How Can I Help You Say Goodbye

"How Can I Help You to Say Goodbye"
"How Can I Help You to Say Goodbye"
Single by Laura Branigan
from the album Over My Heart
Released	1994
Recorded	1993
Genre	Pop;
Length	4:29
Label	Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Karen Taylor-Good; Burton Banks Collins;
Producer(s)	Phil Ramone
Laura Branigan singles chronology

"How Can I Help You Say Goodbye"
"How Can I Help You Say Goodbye"
Single by Patty Loveless
from the album Only What I Feel
Released	March 19, 1994
Recorded	1993
Genre	Country
Length	5:00
Label	Epic
Songwriter(s)	Karen Taylor-Good; Burton Banks Collins;
Producer(s)	Emory Gordy Jr.
Patty Loveless singles chronology
Music video
	"How Can I Help You to Say Goodbye" on YouTube

"How Can I Help You Say Goodbye" is a song written by Karen Taylor-Good and Burton Banks Collins. It was first recorded by Patty Loveless for her 1993 album Only What I Feel and released in March 1994 as the fourth single. A version by Laura Branigan was released later the same year on her final studio album Over My Heart, also being released as a single. The song was later included on Branigan's 1995 greatest hits album The Best of Branigan.

Content[]

In the three verses, the narrator describes with florid imagery three experiences of loss in her life: moving away from her best friend as a young girl, separating from her husband as an adult, and her mother's death. Each time, in the repeating chorus, her mother seeks to comfort her, asking "how can I help you to say goodbye?"

Background[]

Loveless' album, "Only What I Feel" had sold over 650,000 copies and had been certified as an RIAA Gold Album. Sony/Epic was receiving requests from radio stations that this song be released as a single, and in March 1994 it was released. This song climbed up the charts, reaching #3 in June. It was also nominated for the 1995 Grammy Awards for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song. The accompanying video was also nominated by both the CMA and the ACM as 1995 Video of the Year.

The song charted for 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart, reaching No. 3 during the week of June 4, 1994.

Burton Collins, who was an actor at the time, had never written a song before "How Can I Help You Say Goodbye". He told Country Weekly that the title was spoken to him by his grandmother shortly before her death in 1988. After being introduced to Karen Taylor-Good by a mutual friend, he wrote the song with her. Collins said that he and Taylor-Good wrote the song in three hours.^[1]

Critical reception[]

Patty Loveless version[]

Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that "as she's proven time and time again, Loveless has no equal when it comes to caressing a country lyric. Put her together with a killer ballad like this, and you've got something truly special. A broken heart never sounded so good."^[2] Alanna Nash from Entertainment Weekly stated that Loveless "reaches her artistic zenith on the soul-rattling ballads", noting "the enormously involving" "How Can I Help You Say Goodbye".^[3]

Laura Branigan version[]

After Laura Branigan released her version, Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Hands down, the most memorable moment from Branigan's 1993 album, "Over My Heart", finally gets a shot at radio play. Branigan has rarely packed this kind of emotional punch without raising her voice above a melancholy tone. A tear jerking exploration of death and loss deserves instant acceptance from adult contemporary programmers."^[4] Chuck Eddy from Entertainment Weekly said, "Nowadays, Branigan is beating Celine Dion at Dion’s own game", adding that "she’s still rending hearts, especially when she remembers the day her family moved away from her best friend in a ’59 station wagon."^[5] Gavin Report commented, "If there's still such a thing as a "woman's song" this would certainly qualify." The reviewer stated that Branigan "takes it to heart with a delicate production that's unique to the format and to the moment."^[6]

Track listing[]

7" single^[7]
No.	Title	Length
1.	"How Can I Help You Say Goodbye"	5:00
2.	"How About You"	2:41

Charts[]

Weekly charts[]

Chart (1994)	Peak position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)^[8]	19
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[9]	3

Year-end charts[]

Chart (1994)	Position
US Country Songs (Billboard)^[10]	48

References[]

^ Flans, Robyn (April 12, 1994). "The Story Behind the Song". Country Weekly. 1 (1): 14. ISSN 1074-3235.
^ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
^ Nash, Alanna (April 23, 1993). "Only What I Feel". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
^ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
^ Eddy, Chuck (February 18, 1994). "Over My Heart". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
^ "A/C: New Releases" (PDF). Gavin Report. June 17, 1994. p. 36. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
^ "Patty Loveless – How Can I Help You Say Goodbye / How About You (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
^ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 2503." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. June 13, 1994. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
^ "Patty Loveless Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
^ "Best of 1994: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1994. Retrieved August 4, 2013.

External links[]

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

[1] Flans, Robyn (April 12, 1994). "The Story Behind the Song". Country Weekly. 1 (1): 14. ISSN 1074-3235.

[2] "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2020.

[3] Nash, Alanna (April 23, 1993). "Only What I Feel". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 11, 2020.

[4] "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved January 31, 2020.

[5] Eddy, Chuck (February 18, 1994). "Over My Heart". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 11, 2020.

[6] "A/C: New Releases" (PDF). Gavin Report. June 17, 1994. p. 36. Retrieved October 18, 2020.

[7] "Patty Loveless – How Can I Help You Say Goodbye / How About You (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved October 9, 2015.

[sc_Canadacountry_-8] "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 2503." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. June 13, 1994. Retrieved August 4, 2013.

[sc_Billboardcountrysongs_Patty_Loveless-9] "Patty Loveless Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.

[10] "Best of 1994: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1994. Retrieved August 4, 2013.

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show v t Patty Loveless
Discography
If My Heart Had Windows	"If My Heart Had Windows" "A Little Bit in Love"
Honky Tonk Angel	"Blue Side of Town" "Don't Toss Us Away" "Timber, I'm Falling in Love" "The Lonely Side of Love" "Chains"
On Down the Line	"On Down the Line" "The Night's Too Long" "I'm That Kind of Girl" "Blue Memories"
Up Against My Heart	"Hurt Me Bad (In a Real Good Way)" "Jealous Bone" "Can't Stop Myself from Loving You"
Only What I Feel	"Blame It on Your Heart" "Nothin' but the Wheel" "You Will" "How Can I Help You Say Goodbye"
When Fallen Angels Fly	"I Try to Think About Elvis" "Here I Am" "You Don't Even Know Who I Am" "Halfway Down"
The Trouble with the Truth	"You Can Feel Bad" "A Thousand Times a Day" "Lonely Too Long" "She Drew a Broken Heart" "The Trouble with the Truth"
Long Stretch of Lonesome	"You Don't Seem to Miss Me" "To Have You Back Again" "High on Love"
Classics	"Can't Get Enough" "My Kind of Woman/My Kind of Man"
Strong Heart	"That's the Kind of Mood I'm In" "The Last Thing on My Mind"
On Your Way Home	"Lovin' All Night" "On Your Way Home"
Sleepless Nights	"Why Baby Why"
Mountain Soul II	"Busted"

show v t Laura Branigan
Discography Songs
Studio albums	Branigan Branigan 2 Self Control Hold Me Touch Laura Branigan Over My Heart
Compilations	The Best of Laura Branigan The Very Best of Laura Branigan The Best of Branigan The Essentials The Platinum Collection Shine On: The Ultimate Collection
Singles	"Looking Out for Number One" "Tell Him" "All Night with Me" "Gloria" "Solitaire" "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" "Deep in the Dark" "Self Control" "The Lucky One" "Ti Amo" "Satisfaction" "Spanish Eddie" "Hold Me" "I Found Someone" "Shattered Glass" "Power of Love" "Cry Wolf" "Name Game" "Come into My Life" "Moonlight on Water" "Never in a Million Years" "Turn the Beat Around" "It's Been Hard Enough Getting Over You" "How Can I Help You to Say Goodbye" "Dim All the Lights"
Other songs	"Mama" "Foolish Lullaby"