The story behind
Soft Cell released "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" in 1982 as a single from the album *Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret*. The song began with a clarinet riff played by Dave Tofani. The extended version is over five minutes long, and the B-side features an instrumental track. It reached number three on the UK Singles Chart. In 1991, Julian Mendelsohn remixed it for a compilation album, and Marc Almond recorded new vocals. The lyrics include lines like "Take your hands off me / I don't belong to you," which were later used by another band on a 1985 album. David Gray covered it on his album *White Ladder*, adding lines by Van Morrison. The song has a music video featuring a British actress, and the entire setting takes place in an imaginary club inspired by a real bar. ↓ Skip to chordsVerse 1
C
F
G C F
C F
G C
Am F
Verse 2
C F
C F
C
F G
C
F C
Verse 3
F G C F G
C
F G
C
F G
C
F G
C F G
C
F
G C F G
Verse 4
C Csus4 C Am Em F G
C Am Em F G
C Csus4 C Am Em
F G
C
Am
Em F G C
F G
C F G
Verse 5
C
F G C F G
C
F G
C
F G
Verse 6
C
F G
C
F G
C
F G
C F G
Verse 7
C Csus4 C Am Em F G
C Am Em F G
C Am Em
F G
C
Am
Em F G
C F G
C F G
Verse 8
C
F G
C
F
G C
F
G C F G C
F G C F
G C F G C F
G C F G C F
G
Verse 9
C
F G C F G
C F G C
F G C
F G C
F G C F G C F
G C
F
G
Outro 1
C F G C F G
C F G C F G
C
From the album
Non‐Stop Erotic Cabaret
Soft Cell · 1981 · Track 10