Since U Been Gone Lyrics
Here's the thing, we started out friends
It was cool, but it was all pretend
Yeah, yeah
Since you been gone
[Verse 2]
You're dedicated, you took the time
Wasn't long 'til I called you mine
Yeah, yeah
Since you been gone
[Pre-Chorus]
And all you'd ever hear me say
Is how I picture me with you
That's all you'd ever hear me say
[Chorus]
But since you been gone
I can breathe for the first time
I'm so moving on, yeah, yeah
Thanks to you
Now I get what I want
Since you been gone
[Verse 3]
How can I put it? You put me on
I even fell for that stupid love song
Yeah, yeah
Since you been gone
How come I'd never hear you say, "I just wanna be with you"?
Guess you never felt that way
[Chorus]
But since you been gone
I can breathe for the first time
I'm so moving on, yeah, yeah
Thanks to you
Now I get, I get what I want
Since you been gone
[Bridge]
You had your chance, you blew it
Out of sight, out of mind
Shut your mouth, I just can't take it
Again and again and again and again
[Chorus]
Since you been gone (since you been gone)
I can breathe for the first time
I'm so moving on, yeah, yeah
Thanks to you (thanks to you)
Now I get, I get what I want
I can breathe for the first time
I'm so moving on, yeah, yeah
Thanks to you (thanks to you)
Now I get (I get)
You should know (you should know)
That I get, I get what I want
Since you been gone
Since you been gone
Since you been gone
About
“Since U Been Gone” was released as the second single from Kelly Clarkson’s second album, Breakaway.
To continue with the trend of twos, it’s also the second track on the tracklisting, and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Oh, and it was ranked number four hundred eighty—you guessed it—two on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
On the song and its impact:
I love what the song does for people, I love that it was very different in demo form sent to me. Behind the scenes, it was not so fun to record because of situations I won’t talk about, because I won’t sell people out. But I will say, my favorite memory, if I’m being more positive about it, was the fact that I got to show up to a video shoot and completely trash an apartment, and that was my job,“ she continued. "That video was possibly one of my favorite videos ever to make, because literally I just got to just have rage, and just break stuff all day long. So although it has a lot of backstory for me personally, that’s not my favorite. I do love that… I’m still able to be on stage though, and ‘I can compartmentalize like the best of them,’ says every woman. But I can compartmentalize that emotion, and focus on the fun part of it, because it’s fun, the audience loves the song, they connect to it. And whatever, it’s fine, I would have rather… If I had to repeat it again, I would rather go through all that crap to get the end product of really connecting with a bunch of fans, and people that might not have been Kelly Clarkson fans before.
– Via Billboard
In 2018, NPR ranked this as the #41 greatest song by a female or nonbinary artist in the 21st century, saying:
The lead single from her second studio album, Breakaway, ‘Since U Been Gone’ transformed Kelly Clarkson from an underdog reality-show spectacle to a pop sensation. It showcased the best of what we loved about her on American Idol (a show she helped define with her first-season win), her emotional intensity and her range — heard here across two octaves, from a low G3 to a high G5. And it infused mainstream music with a new energy desperately lacking in an era dominated by auto-tune and manufactured pop. Clarkson’s furious euphoria reflected both the rage and relief that comes at the height of a complicated breakup. It’s an honest emotional dump, not trying to be cool or mature: She’s pissed and she’s sad and she’s free and she’s so moving on. With anthemic force, Clarkson managed once again to unify Americans across the country — because who didn’t shout along to that hook at least once?