What Kind Of Gone Are We talking Here?

I have a new favorite song.
Already this year has been filled with coming and going and leaving behind. That's not particularly a bad thing but it sho ain't easy. My sister and I were discussing some things last week about getting rid of the wrong kind of people in your life. I would say the last 3 years were tough for me because I had to let go of some people i cared for dearly. They were no longer conducive to my way of life and how I wanted to raise my family.

There were times I wavered on friendship thinking I was strong enough to keep them around, only to find myself back into old patterns and ways that I was better off without. Essentially coming to know my strengths and weaknesses I realized that there were some people I just couldn't have anymore, regardless of what my heart wanted. They needed to go. They needed to go because they didn't respect my decisions on how I was deciding to live and would be very persuasive in leading me away from my goals. I missed them, but who I gained has filled and over filled any holes they may have left in my heart. I do not regret what I left behind, what I gained has been much more 10 fold.

K, so my sister forgets more songs than I know. She know songs from Ludacris to Johnny Cash and everything in between. A few years ago she and i and another friend went on a cruise. We met many other people we befriended on this cruise and we became an "entourage" of sorts. Each night we ended up in the Piano bar with a Man named Marty Playing Piano. HE WAS AMAZING! If you could invision the song... "the piano man" by Billy Joel, it was just like that. Marty labled our little entourages as "THE GIRLZ" And we basically ended being his back up singers for the weekend. So when he got request people would actually request for "the girls" to sing. It was Great fun! Anyway someone requested "burning ring of fired" by Johnny Cash. I'd never heard it. You know, being a black woman I just didn't swing towards country music unless it crossed over to the pop charts. Anyway, someone request Burning Ring of Fire, so I'm just sitting there clapping along with the rest of the people on the bar and when it comes to the rousing course, I notice my sister just singing along....... like she wrote the darn song. I look over at one friend who loves country and she is all into it as well. I look at our other friends, who happen to be black as well and they are Jacked jawed and bug-eyed with me. Buffie looks at me and say..... "oh my goodness..... ain't no black chick from Detroit got no biznass knowing THAT SONG!" I fell out laughin it was HILARIOUS!

Ok anyway back to the point. My sister and I are talking about people going and coming and what not. As I'm wondering if it would just be easier if a neon sign just showed up on people's forehead with the word "GONE" on it so we would know if they should be in or out of our lives
this song comes on and she telling me... "you HAVE to hear this song..."

Apparently according to the song.... Gone doesn't mean gone anymore. Here's the Chorus:

"Well theres gone for good and theres good and gone
and theres gone with the long before it
I wish she'd been just a little more clear
well theres gone for the day and gone for the night
and gone for the rest of your dogone life
is it whiskey night or just a couple beers
I mean what kind of gone are we talkin bout here..."

Ain't that the truth? Now me and a couple other friends have been talking about "gone" and "leaving" songs and this is just one of many. This absolutely is my favorite! This song caused me to put a country radio station on my car stereo! I'm sure there are probably other country songs worthy of having me program a country station in my car but this was the one that converted me.
So now, when I think of me leaving, or someone else going or even just going to the store I think of this song. Gone IS complicated. What does it actually mean? It's not like saying... "hit the road jack..." things were so simple back in the day, when a person said they were leaving.... they really left. Never came back. THEY KEPT THEIR WORD and we believed them. lol.
These days... leaving means.... "until I miss you then I'll be back until I remember why I left then I'm gone again..."
What kind of gone ARE we talkin here....

Does anyone out there have a favorite Gone or Leaving song?