"Brooksy Can't See Me..."
Updated: Aug 5
I get asked the question so many times…
"What does it mean at the end of "Goodbye Henry" when RAYE says “Brooksy can’t see me?”
We were in the studio recording the album and there were a few songs that we recorded live to tape (just like they did in the good old days). For those of you who don’t know what this means, it means that we’re all playing at the same time and due to “tape” being older technology there are often limits to how many things can be recorded at once so sometimes things are grouped together so there are enough channels to record everything at the same time which means you have to get it right or everyone has to do the whole recording again. No pressure. 😅
Anyway; let me set the scene. I’m locked away in the drum booth( because I’m just so noisy lol) and everyone else was either in the live room, other booths or the control room.
We were making our way through the song and as we got past each section we all were so excited about how well it was going. Everyone was nailing their parts and we sounded like a band in the late 60’s / early 70’s “cutting a record” live, in the moment with all of the joy and excitement that comes with that. Then… Just before we could all exhale and relax knowing that we nailed the perfect take, the moment every drummer loses sleep over happened.
RAYE sang,
drop it right here
and then dropped her hand (in the same way she does at a show to cue the ends of songs) to cue us all to play the last chord and swell but there was one major problem.
I couldn’t see her!
RAYE dropped her hand and everyone played the last chord but because I couldn’t see her, I missed it and came in late.
At the time I felt terrible, I thought that the perfect take had been ruined and that somehow we’d have to create that same magic again for another take.
What I didn’t know though was that, that spontaneous moment during a live recording and RAYE singing
“Brooksy can’t see me”
actually perfectly sealed the authentic live, imperfectly perfect vibe we were trying to capture. Real musicians playing together and creating moments and feelings that will live far longer than we will.
So now when I listen to “Goodbye Henry” I don’t hear a mistake, i hear a moment in time and something that has become a part of the song to the point where a few times a week, I get a message asking me what “Brooksy Can’t See Me” means, to which I normally reply - “the answer is in the question” lol - It’s not hidden code, I didn’t temporarily lose my sight.
The way we were set up just didn’t allow for me to see that last cue, but somehow it added to the magic of the song and the live performance element too.
So there you have it. No more wondering or speculation. Now you know what that last line is all about!
I would love to hear your thoughts from the first time you heard "Goodbye Henry" and what you thought was going on so please do leave a comment and please feel free to share it too.
Nice one guys!
Matt - Brooksy
I love this song!! One of my favourites from the album… I love how she other week in a live prefomance she said Brooksy can see me! It took me a while to try and work out what Rachel was saying at the end! <3
This is such a cool insight! I really love how in every song by Raye you can really hear and appreciate all the band members throughout and parts like this really add to that!
Haha, isn't that ironic? When Goodbye Henry" starts it sounds happy but RAYE is quick to clarify that it is actually a sad song. It's the dichotomy of what you're expecting versus what you're actually going to hear (a very beautiful song about the end of a season).
Very similar, given the context of the story, one would expect to hear you come in at a certain point. In actuality, coming in after "Brooksy Can't See Me", brings a full-circle moment to how the song started. What you expect is not always what you will receive with "endings". Whether that is through a relationship breakup or a "delayed" (and unbeknownst perfectly timed) swell, it's delightful to see how beauty can…
I remember her saying, “Brooksy CAN see me!” in a live show a few weeks after the album dropped 😂 I thought it was so cute.
The first time I heard this song and that little line at the end, I imagined a scene that turned out to be pretty much exactly what you wrote.
I feel like somewhere along our technological evolution, we lost a bit of the essence of creating together. The process has become so much more isolated. But in this recording, the listener gets to witness what collaboration actually sounds like, to feel like they’re in the room with you. I’m really glad you guys decided to keep that moment in. It captures something that’s unfortunately become…
I really love this song, even if it gives me nostalgic vibes, i can also feel hope, not only as background of the album, but also as part of the song. I actually didn’t understand what “Brooksy can’t see me” means, so thank you for the clarification. Thank you for the music! 🎵✨🙏