Сила прощания: Песня Мадонны 1998 года.

1998 single by Madonna

"The Power of Good Bye" is a song by American singer Madonna, taken from her seventh studio album Ray of Light (1998). It was written by Madonna and Rick Nowels, and was produced by the singer with William Orbit and Patrick Leonard. The song was released as the fourth single from the album on September 22, 1998, being additionally distributed as a double A Side single in the United Kingdom with "Little Star". Lyrically, the track talks about how free and empowering saying good bye or ending a relationship can feel. The melancholy electronica ballad features shuffle beats, acoustic guitars and sweeping strings arranged by Craig Armstrong. "The Power of Good Bye" received acclaim from music critics, who went on to recognize the song as one of the best on Ray of Light, with praise going to its instrumentation and electronic vibe, as well as Madonna's vocals which were compared to "Frozen" (1998). The song attained commercial success across Europe, reaching the top 10 of the charts in over nine countries, including Austria, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Spain and the United Kingdom, while in the United States it reached number 11, becoming Madonna's 37th top 20 hit and her seventh highest debut at the time. Its blue green tinted music video was directed by Matthew Rolston in Malibu, California and features actor Goran Višnjić as her love interest. Madonna has performed the song live on several award shows and during various appearances on television but has never included it in the standard set list on tour.

Between 1996 and the release of this song's associated album in 1998, Madonna went through a number of "life changing experiences" including giving birth to her daughter Lourdes, interest in Eastern mysticism and Kabbalah, as well as playing the title role in the film adaptation of the musical Evita (1996). quote box|align=left|width=25%|quote= It was a career changing experience for me. Before that I had always done my co writing with friends. But working with Madonna  [ ] it was the first time I had ever written one on one with a great artist/writer. After that I changed gears a little, and now I mostly collaborate directly with artists.|source=—Nowels talking about the experience of writing the song with Madonna. After issuing "Drowned World/Substitute for Love" as the album's third single worldwide, "The Power of Good Bye" was chosen to be released as the album's fourth single, since "radio programmers and diehard fans [had] long been clamoring [for it]." In the United States, the song was the album's third single, serviced to contemporary hit radio on September 1, 1998, and released to retail on September 22, 1998, in a two track format. On October 27, 1998, the single was issued in Canada. In the United Kingdom, "The Power of Good Bye" was distributed as a double A side with "Little Star" on November 23, 1998. In the rest of Europe, the latter was included on the single releases as a B side. In the European maxi singles, several experimental remixes of the track by Luke Slater and an additional remix by Dallas Austin, who previously worked with Madonna on her Bedtime Stories (1994) album, were included. As noted by AllMusic Jose F. Promis, the "Luke Slater's Super Luper Mix" "turns the ballad into a thumping deep house anthem, making it sound like a completely different song." Meanwhile, "Fabien's Good God Mix" is described as "an electronic, tripped out, drum'n'bass heavy mix which keeps the integrity of the original song", Promis noted.

After the songwriting sessions ended with Nowels, Madonna started collaborating with Orbit and Leonard for recording the tracks. However, since Leonard could not delve much studio time, Madonna worked solely with Orbit. Around June 1997, the singer entered the Larrabee North Studio, Universal City, California to record the album, accompanied by Orbit, an engineer and a tape operator. According to Orbit, "Most of the tracks pre existed, so Madonna would work on vocals and lyrics at home, or driving around in her car." The producer was initially uncomfortable with the singer around the studio checking the recording process, but gradually entered into a work dynamics with her. However, his disorganized nature almost got him fired when he reached Madonna's house to play "The Power of Goodbye" and realized that he had carried the wrong DAT file. Madonna was not impressed and Orbit had to "virtually" remain in the studio for a week and deliver the final track. It was written in the time signature of common time, and is composed in the key of F minor with a moderate tempo of 80 beats per minute. Madonna's vocals range from G3 to C5 and the song follows a basic sequence of Fm–D–A–E as its chord progression. It is an electronica melancholy ballad, with its arrangement being "anchored by a crisp shuffle beat and sweetened by occasional orchestral string flourishes and contrasting acoustic guitar strumming. According to Rikky Rooksby, author of The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna, "The Power of Good Bye" begins with a four chord arpeggio sequence. It has "catchy" melody phrases during the verses and a synth trumpet at the end of the first chorus, as well as Armstrong's strings present in the background. It also contains sustained notes on the instrumental sections, a characteristic for the songs on Ray of Light. Doubled acoustic guitar chords give an organic vibe during the beginning of the second verse, following a brief coda. The song also infuses computer blips and techno effect sounds, which Orbit achieved by using a Korg MS 20 analog synthesizer. The producer explained that "[t]here's something about [the MS 20's] transient peaks that are very spiky. And you can make that machine scream. Its two filters are very severe". Lyrically, "The Power of Good Bye" talks the strength that comes in letting go, and it was considered "a sort of sonic sister to 'Frozen'", since both deal with themes of a heart closed towards love. This is emphasized in the lyrics, "Your heart is not open so I must go" as well as "Freedom comes when you learn to let go, Creation comes when you learn to say no". The idea for using detachment as the inspiration for the song stemmed from Madonna's interest in Buddhist philosophy, as well as practicing Yoga. Nowels described the lyrics as "stunning" and commended its confessional nature.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic picked "The Power of Good Bye" as one of Ray of Lights highlights, while Amy Pettifer of The Quietus called it "one of [the singer]'s finest moments". Larry Flick of Billboard praised the fact that "[Madonna] brilliantly nestles a dewy love ballad within a cutting edge electronic pop framework." He noted that "[one] can listen to this track a dozen times and still pluck something new from the richly layered arrangement", while highlighting Madonna's vocals, writing that she "performs with a confidence that allows her to flawlessly merge a widened vocal range with a considerable dose of raw emotion and soul." Bryan Lark of The Michigan Daily picked the song and "Frozen" as "the album's best two tracks", noting that both proved that "[Madonna] still likes to get into the groove, explaining why this a techno album and not part of the 'Mood' series." Authors Allen Metz and Carol Benson wrote in The Madonna Companion that the track, along with "Frozen" and "To Have and Not to Hold" from the album, formed a "dream trilogy" during which Madonna does a monologue with herself, talking about divinity. Rachel Brodsky of Spin remarked that both "The Power of Good Bye" and "Frozen" were able to "cement the mainstream crossover of a dance culture once relegated to illegal basement parties". Charlotte Robinson of PopMatters praised the inclusion of the recording and other Orbit tracks on Madonna's 2001 compilation album GHV2, for representing "a testament to [the producer's] ability to use gadgets and electronic wizardry not to alienate listeners, but to draw them in". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine gave an A− grade to the song for its composition, writing that it was "[s]tructured like your average adult contemporary ballad with enough electronic sheen to sound edgy, 'The Power of Goodbye' was the ultimate in electronica lite." Similarly, Entertainment Weeklys Chuck Arnold listed "The Power of Good Bye" as the singer's 41st best single, writing that "a knowing reference to the wide eyed plea of her earlier hit 'Open Your Heart', this gorgeous goodbye almost makes the heartache worth it". Medium's Richard LaBeau deemed it "one of the most underrated songs of Madonna’s career, this melancholy electronica ballad is one of her most deeply affecting".

"The Power of Good Bye" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 24 on the issue for the week ending October 17, 1998, becoming Madonna's 16th single to debut inside the top 40 and also her 38th overall top 40 hit. It also became the seventh highest debut of her career. It eventually peaked at number 11 on the week ending November 28, 1998. According to Jose F. Promis of AllMusic, what kept the song from reaching the top 10 was because "[its maxi CD], unfortunately, never saw the light of day in the U. S." It reached a peak of number 16 on the chart after 10 weeks. It became Madonna's 36th best selling single in that country and in May 2018 was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). According to Entertainment Tonight, the filming was emotional for Madonna due to the song's meaning of break up and "love story gone wrong". She wanted to make the visual's storyline dramatic, hence chose Rolston as the director and together they concocted the emotional narrative of the clip. Although she respected the director's vision of the clip, Madonna nevertheless wanted to be a part of the creative process of the videotaping. The scenes of the singer walking along the beach were shot with her actually walking on a treadmill. Madonna's lover in the video is played by Croatian actor Goran Višnjić, who was selected by the singer after she saw his acting in the British film Welcome to Sarajevo (1997). Calling him "the sexiest male working today", Madonna explained that "[she] was looking for an actor to be in [the] video and his face came right into my head". The video premiered on MTV on September 10, 1998, a few minutes before the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards show began. The video shows Madonna and Višnjić playing chess and ultimately the singer destroying the chess board, symbolizing an end to their relationship. She then goes walking by the sea, passing a man walking his dog on the beach. Intercut are scenes of Madonna singing the song in front of a curtain. The video is color graded to a blue green tint and the chess scene was inspired by that in the 1968 heist film The Thomas Crown Affair (with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway). Listing the clip at number 23 on their countdown of "Madonna's 55 Best Videos", Louis Virtel from The Backlot said that the singer looked "startlingly gorgeous, and her throes of agony at video's end occur in only the loveliest, bluest light." The scenes showing Madonna walking alone on the beach was an homage to actress Joan Crawford in the 1946 film Humoresque. Christopher Rosa from VH1 listed it as one of Madonna's 10 Most Underrated Videos. He compared the blue tinged visuals to the video for "Frozen", but found the plot to be more complex. Rosa also noted that the ending showing Madonna walking towards the sea was purposefully ambiguous. "Does Madonna drown herself in the ocean? Does she move on from her lover? Whatever the case, there is no denying this moody video is one of Madge's most effective ever," he concluded. The video can be found on the Madonna compilations, The Video Collection 93:99 (1999) and Celebration: The Video Collection (2009).

Madonna first performed "The Power of Good Bye" on October 23, 1998, during the VH1 and Vogue Fashion Awards, dressed in black latex and leather, accompanied by the children of Opus 118 from The Harlem School of the Arts. On November 12, the singer performed the song at the 1998 MTV Europe Music Awards in Italy, dressed in black. John Dingwall from Daily Record noted that Madonna "struggled" on delivering the performance, as she seemed nervous. "The Power of Good Bye" was also one of the few singles that Madonna has performed on the BBC program Top of the Pops, which aired seven days later. On November 23, 1998, she appeared on the Spanish RTVE show Séptimo de caballería and performed "The Power of Good Bye", along with her European single, "Drowned World/Substitute for Love".