Melody Gardot (b. 1985) is a Grammy-nominated U.S. jazz singer, writer, and… Read Full Bio ↴Melody Gardot (b. 1985) is a Grammy-nominated U.S. jazz singer, writer, and musician.

Born on the 2nd February 1985 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Gardot took up piano and played as a youngster on the nightclub scene of Philadelphia, influenced by jazz, folk, rock, and pop musics. At the age of nineteen she was a fashion student at the Community College of Philadelphia. While cycling in Philadelphia in November 2003 she was hit by a car whose driver had ignored a red traffic light. In the accident she suffered serious head and spinal injuries, and her pelvis was broken in two places. Because of these severe injuries she was confined to her hospital bed for a year. Her musical beginning was prompted by a tending physician who was concerned with her cognitive impairment as a result of head injury sustained in the accident. He believed that music would help her brain injury improve, as it has been known to show remarkable results in improving people's cognitive ability after such trauma.

Following her doctor's suggestion, Gardot made recordings bedside, while still unable to walk, and eventually released the works as an EP: Some Lessons: The Bedroom Sessions (2005). Gardot's desire to be well, combined with a bit of luck, brought her to the attention of a local radio DJ at the AAA station WXPN (known for launching the careers of artists such as Amos Lee and Norah Jones). Her cognitive powers slowly but surely became pronounced, leading to the independent recording and release of her debut CD, Worrisome Heart, which was reissued in 2007 by Verve records.

Gardot is hypersensitive to light and noise, so wears dark glasses; she also uses a cane to walk. Onstage she requires a special seating unit, and wears a Transcutaneous Electro-Nerve Stimulator, a TENS device, to assist in alleviating her neuralgic muscle pain. Though touring is difficult, she has been performing in major cities on the East Coast of the U.S. to support her recordings. In 2009, working with producer Larry Klein and arranger Vince Mendoza - both known for their work with Joni Mitchell - Gardot followed up her Verve debut with My One and Only Thrill.

In 2012, she released the album The Absence.

Goodbye
Melody Gardot Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Good night, was just a little word you liked
Somewhere somebody that you burn
Was talk to happy in the line
But love, you know you never got it right
I don't know why you say good night
You only mean to say goodbye

And I know, you could have show your love to the dawn

And you ain't never been in love before
Here only bound to get a round

And I know, you distance victim of your circumstance
I never know in any re-romance

And so we are to say so long
Goodbye so long goodbye

Overall Meaning

In the song "Goodbye" by Melody Gardot, the singer seems to be addressing someone who struggles with expressing their emotions and has a history of failed relationships. The opening lyrics suggest that this person has a tendency to use "good night" as a way to end conversations, even though they really mean to say "goodbye." The repetition of "good night" and "goodbye" throughout the song suggests a sense of finality and emphasizes how difficult it is for this person to connect with others.

The chorus of the song seems to be encouraging this person to take a risk and show their love to someone, rather than holding back and avoiding vulnerability. The lyrics "you ain't never been in love before" imply that this person may not even know what it feels like to truly love someone. The phrase "here only bound to get a round" suggests that this person may have a pattern of seeking out short-term and superficial relationships.

Throughout the song, there is a sense of empathy for this person's struggles, but also a recognition that their actions have consequences. The final lyrics "so we are to say so long, goodbye so long goodbye" suggest that the singer has reached a point of accepting that this person may never be able to fully connect with others, and that it's time to move on.

Line by Line Meaning

Good night, was just a little word you liked
You only said good night because it was convenient

Somewhere somebody that you burn
You hurt somebody in the past

Was talk to happy in the line
You pretended to be happy and content

But love, you know you never got it right
You could never quite figure out love

I don't know why you say good night
You're not really saying good night

You only mean to say goodbye
You're really saying goodbye for good

And I know, you could have show your love to the dawn
You could have expressed your love earlier

And you ain't never been in love before
You've never truly experienced love

Here only bound to get a round
You're just going in circles

And I know, you distance victim of your circumstance
You've been emotionally distant due to your circumstances

I never know in any re-romance
You've never had a successful relationship