820 Band: How The Song 'Goodbye' Was Created

Timeline 1 - 10th July 2022

When we were called upon to perform for our Graduation Day, we were quite indecisive about which song to choose for the occasion. Just a month earlier, after we had completed our Open Day performance, some schools in our area were already holding their graduation ceremonies (which is damn fast). I also recalled seeing some of my friends’ graduation ceremonies on their Instagram stories, where they were singing “See You Again” by Charlie Puth. Although they were from different schools, they had all chosen the same song. As a result, of course, I didn't want to fall into the same situation as them. I want something totally different.

We had a specific criterion for the song selection, which significantly limited our options. Therefore, I asked our supervising teacher whether we could choose a Chinese song, as that would give us more possibilities. Unfortunately, the request was denied. This placed us in a difficult situation.

Timeline 2 - 22nd July 2022

Suddenly, I had an idea: why not write our own song? This idea immediately brought us together. I remember drafting a few lines of Chinese lyrics and trying to persuade our teacher to let us perform them. However, the proposal was still rejected. I had wanted to use Chinese because I found it easier to create a natural lyrical flow in that language. In the end, we had no choice but to write an original English song.

Timeline 3 - 30th July 2022

I completed Verses 1 and 2, along with the first four lines of the chorus, while at school. The verses express our emotions about leaving school at that particular moment. From my perspective, I wanted the chorus to convey a bittersweet tone which is saying goodbye, but not as an ending. While our high school journey ends here, our friendships do not. There is still a long road ahead in the rest of our lives. As you may have noticed on the paper, I began this song in E-flat major. I had experimented with A major and B-flat major, but both sounded overly bright and energetic. They failed to capture the bittersweet and parting emotions I intended to express. Also, E-flat major was just nice to fit our vocal range.

Timeline 4 - 5th August 2022

I done the whole thing and did a full demo on Audacity (it's pretty shit tbh). Cause i just scream in the song HAHAHAHAHA.

(I sent these 4 lines to my friend and asked for his opinion hahahaha)