Our Year of RevRad is back, this time featuring the new album's fourth track, "Say Goodbye". Armstrong was reacting to images of armored vehicles in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri when writing this darker-themed track, telling Rolling Stone: "I was like, 'What country do I live in? How is this different from the Arab Spring?'"

[quote]Teach your children well
From the bottom of the well
Oh Lord have mercy on my soul
Hear the children sing
For the sick and suffering
The city of damage control
This is how we (roll)[/quote]

'Teach your children well from the bottom of the well' is another reference to recent controversial events in the US: 'It's thinking of Flint, Michigan, and trying to educate your kids while they're drinking toxic waste,' Armstrong says. 'You can't educate people if they're that desperate.' This more melodic part of the song, which features some almost Seekers-esque self-harmonies by Armstrong, contrasts the loping, repetitive verses, breaking briefly from the dark theme in tone alone.

The lyric video for the song debuted on October 19th 2016, and features black and white imagery reflecting the themes of the song. Check it out below:

[youtube=l9stigDCiLg]

Here's what some of our staff had to say about the song:

Matt
[quote]'Say Goodbye' is one of the songs on Revolution Radio that I just don't understand. From a lyrical and structure standpoint, it's an odd ball, especially when compared to the rest of the album. The verses sound like bridges, the chorus sounds like verses, etc.

I do, however, like the experimentation that the band, Chris Dugan, and Andrew Scheps did when mixing the song. It has a unique sound that we've never heard under the Green Day moniker.

Overall, I appreciate the fact that the band took a stroll down Different Ave. But this stroll happened to lead to a bad part of town that I would recommend not visiting again.[/quote]

Andres
[quote]Unlike Matt, I think "Say Goodbye" is great. It's easily one of my favorite songs on RevRad. It's a very different sound to most other Green Day songs, but I quite like it. It actually reminds me of "East Jesus Nowhere" both in tone and content. Maybe it's just the "Lord have mercy on my soul" line. There's a whole lot of thump in this song and I think the melody is solid and catchy as hell. I would be incredibly pleased if this got airplay as a single. It's one of those songs that I think would reach out to people who haven't listened to RevRad or Green Day and pique their interest.[/quote]

Say Goodbye hasn't yet been performed live, though many fans hope this is something that will change in the near future. What are your thoughts on the song? Would you like to hear it played live? Let us know in the comments below!

You can keep up to date with the play count, as well as other information, on our page for the song, and discuss the track with other fans over at our forum topic for the song.

Part 1: "Somewhere Now"
Part 2: "Bang Bang"
Part 3: "Revolution Radio"