by AJR · 2024
The song “The Big Goodbye” by AJR is about the bittersweet feelings of leaving behind your hometown and old life after achieving success, grappling with nostalgia and the fear of losing connections as you move forward into an uncertain but hopeful future.
This song has been Shazamed over 74,134 times. As of this writing, The Big Goodbye is ranked 185
‘The Big Goodbye’ by AJR is a song about leaving behind your old life, chasing your dreams, and all the mixed feelings that come with big changes. We’re going to break down what this song is really saying and how it makes us feel. ⬇️
The atmosphere of “The Big Goodbye” is bittersweet, swirling with nostalgia and hope. It’s like driving away from your childhood home—heart pounding, eyes wet, windows rolled down to let in the last breath of what you’re leaving.
The chorus is a tangle of questions, a jumble of confusion and longing that many of us know too well. We hear the narrator asking why happiness feels so complicated: Why does everything familiar suddenly matter more, just as he’s about to let it go? We get pulled into his swirling thoughts—missing old routines, questioning the meaning of success, aching for connection—while the music itself seems to plead, “Someone tell me why.”
In the verses, AJR paints scenes both intimate and universal: a nobody show in an empty room, friends left in the rearview, FaceTiming into weddings instead of being there in person. “Guess I can FaceTime into all of your weddings / And I’ll be on your TVs, so you won’t forget me”—that line stings with the cost of ambition, the weird ache of being seen but not present. The lyrics turn small-town memories into precious treasures, suddenly golden when you realize you’re driving away for good.
The bridge brings us back to the people left behind, echoing with promises and reunions that might never quite be the same. There’s a tension between wanting to make everyone proud and fearing you’ll be forgotten—a tug-of-war between the past and the future, between who you were and who you’re trying to become.
When AJR sings, “Someday I’ll sing about the shit I did, and not the shit I’ll miss,” we realize the song isn’t just about moving on—it’s about hoping the next chapter is worth the goodbye.
Writer(s) of The Big Goodbye:
