I can see the pain living in your eyes
And I know how hard you try
You deserve to have so much more
I can feel your heart and I sympathize
And I'll never criticize all you've ever meant to my life

I don't want to let you down
I don't want to lead you on
I don't want to hold you back
From where you might belong
You would never ask me why
My heart is so disguised
I just can't live a lie anymore
I would rather hurt myself
Than to ever make you cry
There's nothing left to say but good-bye
You deserve the chance at the kind of love
I'm not sure I'm worthy of
Losing you is painful to me


(Chorus) You would never ask me why
My heart is so disguised
I just can't live a lie anymore
I would rather hurt myself
Than to ever make you cry
There's nothing left to try
Though it's gonna hurt us both
There's no other way than to say good-bye


Lyrics submitted by Ice

Goodbye Lyrics as written by Linda Thompson David Foster

Lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing, Songtrust Ave, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Goodbye song meanings
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11 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    I think he knows he's not good enough for her, and though he loves her, he knows he won't be good in the future, or something. It's a song that says, "If you really love her, you'll let her go."

    tigereyes8809on November 10, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    like tigereyes8809 says, the song means he knows he's not good enough for her. the girl maybe from a rich family and the guy is poor. or maybe the girl has a degree in college and the guy is a college dropout. or better yet the girl is a doctor and the guy only plays guitar for a living.

    "i don't want to let you down, i don't want to lead you on, i don't want to hold you back from where you might belong."

    means the girl has bigger dreams, and the guy thinks his stopping her from achieving it. her parents want her to be with a man that shares the same dreams that she has. so no matter how painful it is the guy will just let her go even though he loves her so much...

    -that's what i did.

    shiftlesson April 06, 2010   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    from my POV, this is song about married man who fall in love with someone and she's love him too. but somehow the man feels his relationship will not going anywhere, or know that he can't move forward to next step and decide to break up but he's still love her.

    otheromenon March 03, 2024   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I've always thought this song is about a man confessing to his wife/girlfriend that he's gay. Does it make any sense?

    Persian_Eyeson December 14, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I don't think that he's gay, because he says "Losing you is painful to me" I mean, if he's gay, he wouldn't feel pain for leaving her. I think he's in love with another girl, or maybe he's just confused. He wants to stop the lie, because he feels that he cannot give her the love that she gives him... I'm really not sure, but I think it would be the meaning

    Ramønon February 28, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Hey, you people might think that the two guys in Air Supply are gay. As far as I know, those rumors aren't true. Even if they are always singing in duets and they seldom have songs with the word 'girl' or 'she' in it. It has always been 'you', right? But I think they really aren't gay.

    Anyway, I really love Air Supply! Talk about REAL Air Supply! That man can almost sing ANYthing! And the music is really good. It's not hard to fall in love ith their songs. And somehow, their songs, even if I heard it for the first time, I feel like I've known it since I've known music. It's like it has always been in the back of my head. I don't know, there really is something about Air Supply that I really love! :)

    handsdown4dbeatleson November 21, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    it's about a guy realizing that she is meant for someone bigger than his stature .. he is in love with and even she's in love with him .. but he knows he will only be pulling her down with his low life .. he is taking the harder decision of breaking up .. he wishes her better.. and may be this will justify the song too.. they are in love .. the girl's been just perfect while he might have had not been as faithfull.. now he regrets that he betrayed her and has ultimately found himself to be the lowest of the creature and cant imagine how someone perfect as her should get stuck with this lowly creature.. so he's freeing her.. now that's love.. to let her go for her betterment..and taking the blame

    hemantaon April 16, 2011   Link
  • 0
    Memory

    The lyric describes exact the same situation to me. I was painful when say goodbye to her but I know it's better for both of us when she said that my love for her and her love for me are not enough. She always feels like missing of emotion. I don't know why but at the end, I accept this. We broke in peaceful, without any conflict and arguments but tears... It really hurts me. To me she is the best, I love her but it seems love just not enough. I hope this make her happier, so at least I feel some thing positive in this break.

    I can see the pain living in your eyes And I know how hard you try You deserve to have so much more I can feel your heart and I sympathize And I'll never criticize all you've ever meant to my life

    I would rather hurt myself Than to ever make you cry There's nothing left to say but good-bye You deserve the chance at the kind of love I'm not sure I'm worthy of Losing you is painful to me

    rocky92on January 27, 2016   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Agreed with tigereyes8809 explanations, but theres still some of the lyrics im still trying to figure out what its mean, its confusing:

    "I can see the pain living in your eyes And I know how hard you try.."

    and the part

    "You would never ask me why My heart is so disguised I just can't live a lie anymore.."

    Like what kinda pain there is? It got me thinking that the guy have been having an affair and then the girl knows, that got the girl hurt, that explains "the pain living in your eyes" and then the girl try forgave him but the relationships just not the same anymore, which got us to the part "I know how hard you try"

    Then, its still connect to the part "you would never ask me why" that the girl never ask the guy why hes having the affair..

    But the part "my heart is so disguised" and "I just cant live a lie anymore" i just cant figure it out

    cheryl1707on February 17, 2019   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    This is a song for a married lover who is suffering in her relationship, but he can't continue pretending being her partner by supporting her, leading her because she already has a husband. For that reason, he can't continue living a lie about having an actual relationship whit her, because he can't give her what she deserves, maybe because he is also married that's why his “heart is disguised.”

    Julietaon August 20, 2022   Link

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