Have a Good Life (See You Never)

Album: Secrets I'll Never Tell (2021)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In this song, the British singer-songwriter Benedict Cork moves on from a breakup by scorching the ground it was built on, telling his ex, "Have a good life, I'll see you never."

    "That's basically saying all the things you wish you could've said in the moment, but you don't," Cork explained on the Songfacts Podcast. "You know when you have an argument, or a breakup, or a relationship breaks down, and there's all those things that you've played back in your head from years ago that you wish you had said in the moment, why don't we just put that into a song?"

    One particular burn in the lyric: "I never really liked your mama."
  • Cork wrote this with fellow songwriters Mack Jamieson and Hannah Yadi; the three lived together for a time. They recorded it during a break on tour when Cork was opening for the Dutch musician Duncan Laurence. Cork's songs were mostly downbeat piano ballads, so he was eager to write something with more energy to perform on stage.
  • Speaking with Songfacts, Cork explained that the title came together. "We had a break in the tour and one of the tour managers was leaving, and as he left the car park, he waved and went, 'Have a good life man!' as if to kind of say, 'It's been really nice getting to know you but I'm probably never going to see you again.' I waved back and said, 'See you never.'

    I parked it in my head, and I said, 'Wait a second, there's something in that.' When we got to the chorus, I was like, 'How about we just say all the things that you wouldn't say, like I never really liked your mama, goodbye, I'm never going to see you again, have a great life.' And that's where it was born out of, that frustration."

    Cork added: "The verse and the pre-chorus were hard to write, but when we got to the chorus, I had that title written on my phone and I had a simple list of like concepts and ideas which I always keep on my phone, and I just opened it up and I was like, 'Wait a hot second!' And 'have a good life I'll see you never' just literally came. There were a few little lyrical tweaks and stuff, but the chorus came super, super quickly and once we had that, the whole rest of the song sort of formed around it."
  • The music video, directed by Yury Sharov, was the first of Cork's career. It shows him living it up with his newfound freedom and destroying the vestiges of his past relationship.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Rick Springfield

Rick SpringfieldSongwriter Interviews

Rick has a surprising dark side, a strong feminine side and, in a certain TV show, a naked backside. But he still hasn't found Jessie's Girl.

Rosanne Cash

Rosanne CashSongwriter Interviews

Rosanne talks about the journey that inspired her songs on her album The River & the Thread, including a stop at the Tallahatchie Bridge.

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney Princesses

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Butch Vig

Butch VigSongwriter Interviews

The Garbage drummer/songwriter produced the Nirvana album Nevermind, and Smashing Pumpkins' Gish and Siamese Dream.

Tom Johnston from The Doobie Brothers

Tom Johnston from The Doobie BrothersSongwriter Interviews

The Doobies guitarist and lead singer, Tom wrote the classics "Listen To The Music," "Long Train Runnin'" and "China Grove."