Goodbye Baby

[SteveMacD]

For years, I thought it was about when she had an abortion, but I now wonder if it was about Robin giving birth to Matthew (she died two days later…”As I slipped away”)? Or, is it maybe one song about both?

[DownOnRodeo]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

For years, I thought it was about when she had an abortion, but I now wonder if it was about Robin giving birth to Matthew (she died two days later…”As I slipped away”)? Or, is it maybe one song about both?

That helps make more sense of the lyrics (not that I'd say that to Bob Dylan), and yes many of her songs seem to switch stories mid-sentence.

I just imagined for the first time how good this song would be with Christine on harmonies.

[UnwindedDreams]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

For years, I thought it was about when she had an abortion, but I now wonder if it was about Robin giving birth to Matthew (she died two days later…”As I slipped away”)? Or, is it maybe one song about both?

Could be those, however I thought Sara was about her feelings after the abortion (heartbeat and it never really died).

I thought Goodbye Baby was about the parents who passed in The Twin Towers (take me to the tower) and therefore "said goodbye" to their children.

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by UnwindedDreams

Could be those, however I thought Sara was about her feelings after the abortion (heartbeat and it never really died).

I thought Goodbye Baby was about the parents who passed in The Twin Towers (take me to the tower) and therefore "said goodbye" to their children.

The demo for the song had been circulating since at least 1982 as “The Tower.”

[Macfan4life]

I dont think Stevie is so literal with her songs. She weaves her meanings. Its pretty crass for anyone to say GOODBYE BABY after an abortion. That's insanely crazy.
Its a heartbreak goodbye song. Baby is a term of endearment and does not mean an infant.
She uses the word baby many times in songs. Is Sister Honey about honey or is it a term of endearment? Women who had abortions don't refer to it as their "baby."
I also dont think the song is about 9/11. The word tower is used and many peoples frame of reference is the twin towers. There are definitely other towers and meanings behind the word. Stevie's 80s house used to have a tower in it. It could be that tower or another one or have a fairy tale meaning. IMHO the word "goodbye" is not associated with death and being final. She mentions about being outspoken in the relationship and is saying goodbye. When someone is dying or you are dying, I have never heard anyone say goodbye. Death is final. Goodbye is not. We say bye to people everyday and its not final.

My Stevie decoder ring is out and ready for the next challenge.
Bring it!

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

Its pretty crass for anyone to say GOODBYE BABY because of an abortion. That's insanely crazy.
Its a heartbreak goodbye song. Baby is a term of endearment and does not mean an infant.
She uses the word baby many times in songs.

“Don't take me to the tower
And take my child away
…
And I who went to sleep as two
Woke up as one, now only you remain
You'll close your eyes and travel back
To the time when the light went fading fast
And the words you'll never, never forget, oh no
As you slipped away”

Yeah, how crass that anyone would think that could possibly be about an abortion.

[AnthonyMI]

Yah. It’s no secret what that song is about. And the visual is not lost on me. I always thought that the song could gain a little realism with some vacuum suction tube sucking sounds or flushing toilet sounds. “goodbye baby…. Sluuuurp”

[Macfan4life]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

“Don't take me to the tower
And take my child away
…
And I who went to sleep as two
Woke up as one, now only you remain
You'll close your eyes and travel back
To the time when the light went fading fast
And the words you'll never, never forget, oh no
As you slipped away”

Yeah, how crass that anyone would think that could possibly be about an abortion.

Since you are taking words as literal meanings then you defeat your own argument because she is saying DONT take my child away.
So she went to the abortion clinic against her will. Don tied her in a wheelchair and forced her into the tower for a forced abortion.

Got it

It now makes perfect sense. Her passive aggressive words to Don about being outspoken now make perfect sense. He tied her up in leather and lace and wheeled her in the same clinic as the Fast Times at Ridgemont High movie scene. No coincidence that is where Sleeping Angel begins. Don went down to the Sunset Grill and drank a few cold ones before picking her and his dirty laundry back up from the laundromat.

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

Since you are taking words as literal meanings then you defeat your own argument because she is saying DONT take my child away.
So she went to the abortion clinic against her will. Don tied her in a wheelchair and forced her into the tower for a forced abortion.

Got it

OR, it could be about Robin having to deliver a child at 6.5 months because she was too terminally ill with leukemia to go full term, knowing she wasn’t going to live to be his mother. You know, hence the original post.

[UnwindedDreams]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

The demo for the song had been circulating since at least 1982 as “The Tower.”

Lady from the Mountains circulated then too, and as early as Summer 2022, Stevie said the song was written about Twilight a film she saw in 2009.

[SteveMacD]

Originally Posted by UnwindedDreams

Lady from the Mountains circulated then too, and as early as Summer 2022, Stevie said the song was written about Twilight a film she saw in 2009.

It’s those damned crystal visions…

[David]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

The demo for the song had been circulating since at least 1982 as “The Tower.”

It was circulating long before that — can’t be specifically about that.

P.S. This is an odd post coming from you, ole pal.

[GypsySorcerer]

I thought the demo dated back to the mid 1970s.

I understand the abortion interpretation. She became much more literal in her writing in later years ("That Made Me Stronger" and "Hard Advice," anyone?), but I think in the 70s through early 80s her songs were centered around multiple fleeting moments and emotions. I think the Tower is about the multiple forms loss can take.

[OutsideTheRain]

I always thought Stevie approached her lyrics like David Lynch approaches film making. It's more about capturing a mood than about literal interpretation. In fact, I doubt she even knows what her songs are about.

[On Ice]

Listening to her voice on the demo of the Tower, is its own timestamp- definitely mid-70's voice, no way its from '82. That would mean the Robin- childbirth back story is not part of the song. What made her songs great in the era was her use of imagery with fewer words and brilliant melody- the hidden gem s"Foresaken/Mistaken Love is another good example of that. Capturing a moment or a mood is what she did best, literal interpretation is clunky and awkward for her.