The Song’s Full Lyrics & What It Really Means In ‘Wicked’

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Wicked: For Good.There’s a reason why Wicked: For Good wasn’t called Wicked: Part Two, and it has everything to do with the relationship at the center of Jon M. Chu’s big-screen adaptation. Based on the 2003 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, the Wicked films explore the enemies-to-friends relationship between Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda Upland (Ariana Grande) as they attend university together and flip audiences’ understanding of The Wizard of Oz on its head. Though some viewers have felt that Chu’s ambitious two-part adaptation could have been squeezed into one film, others have praised the character development that a more spread-out storytelling format allows. Both films build to an emotional climax in the form of a duet that, in many ways, has come to define Wicked as much as Elphaba’s Act One showstopper, “Defying Gravity.”

That song is “For Good,” and naturally, it’s the tearjerker duet that the second film is named after. As for why Chu and the creative team opted for this, the answer lies in the lessons Elphaba and Glinda learn over the course of the two films. Both characters are seeking goodness in their own lives- Elphaba in the form of saving Oz’s ostracized animals and Glinda by popping her own privileged bubble– but their journeys are complicated by the underhanded agendas of the Wizard of Oz and his henchwoman, Madame Morrible. In the end, they’re left to process all the ways they’ve impacted each other, making “For Good” as much of a grateful reflection as it is a critical turning point for both women. Here are the song’s full lyrics, as well as why it has become one of Wicked’s most vital anthems.

‘For Good’: The Song’s Full Lyrics

Here are the full lyrics to “For Good,” as sung by Elphaba and Glinda at the climax of Wicked: For Good:

What ‘For Good’ Really Means in ‘Wicked’

“For Good” begins with a reprise of Elphaba’s “Unlimited” theme, which first played in Wicked: Part One at the beginning of “No One Mourns the Wicked” as well as in her first solo number, “The Wizard and I.” Viewers will recall that Elphaba’s excitement over being invited to Shiz University –– and potentially meeting the Wizard of Oz –– led her to see a vision of herself being celebrated throughout Oz. She thus comes to believe that her future is unlimited, which ties into her heart’s desire to be “de-greenified” by the Wizard. If he can make her look like everyone else, she reasons, then she’ll finally be accepted by everyone around her and thus become unlimited in her ability to do good in the world. Her objective, however, drastically changes when she learns that the Wizard is actually a prejudiced fraud trying to oust Oz’s animals. After casting a spell that allows her to defy gravity, the “Unlimited” theme returns, cementing Elphaba’s belief that she’s capable of anything.

Unfortunately for Elphaba, by the end of For Good, Oz’s campaign against her–– perpetuated by Madame Morrible and embraced by the Ozian people–– makes her realize that she’s not as powerful as she once thought. This is why “For Good” opens with Elphaba saying, “I’m limited,” a play on both the words and the theme. The next line (which matches the Broadway version) is, “Just look at me,” but in the film, Elphaba adds, “Not with your eyes–– with theirs.” This lends further weight to her assertion that her green skin and false reputation have made her incapable of doing the kind of good Oz needs. Glinda, on the other hand, doesn’t have a tarnished reputation and is, in fact, popular with the Ozian people. This is why her power to help those in need is the one that’s unlimited, and why Elphaba gives her the Grimmerie–– a passing of the torch that doubles as an act of acceptance.

When Glinda acknowledges that she can’t read the Grimmie (an admission that does not appear on the Broadway cast recording), it’s the first time she admits to herself that she’s not as powerful as she’s always wanted to be. Given that she’s spent all of Part One and most of For Good living in a delusional bubble, this is a critical moment for her, and it foreshadows the shocking final moment of the film, when the Grimmerie opens for her. Though the audience is left to decide for themselves what that bombshell moment really means, the fact remains that everything Glinda has learned from Elphaba has led her to unlock her own goodness. She acknowledges that Elphaba has come into her life for a reason: to teach her something she needed to learn, namely, how to be a truly good person. For that reason, Glinda has experienced an internal transformation and now wants to do the kind of good in the world that Elphaba has always wanted to.

Elphaba then admits that she and Glinda may “never meet again in this lifetime,” a tragic foreshadowing of her plan to fake her own death and leave Oz with Fiyero. She reveals how much Glinda has changed her life simply by being her friend, and while Glinda joked before the duet started that she’s had “so many friends,” Elphaba only had one: her. “For Good” thus becomes as much of a heartfelt thank-you as it is a heart-wrenching goodbye, for Elphaba knows that in order for Glinda to succeed as the leader Oz needs, she has to leave the life she’s always known behind. There may be no place like home, but the propaganda set in motion by Madame Morrible and the Wizard has led the Ozians to want to literally murder Elphaba. Only when the Ozian people think the Wicked Witch is dead will they have the celebration Elphaba envisioned in “The Wizard and I” and finally restore peace and joy throughout the land.

Before “For Good” ends, both Elphaba and Glinda admit that while they’ve done things they need forgiveness for, they also believe they’ve become better people having met each other. More importantly, they’ve come to understand the meaning of goodness, and as Elphaba points out, “Good can’t just be a word. It has to mean something. It has to change things.” She embodies this by faking her death and giving Ozians the first good news they’ve gotten since she was deemed an enemy of the state. Glinda does so by banishing the Wizard from Oz, having Madame Morrible arrested, welcoming the ostracized animals back into society, and attempting to live up to the name the Ozians have bestowed upon her: Glinda the Good. And then there’s Chu, whose inclusion of For Good in the sequel’s title reminds the audience why he made the films in the first place–– and what everyone, no matter who they are or where they come from, is capable of.

Release Date

November 21, 2025

Runtime

137 Minutes

Writers

Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox, Gregory Maguire

Producers

Marc Platt, David Stone