Inside the Meaning of Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Goodbye’ Lyrics

THE RUNDOWN

• “Goodbye” is the closing track on Sabrina Carpenter’s new album, Man’s Best Friend.
• Fans believe “Goodbye” sheds light on Carpenter’s recent split from actor Barry Keoghan.
• As the finale, it delivers the singer’s clearest statement on love lost.

The final track of Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend closes the album with a sharp farewell.

“Goodbye,” the 12th and last track on Carpenter’s new album, finds the singer confronting the end of a relationship head-on. It’s arguably the most unambiguous breakup song on Man’s Best Friend, where Carpenter alternates between pain and humor as she processes being left behind.

She opens the song with blunt devastation: “Broke my heart on Saturday / Guess overnight your feelings changed / And I have cried so much I almost fainted.”

From there, she pivots quickly into biting commentary, using the chorus to remind the other person that they were the one who chose to walk away: “Goodbye means that you’re losing me for life / Can’t call it love, then call it quits / Can’t shoot me down, then shoot the shit / Did you forget that it was you who said goodbye?”

Carpenter never names her ex-boyfriend directly, but fans online have been quick to connect the dots to her recent split from actor Barry Keoghan. The references to a sudden change in feelings and her insistence that the choice wasn’t hers have fueled speculation that Keoghan ended things between the pair.

Still, Carpenter has insisted she won’t name the precise inspiration between her songs. As she told CBS Mornings on August 29, “I just wouldn’t say. It’s more fun to picture the person in [a fan’s] head than the person I picture in my head, I think.”

Even amid the heartbreak, Carpenter leans into her signature tongue-in-cheek delivery in “Goodbye.” Lines like “You used to love my ass, now, baby, you won’t see it anymore” and her multilingual send-off—“sayonara, adiós, arrivederci, au revoir”—playfully undercut the weight of the subject.

Placed at the very end of Man’s Best Friend, “Goodbye” functions as a closing statement to the entire album. After 11 tracks of wry humor and sharp wit, this song strips away any ambiguity: Carpenter is no longer simply playing with innuendo; she’s laying the truth bare.

Read the lyrics and listen to the song below.

[Verse 1]Broke my heart on SaturdayGuess overnight your feelings changedAnd I have cried so much I almost fainted (Uh-huh, uh-huh)To show you just how much it hurtsI wish I had a gun or words

If somethin’ got lost in communication (Uh-huh, uh-huh)

[Pre-Chorus]

Well, sayonara, adiós

You’re not bilingual, but you should know

[Chorus]

Goodbye means that you’re losing me for lifeCan’t call it love, then call it quitsCan’t shoot me down, then shoot the shitDid you forget that it was you who said goodbye?So you don’t get to be the one who criesCan’t have your cake and eat it too

By walking out, that means you choose goodbye

[Verse 2]

The feeling so specificWanna punch you every other minute, ohYou used to love my ass, now, baby, you won’t see it anymorе (Uh-huh, uh-huh)We’ll just give it three weeks, buddyGonna wake up from your coma, honеy, ooh

And that’s when you'll be holding hokey flowers, standing at my door (Uh-huh, uh-huh)

[Pre-Chorus]But I’ll say, “Arrivederci, au revoir”

Forgive my French, but, fuck you, ta-ta

[Chorus]

Goodbye means that you’re losing me for lifeCan’t call it love, then call it quitsCan’t shoot me down, then shoot the shitDid you forget that it was you who said goodbye? (It was you who said goodbye)So you don’t get to be the one who criesCan’t have your cake and eat it too

By walking out, that means you choose goodbye

[Bridge]

Sayonara, adiósOn the flip side, cheerioPor siempre te amo, wait, noShit, when did you get here?

Go put on some clothes

[Chorus]

Goodbye means that you’re losing me for lifeCan’t call it love, then call it quitsCan’t shoot me down, then shoot the shitDid you forget that it was you who said goodbye? (Did you forget that it was you who said goodbye?)So you don’t get to be the one who criesCan’t have your cake and eat it too

By walking out, that means you choose goodbye

[Outro]GoodbyeGet home safe