It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday

{{Infobox song

| name = It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday

| cover = ItsSoHardToSayGoodbyeGC1975.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = G.C. Cameron

| album = Cooley High: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack/G.C. Cameron

| B-side = "Haulin' + Cold Blooded (Instrumental)" by Freddie Perren

| released = {{Start date|1975|9|1}}

| recorded = 1975

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Soul

| length = 3:25

| label = Motown

| writer = {{hlist|Freddie Perren|Christine Yarian}}

| producer = Freddie Perren

| prev_title = If You're Ever Gonna Love Me

| prev_year = 1975

| next_title = Dream Lady

| next_year = 1976

}}

"It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" is an R&B song written by Motown husband-and-wife songwriting team Freddie Perren and Christine Yarian for the 1975 film Cooley High. In the film, the song is performed by Motown artist G.C. Cameron, whose rendition peaked at number 38 on the Billboard R&B singles chart that same year. Perren also composed the instrumental score for Cooley High, and the B-side to "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" features two of his score compositions from the film.

Boyz II Men cover

{{Infobox song

| name = It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday

| cover = Boyz ii men it's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday us cassette commercial.jpg

| alt =

| caption = U.S. commercial cassette single

| type = single

| artist = Boyz II Men

| album = Cooleyhighharmony

| released = August 20, 1991

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = A cappella, soul

| length = 2:47

| label = Motown

| writer = Freddie Perren, Christine Yarian

| producer = Dallas Austin

| prev_title = Motownphilly

| prev_year = 1991

| next_title = Uhh Ahh

| next_year = 1991

}}

The contemporary R&B Motown group Boyz II Men recorded the song in an a cappella rendition 16 years later. Released as a single, Boyz II Men's recording peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one on the Hot R&B Singles chart in December 1991. The track was included on Boyz II Men's first album, Cooleyhighharmony, its name a reference to the film from which the song originated.

The music video for the song is dedicated to rapper MC Trouble, who died a few months after the album's release, and it featured archive footage of Sarah Vaughan, Jim Henson, Sammy Davis Jr. and Gilda Radner, and several others who had died recently.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

The song was used in the 1992 action film Lethal Weapon 3, in the funeral scene for Daryl, a 15-year-old gangbanger shot down by Murtaugh.

=Track listings=

US cassette single

A It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday (LP Version)
Album Snippets
B1 Under Pressure
B2 Please Don't Go
B3 Lonely Heart
B4 Uhh Ahh
B5 It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday

Europe Maxi-CD

It's Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday (Radio Version) 3:06
It's Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday (A capella Version) 3:49
Album Snippets

3a Under Pressure 0:48
3b Please Don't Go 1:00
3c Lonely Heart 1:00
3d Uhh Ahh 1:03

Charts and certifications

=G.C. Cameron version=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: center;" !Chart (1975) !Peak position
scope="row"\|US Billboard Hot Soul Singles{{cite book\|title=Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004\|last=Whitburn\|first=Joel\|author-link=Joel Whitburn\|year=2004\|publisher=Record Research\|page=99}} \|38

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: center;"

!Chart (1975)

!Peak
position

scope="row"|US Billboard Hot Soul Singles{{cite book|title=Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|author-link=Joel Whitburn|year=2004|publisher=Record Research|page=99}}

|38

=Boyz II Men version=

==Weekly charts==

scope="row"\|Australia (ARIA){{cite book\|last=Ryan\|first=Gavin\|title=Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010\|year=2011\|publisher=Moonlight Publishing\|location=Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia}} \|100
class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: center;" !Chart (1991–1993) !Peak position
scope="row"\|Canada Retail Singles (The Record){{cite book\|last=Lwin\|first=Nanda\|author-link=Nanda Lwin\|date=2000\|title=Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide\|publisher=Music Data Canada\|page=49\|isbn=1-896594-13-1}} \|5
scope="row"\|Canada Contemporary Hit Radio (The Record) \|17
{{single chart\|Canadatopsingles\|36\|chartid=2048\|rowheader=true\|access-date=May 9, 2019}}
{{single chart\|Dutch40\|26\|year=1993\|week=5\|rowheader=true\|access-date=May 9, 2019}}
{{single chart\|Dutch100\|21\|artist=Boyz II Men\|song=It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday\|rowheader=true\|access-date=May 9, 2019}}
{{single chart\|New Zealand\|3\|artist=Boyz II Men\|song=It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday\|rowheader=true\|access-date=May 9, 2019}}
{{single chart\|Billboardhot100\|2\|artist=Boyz II Men\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 17, 2017}}
{{single chart\|Billboardrandbhiphop\|1\|artist=Boyz II Men\|rowheader=true\|access-date=June 17, 2017}}

==Year-end charts==

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: center" !Chart (1992) !Position
scope="row"\|New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ){{cite web\|url=https://nztop40.co.nz/index.php/chart/?chart=3880\|title=End of Year Charts 1991\|publisher=Recorded Music NZ\|access-date=December 3, 2017}} \|49
scope="row"\|US Billboard Hot 100{{cite web\|url=http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1992\|title=Billboard Top 100 – 1992\|access-date=July 30, 2010\|url-status=dead\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708050630/http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1992\|archive-date=July 8, 2009}} \|37

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: center"

!Chart (1992)

!Position

scope="row"|New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ){{cite web|url=https://nztop40.co.nz/index.php/chart/?chart=3880|title=End of Year Charts 1991|publisher=Recorded Music NZ|access-date=December 3, 2017}}

|49

scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100{{cite web|url=http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1992|title=Billboard Top 100 – 1992|access-date=July 30, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708050630/http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1992|archive-date=July 8, 2009}}

|37

==Certifications==

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|artist=Boyz II Men|title=It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday|award=Gold|relyear=1991|id=1991-12-20|source=newchart|access-date=2024-11-20|certyear=1991}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Boyz II Men|title=It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday|award=Platinum|relyear=1991|certyear=2024|access-date= December 11, 2024}}

Other versions

The Flex covered "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" for the House Party 2 soundtrack album, released in October 1991.{{cite web |title=Various – House Party 2 Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack |url=https://www.discogs.com/Various-House-Party-2-Music-From-The-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack/release/2866032 |website=Discogs |date=1991 |access-date=4 September 2021}}

A Cantonese version of "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" was covered by Jacky Cheung. The song is titled "偷閒加油站" and it is featured on the 1992 album 真情流露.

In Lucifer series 5 episode 15, a version is sung by Ella Lopez (Aimee Garcia) and Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis). It begins with Ella singing in Spanish before Lucifer joins in and they continue in English.

Latin pop group Barrio Boyzz performed the song acapella in Spanish at the Premio Lo Nuestro awards in May 1995 in honor of the late Tejano singer Selena, who was murdered two months prior.