You’ve heard it on loop in your head after one brief listens on the oldies station. It’s been a taunt in popular culture. But what’s the full story behind ‘Na na na na. Hey hey. Goodbye?’
You know 85% of the song if you know just this one line: ‘Na na na na. Hey hey. Goodbye.’ Now it’s probably going to be stuck in your head for the rest of the day.
It’s been used as a taunt in politics and sports and in countless personal circles. The exact title of the song is ‘Na Na. Hey Hey. Kiss Him Goodbye.’
It was born as a song that was never meant to gain the attention it did. The very words ‘Na na na’ were filler words that Gary DeCarlo sang to himself while composing.
Well, the song blew up and a band was formed just to tour with the song, but DeCarlo wasn’t invited along. He had been left behind.
DeCarlo has still been happy about the song’s success. It’s not going away anytime soon. Perhaps from here on out his name will be more attached to the song he helped write.