Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)

This is a breakup song with a twist. Lead singer Vince Neil spends the first 2:30 of the song explaining how they had some good times together, but they've grown apart, and he wants his freedom. It sounds like he's being sensitive and letting her down easy, but then he tells her, "Girl, don't go away mad. Girl, just go away." There is no chorus in the song, but that line gets repeated over and over at the end, providing the payoff. For the bad boys of Mötley Crüe, it fits in with their ethos.

Mötley Crüe bass player Nikki Sixx wrote this with the band's guitarist, Mick Mars. The title likely came from a line of dialogue in the 1986 movie Heartbreak Ridge, where a soldier in the Marines refuses to provide any information to a sergeant, dismissing him with the line, "Don't go away mad, just go away." Sixx acknowledged he got the title from a movie, but couldn't remember which one. When he heard it, he thought it was a great idea for a song.

The fourth single from the Dr. Feelgood album, "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)" continued a run of hits for the band, which was enjoying peak West Coast hair metal. It became one of their most popular live songs, and one Vince Neil always enjoyed performing.