Blowfish would be going on hiatus so Rucker could pursue his solo career as a country music performer. Although the band will no longer be recording or touring, Rucker confirmed that they will still perform their scheduled charity concerts, stating, "We have four charity gigs every year and we will still do them, but we will not do a record or tour." Rucker also said that the split will last "for five or six years, or until I record three or four country albums". He later amended his statement, saying, "To be honest with you, we're not even split up right now, and we're not really thinking about splitting up."
Goodbye
Hootie & The Blowfish Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now love is gone and you're into someone far away
I never thought the day would come
When I would see his hand not mine
Holding on to yours because I could not find the time
And now I can't deny
Nothing lasts forever
But I don't want to leave and see the teardrops in your eyes
Now there comes another part of life I go alone
Sitting at a bar with Chris that I can't leave
'Cause my house ain't no home
I just want to touch you girl
I want to feel you close to me
Without your love I would give up now and walk away so easily
So maybe while we're young we'll figure out together
That even with the pain there's a remedy
We'll be all right
I don't want to live to see the day you say goodbye
When I first met you I couldn't love anyone
But you stole my dreams and you made me see
That I can walk into the sun and I could still be me
And now I can't deny
Nothing lasts forever
But I don't want to leave and see the teardrops in your eyes
So baby why break up
Let's figure out together
That even with the pain there's a remedy
And we'll be alright
I don't want to live to see the day you say goodbye
We say goodbye
Oh goodbye
Goodbye
In "Goodbye", Hootie & The Blowfish lament the loss of a relationship that has slipped away due to neglect and separation. The lyrics reflect on the decay of love and the fear of losing someone dear. They start by saying that tomorrow used to be a day away, indicating how the future held hope and promise once. However, now love is gone and seems replaced with someone else far away. The singer expresses regret over not having enough time for the relationship and that now he can't deny that nothing lasts forever. He doesn't want to see the tears in his loved one's eyes when he leaves, and he doesn't want to live to see the day when she says goodbye.
In the second verse, the singer talks about how he's alone and sitting at a bar with a friend that doesn't fill the emptiness in his life. He wants to touch his girl and feels her close to him. He says that without her love, he'd give up and walk away so quickly. He suggests that maybe they still have time to figure things out and that even though there's pain, there's a remedy. They can still be alright together.
Overall, "Goodbye" is a poignant reflection of lost love, missed opportunities, and regret. The lyrics are heartfelt and capture the emotions of someone who's learning to live with the consequences of choices made.
Line by Line Meaning
Tomorrow used to be a day away
The future once seemed far off, but now it's too close for comfort.
Now love is gone and you're into someone far away
You've left me for someone else who's not even here.
I never thought the day would come
I didn't expect things to turn out this way.
When I would see his hand not mine
I have to accept that you're with someone else now.
Holding on to yours because I could not find the time
I couldn't make time for us, so I lost you.
And now I can't deny
I have to face the truth.
Nothing lasts forever
We can't hold onto things forever.
But I don't want to leave and see the teardrops in your eyes
I don't want to cause you pain by leaving.
I don't want to live to see the day you say goodbye
I don't want to lose you.
Now there comes another part of life I go alone
I have to face life without you by my side.
Sitting at a bar with Chris that I can't leave
I feel trapped and alone, even with people around me.
'Cause my house ain't no home
My home feels empty and lonely without you.
I just want to touch you girl
I miss you so much.
I want to feel you close to me
I want to hold you and be close to you again.
Without your love I would give up now and walk away so easily
I need your love to keep going and I would give up without it.
So maybe while we're young we'll figure out together
Let's try to work things out before it's too late.
That even with the pain there's a remedy
We can find a way to fix things and make it work.
We'll be all right
We can make it through this together.
When I first met you I couldn't love anyone
You changed my life and showed me how to love.
But you stole my dreams and you made me see
You gave me new dreams and showed me a different way of life.
That even with the pain there's a remedy
We can fix things if we work together.
So baby why break up
Don't give up on us yet.
We say goodbye
We're ending things.
Oh goodbye
It's time to say goodbye.
Goodbye
Farewell.
Lyrics © DistroKid, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, Darius Rucker, Jim Sonefeld
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind