Southern Goodbyes

by Nina Ricci

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"I wrote "Southern Goodbyes" about a custom that I learned from my grandmother. She lived in North Georgia near Lafayette and Dalton, where our family homestead is, about 15 miles outside of town, and we lived two and a half hours from her in Nashville. We have no family in Nashville, so when we visited her on holidays and during summers, it was always a special time that made lasting memories. We would hear the rolling of gravel in the driveway from the tires of family members dropping in to say, 'Hello!' Grandma would make her irreplaceable Baby Food Cake, and she always adored and petted the little ones of the family. Goodbyes were hard for her and for us. She lived alone and we knew that when we left to go home, she would be there missing us. After hugs, and parting jokes to keep up the levity, she would stand in the screen doorway or sit in a lawn chair under the carport and wave 'goodbye,' waiting till our car was 'gone out of sight' before she went inside and shut the door. Always, when we drove back to Nashville, we would call to tell her we were home, and if she called us first, she would want to know if we 'made it alright?'

I connect to my song tenderly because some of these 'goodbyes' are more lasting. My grandma is gone now, and so is my dad, who, although he was originally from Rhode Island, loved the South. It occurred to me that, regardless of whether you were born south of the Mason-Dixon line, everyone has to say these kind of 'goodbyes.' 'We all must say them as we end our lives with Southern Goodbyes.'"

lyrics

“Southern Goodbyes”
Nina Ricci

Verse 1
Southern Goodbyes
Are said to somebody who’s leaving
To someone that you can’t let go of
Southern Goodbyes,
They all come through
They all come to you someday

Verse 2
Southern Goodbyes
last for as long as you linger
at the end of the road
Till you're gone out of sight
Calling to ask if you made it all right
Southern Goodbyes,
They all come through
They all come to you someday

Verse 3
Southern Goodbyes
Stretch out from oldest to young ones
A portrait of kinship alive in the mirror
Making you feel like you shouldn’t leave here
Southern Goodbyes,
They all come through
They all come to you someday

Bridge:
Southern Goodbyes
Here then and going tomorrow
They stand in the doorway, eyes filled with sorrow
Putting on airs to be happy and blithe
Southern Goodbyes

Verse 4
Southern Goodbyes
Are said at the bedside of weeping
Sending them off with the warmness of love
On to the Maker Who welcomes them up
Southern Goodbyes,
They all come through
They all come to you
And we all must say them
As we end our lives with
Southern Goodbyes

credits

released October 5, 2018
Lyrics and Music written by Nina Ricci

Voice: Nina Ricci
Acoustic Guitar: Nina Ricci
Violin I and II: Patrick Monnius
Upright Bass: Brandon Cantwell
Drum Set: Stewart Newman

Recorded and mixed by Marc Lacuesta
Mastered by Harold LaRue

Special Thanks to Tony Gillespie and members of The Village - Folk Music, History and Memoribilia for supporting this project!

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Nina Ricci Chattanooga, Tennessee

Nina Ricci is a folksinger, songwriter, and guitarist living and creating new music in Nashville Tennessee. Her style is "retro-progressive," throwing hints at the last folk revival and steaming forward; letting the hinges of tradition dangle among the stories she sings. ... more

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