As the year comes to a close, so does The Mchenry Messenger. As seniors graduate and move on to their lives after high school, it felt right to have a specific theme for this final track on the mixtape we at The Messenger have collaborated on.

I asked the staff for their favorite “goodbye” song, as a way to not only say goodbye to volume one of this series, but to the graduating class of 2023. Submitted by Managing Editor (and senior) Kennedy Tetour, the 12th track on The Messenger Mixtape Volume One is “I Know The End” by indie artist Phoebe Bridgers. 

The song is a beautiful, dreamlike romp through a nostalgic, reminiscent state of mind. The chords and instrumentation are soft, and wavy in nature, making it a very calming track to listen to. However, the lyrics are very introspective, and the instruments allow for them to be the focus of the song. It talks of moving on, accepting the end of a part of your life, and continuing. “Either way, we’re not alone. I’ll find a new place to be from. A haunted house with a picket fence, to float around and ghost my friends. No, I’m not afraid to disappear. The billboard said, ‘The end is near.’ I turned around, there was nothing there. Yeah, I guess the end is here.”

With that being said, I can’t explain it better than the person who submitted it. 

“For one thing, Phoebe Bridgers has kind of been my personal soundtrack for all of high school,” said Tetour. “I’ve been through a lot in the past four years and her music has really helped me, so when I think of a “goodbye” song that’s just the first thing that comes to mind. But also, the lyrics of the song are really sad but they also kind of suggest hope for the future. The most repetitive lyrics are “So I [you] gotta go/ I know, I know, I know” which kind of bashes the idea into your brain that no matter what, eventually things have to end. Essentially, it’s the most sad and dramatic way to speak about an ending, but it’s sort of comforting for that exact reason.”

I couldn’t agree more, and I think as this section of high school comes to an end, this song is an absolute must listen. 

Listen to the playlist on Spotify: