What I Mean To Say Is Goodbye is a 2005 album by Tom Brosseau and features a cast of notable Los Angeles, California musicians.

When the album was released, "West of Town" received much attention from KEXP host John Richards, which eventually led to Brosseau's appearance on The Mid Day Show with Cheryl Waters.

The photo of the black cat wrapped around Brosseau's shoulders was taken on a whim by Sam Jones and not intended to be part of the album, but later it became the front cover.

Since the cat was present throughout the entire recording of What I Mean To Say Is Goodbye including him on the front cover seemed a very fitting idea.

12 songs about wandering around, loss of love, being followed by memories (or ghosts), empty buildings, the flood of 1997, escaping to a town 15 miles away but feeling like it’s another world, trains, and a gal I once knew in North Dakota.