Post Malone and Brad Paisley – “Leaves Without Saying”
Official release date: August 16, 2024
Live debut: August 14, 2024 at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee
Album: F-1Trillion
Although young Austin Richard Post was sharing country cover videos long before he became known as “Post Malone,” fans consider his 2021 rendition of Brad Paisley’s “I’m Gonna Miss Her” to be the moment when everyone became aware of his abilities as a country artist.
After this performance, which was part of Matthew McConaughey’s We are Texas At the benefit, Brad Paisley jokingly changed the bio on his social media pages to “I write songs for Post Malone” and expressed his enthusiasm for Posty’s cover: “It always humbling me when another artist does your song better than you. Post Malone, well done.”
Therefore, it feels like an emotional moment to hear Brad Paisley on Post Malone’s debut country album, F-1Billionon the traditionally inspired “It goes without saying”.
Brad has been involved in many important milestones in Posty’s country music career to date, including inviting him to his Grand Ole Opry debut and performing with him the same night, with the duo delivering the live debut of “Goes Without Saying.”
“Goes Without Saying” opens with a cheery, twangy guitar riff courtesy of Brad Paisley himself, before Post Malone’s desperate, gently trembling vibrato comes in. It has the feel of a classic ’90s country hit, with a fiddle and the soft scream of a steel guitar accentuating the wonderfully retro vibe of the lighthearted ballad.
Similar to Brad Paisley’s iconic song “I’m Gonna Miss Her,” “Goes Without Saying” is bittersweet but lighthearted. Although it’s a song about lost love, Posty and Brad deliver an infectious, catchy chorus with a twinkle in their eyes.
“Could have toned down my whiskey and my Whitney and my madness a bit
Could have bought a few dozen more at the flower shop on the way home
Could have said, “I’m sorry,” I finally changed
Yes, that goes without saying.”
Post Malone makes it clear from the start that he takes the blame for the breakup, underscoring to the listener that he has behaved poorly and is struggling to give up his wild spirit. The way he sings this opening line makes the listener think he could either be singing “Whitley,” a reference to legendary country singer Keith Whitley, who died of alcoholism in 1989 – or “Whitney.”
The former seems more likely and fits better with the song’s classic country lyricism, but the latter would be a subtle nod to one of Post Malone’s early hits, “Feeling Whitney,” which appeared on his debut album. Stony. In this track he uses Whitney Houston as a metaphor for his addiction to drinking Lean, a drug that originated in Houston.
Like “Whitley,” this “Whitney” lyric would fit the derailed character that drives the first line in “Goes Without Saying,” but also seems a bit heavy for the tone of the song—so it seems most likely that Posty is referring to Keith Whitley.
The rest of this verse finds Posty wishing he had bought some flowers on the way home before moving on to deeper ways he could have saved the relationship, such as changing his party-loving lifestyle.
“It goes without saying
That she won’t come back
It goes without saying
She laid aside her past
This train left the station
She didn’t have to tell me why
It is a given, without saying goodbye.”
The chorus leads to an irresistibly funny punch line, with Post Malone and Brad Paisley first explaining that it is “self-evident” that the relationship is in ruins because its faults are obvious to all and need no further explanation. They then turn this sentence around and cleverly move on to pointing out that the lover they are singing about has run off, and therefore she “It goes without saying” “Goodbye”.
“I could have put her first, tucked my shirt in and gone to church instead of staying outside
Could have told her not to go and stopped her old red Honda from leaving town
I can list a hundred reasons why she would end up leaving
But their taillights speak for themselves.”
Brad Paisley’s verse sees him continuing Post Malone’s reflections on what he could have done better to save his relationship, ranging from seemingly trivial things like tucking in his shirt and trying to look smart for her to a more profound mentality shift where he puts her first. He sets up another iteration of the chorus by emphasizing that there are “a hundred reasons” why she would leave him, but she doesn’t have to name any of them. As he stares at the taillights of her red Honda driving out of his life, he accepts that it’s a given why she broke up with him, so why she It goes without saying that you say goodbye.
“No ‘See you’, no ‘It’s not you, it’s me’
Not long-winded, she kept it short and not too sweet”
Post Malone and Brad Paisley take turns elaborating on the titular lyrics, emphasizing that the lover in question didn’t even offer them a superficial cliche about heartbreak like “See you soon” or “It’s not you, it’s me.” Posty tweaks the famous line “Make it short and sweet” by describing their goodbye as brief but “not so sweet.”
What did Post Malone and Brad Paisley say about “Goes Without Saying”?
During the live premiere of “Goes Without Saying” at the Opry, Post Malone welcomed his good friend with the teasing words, “Hey Brad, so we wrote a song, we made a song. Would you play it with me?” Brad then made a gesture that implied he needed to be paid for it. Posty hilariously responded, “Okay, I saw you, I’ll Venmo you later…”
Then, in a more serious tone, Brad Paisley paid loving tribute to his buddy Posty, emphasizing how much he loves their collaboration: “First of all, I mean, look where you’re standing, in this circle. This fits you perfectly. There’s a tattoo waiting to be done somewhere in a space you still have, right? I’m honored to be on the record, this is one of my favorite songs I’ve ever recorded.”
After a stellar performance among the Opry legends, Post Malone recalled that Brad Paisley was one of his biggest musical inspirations as a child: “You know, when I watched Brad grow up, I was always completely blown away by someone who could play guitar like that. And Brad Paisley, you are the best guitarist alive on the planet and I’m so honored to call you my friend too. Thank you.”
The full lyrics of “Goes Without Saying” by Post Malone and Brad Paisley can be found below:
“Could have toned down my whiskey and my Whitney and my madness a bit
Could have bought a few dozen more at the flower shop on the way home
Could have said, “I’m sorry,” I finally changed
Yes, that goes without saying
–
It goes without saying
That she won’t come back
It goes without saying
She has her past
This train left the station
She didn’t have to tell me why
She leaves without saying anything, without saying goodbye
–
Could have put her first, tucked my shirt in and gone to church instead of staying outside
Could have told her not to go and stopped her old red Honda from leaving town
I can list a hundred reasons why she would end up leaving
But their taillights speak for themselves
–
It goes without saying
That she won’t come back
It goes without saying
She has her past
This train left the station
She didn’t have to tell me why
She leaves without saying anything, without saying goodbye
–
No “See you”, no “It’s not you, it’s me”
Not long-winded, she kept it short and not so sweet
–
And it goes without saying
That she won’t come back
It goes without saying
She has her past
This train left the station
She didn’t have to tell me why
It is a given, without saying goodbye.”
For more information about Post Malone, see below:
