Sean Watkins (born February 18, 1977) is a guitarist, vocalist, and songwri… Read Full Bio ↴Sean Watkins (born February 18, 1977) is a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, and is one third of the contemporary folk band Nickel Creek and one part of the alt. folk duo Fiction Family with Jon Foreman from Switchfoot . His sister Sara Watkins, also a member of Nickel Creek, plays violin and sings background vocals on the second of his two solo albums. As a whole, Nickel Creek recently participated in a project dubbed Mutual Admiration Society, a collaboration with former Toad The Wet Sprocket singer Glen Phillips. As a solo musician, Sean Watkins early material was contemporary bluegrass, but as time goes on, he has incorporated various other influences into his music (especially indie rock). Sean Watkins's solo music career seems to be going the same path as Nickel Creek; turning from beautiful traditional bluegrass songs to indie rock with bluegrass instrumentation. Sean Watkins is the oldest member of Nickel Creek. "My first instrument was the piano when I was six", Sean recalls. "I took classic instruction for seven years, but three years into that I discovered bluegrass music, through my piano teacher's son, who had a bluegrass band that played every Saturday night at a pizza place in Carlsbad. I really got into it, and when Sara [Watkins] and I met Chris, we started playing with him on Saturday nights too."[1]

He began playing mandolin in the early career with Nickel Creek, but later switched to guitar. Sean made it to the National Flatpicking Championship in 1993 at age 16. Now Nickel Creek has exploded in the contemporary folk/bluegrass scene. This Watkins has already released 3 solo albums and appeared on many others. Of this experience, Watkins has said, "I've learned now to look back to music that has lasted through the years and to appreciate the timeless value that it has."

Sean's first album Let it Fall consists primarily of bluegrass inspired instrumental tracks. Providing the vocals on the only sung track on the album is former Toad the Wet Sprocket frontman Glen Phillips. Sean's second album, 26 Miles was a much bigger departure from bluegrass. While still mainly acoustic, the album showed influences from jazz, indie rock, and new age music. His third album, Blinder's On continues along many of the same lines as the previous one.

It was recently announced on Nickel Creek's website that the band would go on hiatus at the end of 2007. In an interview with Billboard magazine, Sean states that he plans to make music for movies.

Hello...Goodbye
Sean Watkins Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

She came up and said hello
my name is kate and i liked your show
and there was nothing i could say
but thanks come again
she didn't know
that we got married in my head
there were christmases and dogs
and our kids' hair was red

and as years flew by

i gazed into her eyes
and said goodbye

Overall Meaning

The song "Hello...Goodbye" by Sean Watkins is a heart-wrenching tribute to what-ifs and missed opportunities. The first verse sets up a chance encounter with a woman named Kate, who approaches the singer after a show and compliments his performance. He is struck by her beauty, but is unable to convey his feelings beyond a polite, somewhat awkward response. Despite this, he finds himself dreaming up an entire life with Kate, complete with children and pets, all happening within his own imagination.

As the years pass, the singer is haunted by the memory of Kate and the life they could have had together. He is overcome with regret for not taking the chance to pursue her, and ultimately, he must confront the fact that it is too late. In the final line of the song, he resigns himself to saying goodbye, reflecting on what could have been and mourning a potential love that was never realized.

The song's bittersweet lyrics are accompanied by a gentle acoustic guitar melody and Watkins' plaintive vocals, creating a melancholy atmosphere that perfectly captures the wistful tone of the narrative. Overall, "Hello...Goodbye" is a moving meditation on the pain of lost love and the power of missed connections.

Line by Line Meaning

She came up and said hello
A woman approached the singer and introduced herself

my name is kate and i liked your show
The woman's name was Kate and she enjoyed the singer's performance

and there was nothing i could say
The singer was at a loss for words

but thanks come again
The artist expressed gratitude and an invitation to return

she didn't know
The woman was unaware

that we got married in my head
The singer had romantic fantasies about the woman

there were christmases and dogs
The singer imagined a future with the woman that included holidays and pets

and our kids' hair was red
The artist envisioned having children with red hair in this imaginary future

and as years flew by
Time passed in the artist's fantasies

i gazed into her eyes
The artist looked deeply into the woman's eyes in his imagination

and said goodbye
The singer is concluding his romantic fantasy and moving on from the woman