Hot Chelle Rae
Don’t Say Goodnight
Album: Recklessly
Year: 2014
Ryan Follese prolongs the night for as long as he can in the wishful“Don’t Say Goodnight.”
A precious guitar opens the single, setting a nostalgic tone. The chorus starts the song. His crush gives him a hug and says she’ll talk to him tomorrow. He tells her they can watch the sunset together. It’ll only a couple hours more. It’ll be an intimate they can share and be the start of their many stories they will have. . He asks her not to go. (“Come on don't say goodnight/With the stars in the sky/Let's wait 'til tomorrow paints the sun across the night/I see love in your eyes/And if you see it in mine/Let's wait 'til tomorrow/Don't say good, say good/Please don't say goodnight.”)
He tells the bank teller goodbye. With about $300 in his pocket, he begins texting his friends and securing plans for the evening. Tonight, the money will go the bars. He drives to the grocery store and picks up two of his girl friends from work. They squeeze together in the car. He blasts A$AP Rocky’s “Fuckin’ Problems” and starts to rap along with it. One of his friends scoffs and asks him when he decided to become Eminem. He laughs and says the transformation began yesterday. He gives her a playful bump on the shoulder. With a bright red polo shirt and khakis, she still stands out. (“Check cashed and I'm ready for the weekend/Blow it all makin' memories with my friends/Two girls on my lap super packed in/It's alright it's alright/Plug the iPod in put on A$AP/Hella loud tryna rap/"You can't rap!"/In her work uniform but she's still bad/It's alright it's alright.”)
In the pre-chorus, she says she’s afraid she might fall off the bull and damage a major organ. He tells her not to worry and it’s safe. Tonight, they are letting fate rule their decisions. (“Take a deep breath and don't be shy/Don't you worry about tomorrow 'cause tomorrow ain't tonight just/Kick back let the universe align.”)
The chorus is sung again.
She points at a finger at him and says she has something to tell him. Then, she says nothing. She says she’s tipsy and he agrees, that they are all just a bit tipsy. The music stops for a minute as the bartender announces that if anyone wants another drink to get it now. He sees a woman pressed up against the wall as her boyfriend for the night kisses her. He raises his beer and tells her that love is grand. He says they should go back to his house and have a bonfire. They can stay up all night and curse at the sun for daring to rise, making them responsible for another day. (“Super drunk still sayin' that we're just buzzed/Last call everybody's gettin' paired up/Makin' out at the bar call it young love/
It's alright it's alright/Let's find a bonfire or we can start one/Throw your middle fingers up to a new sun/'Cause we ain't sober and the party's never over singin'/It's alright it's alright.”)
The pre-chorus and chorus are sung again.
In the bridge, he says to his crush that everything seems possible tonight. He has a car that will take him anywhere he wants to go and a girl who makes him happy. He thought he was going to end having his heart broken. (“I feel like we could do almost anything/Got my ride and a sweet little maryjane in those skinny jeans/By my side she gets me high/And I didn't expect this night to go so well.”)
The chorus is sung again to end the single.
Follese’s wheezing vocals pauses between the words, attempting to mock rap. It’s acknowledged he can’t rap and then turns the song into a joke. Then, he realizes he wants to be taken seriously and that maybe gunning for class clown is not the brightest idea. However, no one’s laughing and thinks he’s a sentimental drunk without any sense of rhythm.
The fledgling “Don’t Say Goodnight” broods over the good times with a six-pack as muddles through its growing pains.
