31 Songs About Leaving – Work, Home, Or The Past Behind

Goodbye Stranger- Supertramp

Song Year: 1979

“Goodbye Stranger” is a very upbeat and catchy song about not wanting to be tied down or controlled by your past. The singer tells his lover that he needs to push forward but that he enjoyed the time they spent together.

This is a pretty great mentality to have when it comes to moving on in your life. You can recognize the need to leave and move forward and still look back on the past fondly.

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road- Elton John

Song Year: 1973

This song by Elton John is about a young man rejecting a job in show business and the finer things in life that come with it. Leaving something behind can be very difficult, especially when it was something you have worked so hard for and once you thought you wanted.

Elton John seems to have based this song on his own experience somewhat and shows that not all that glitters is gold.

Move Along- The All-American Rejects

Song Year: 2005

The lyrics in this song are touching and empowering. The All-American Rejects paint a relatable picture for the listener of the daily struggles we all face and how sometimes all we can do is leave the past in the past and try again tomorrow.

Shake It Off- Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2014

Taylor Swift is known for two things: writing songs about guys she has dated and writing hits that get stuck in your head. “Shake It Off” applies more to the latter and is a cheeky nod to all the things people say about her.

In this chart-topper, Swift recognizes her humanity and ability to make mistakes but also chooses to leave the negative comments behind and focus on her own future.

Cast No Stones- Cody Jinks

Song Year: 2015

This is a good country song to listen to if you feel that someone has mistreated you but you want to take the high ground. “Cast No Stones” is about how a man chooses to leave his past encounters with people without holding a grudge against those that have hurt or offended him.

Suds in the Bucket- Sara Evans

Song Year: 2003

This is a cute country song about a young girl leaving her home behind to run off with a boy she likes. She feels that 18 is old enough to make her own decisions so she drops everything and just leaves.

If you decide to leave home for a love interest like the girl in this song does, maybe say goodbye to your family first and not merely leave a note on the door like she did.

Wide Open Spaces- The Dixie Chicks

Song Year: 1998

This is the perfect song for when you feel too confined by your home and just need to get away and find yourself. The Chicks never fail to create relatable content and this song is one you can sing your heart out to.

“Hell No” by Ingrid Michaelson

Song Year: 2016

This song relates how Ingrid Michaelson was cheated on and she will not stay with an unfaithful man. She says that there is nothing this guy could do or say to get her back, as she is long gone. Leaving someone you love is always hard, but leaving a painful past is also cathartic.

Bye Bye Bye- NSYNC

Song Year: 2000

As the song title suggests, this song is about bidding farewell, particularly to a toxic ex or negative past. In this song, NSYNC talks about how you can not love someone enough to play both parts in a relationship.

This song is every bit as empathetic as it was when it rocketed to fame in the early 2000s. Not to mention, the music video with the boys as puppets certainly strikes the metaphor perfectly.

Free Bird- Lynyrd Skynyrd

Song Year: 1973

This ballad by Skynyrd has one of the most popular guitar solos of the early 70s, and includes truthful lyrics about why some people can not stay in a relationship when it feels like living in the past.

For the singer of this song, feeling free and leaving people and things behind are one and the same, and both feel necessary.