'Irish Goodbye' by Kacey Musgraves – Lyrics & Meaning

Kacey Musgraves recently announced she's going Deeper Into the Well, beefing up her acclaimed 2024 album, Deeper Well, with a deluxe release.

The record's original 14 tracks will be joined by seven more. 'Ruthless,' 'Little Sister,' 'Flower Child,' 'Arm’s Length', as well as two duets, 'Superbloom' with Leon Bridges and 'Perfection' featuring Tiny Habits are all set to arrive on Friday, Aug. 2.

With the news, though, Musgraves has given fans early access to one of the expanded album's offerings in the form of 'Irish Goodbye,' a heartbroken lullaby for those who have ever felt left in the dark by love.

Coming to life in a gossamer curtaining of strings, 'Irish Goodbye' is all dreamy acoustics and subtle swells. While dazzling flourishes of crisp keys and pillowy strums build throughout the tune, the song is mostly simple, but striking all the same.

The melody beautifully mirrors the delicate emotions playing out across the jilted track, one that finds the artist alone and wondering what happened to "so long."

"Was I too much, or was I a threat
To the vision you had that you hadn't found yet?
I gave you some space 'cause I wanted to see
If I mattered enough, would you come back to me?"

'Irish Goodbye' opens on a heartache, with Musgraves asking questions it seems she hasn't yet gotten the answers for.

With these queries – "Was I too much, or was I a threat? / Would you come back to me?" – the artist sets the scene of a love gone awry, a breakup that has left her with little more than silence and wondering what went wrong.

She's been left to endure this heartbreak with "No face-to-face, no eye-to-eye" and no chance of righting whatever wrongs occurred in this relationship. "I thought this meant more, but I guess that's alright," she hopelessly sings, adding that all could have been forgiven and forgotten had her lover not left her in the dark.

"I'll forgive your faults if you'll forgive mine
But it's hard to forgive your Irish goodbye"

Musgraves uses the term "Irish goodbye," meaning to leave an event or situation without so much as a farewell, to allude to the fact that her partner essentially ghosted her, leaving her without a word. No explanation, just radio silence.

"You turned into a ghost, I wish you the best
Maybe one day you'll know I was not like the rest
I want to respect you, and you know I tried
But there ain't much respect in an Irish goodbye"

After being left in the dark, the artist finds it difficult to reconcile with such a departure. She thought she meant more to the person in question and believed what they had deserved more than such an end. While she wants to respect her former lover's decisions, it's hard to respect that kind of cowardice.

In the end, she sings:

"Goodbye, goodbye, Irish goodbye
It's hard to forgive your Irish goodbye
Don't know if I can, maybe I'll try
But I'll never forget your Irish goodbye"

While it is unclear who 'Irish Goodbye' is about, the artist has experienced a couple of serious breakups over the last few years, including her 2020 divorce from fellow singer-songwriter Ruston Kelly and her two-year romance with writer-poet Cole Schafer, which came to an end in late 2023. Such heartaches could have lent to the feelings that swirl in 'Irish Goodbye'.

Was I too much, or was I a threat
To the vision you had that you hadn't found yet?
I gave you some space 'cause I wanted to see
If I mattered enough, would you come back to me?

No face-to-face, no eye-to-eye
I thought this meant more, but I guess that's alright
I'll forgive your faults if you'll forgive mine
But it's hard to forgive your Irish goodbye

You turned into a ghost, I wish you the best
Maybe one day you'll know I was not like the rest
I want to respect you, and you know I tried
But there ain't much respect in an Irish goodbye

No face-to-face, no eye-to-eye
I thought this meant more, but I guess that's alright
I'll forgive your faults if you'll forgive mine
But it's hard to forgive your Irish goodbye

Goodbye, goodbye, Irish goodbye
It's hard to forgive your Irish goodbye
Don't know if I can, maybe I'll try
But I'll never forget your Irish goodbye

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