For Good

"For Good"
Song by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth from the album Wicked
Released	December 16, 2003
Recorded	November 10, 2003
Genre	Musical theatre, pop,show tune
Label	Decca Broadway
Composer	Stephen Schwartz

"For Good" is a musical number from the hit musical Wicked. It is sung as a duet between Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda, as a farewell to each other. The song's music and lyrics were written by composer Stephen Schwartz.

Context

The song is performed towards the end of the musical. In it, the two are singing farewell to one another. Just prior to the song, Elphaba gives Glinda the Grimmerie and tells her that it is now up to her to continue Elphaba's cause. After this song, Elphaba leaves and is supposedly melted by Dorothy (it later turns out that this was an elaborate set-up to fool the citizens of Oz into thinking she was dead so they would stop hunting her). In the end, she and Fiyero, turned into "The Scarecrow" by one of Elphaba's spells gone awry, run away together.

It is the climax, and one of the most well-known songs of the show. It is reprised as part of the show's finale.

Lyrics

The song's lyrics concern how both Elphaba and Glinda have been changed by their friendship with each other. Glinda starts out by saying that, while she doesn't know if it is true that people come into each others lives for a reason, "I know I'm who I am today because I knew you." Similarly, Elphaba tells Glinda that "whatever way our stories end, I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend." Elphaba also asks Glinda to forgive her for anything she might have done wrong, to which Glinda replies that "there's blame to share", but both agree that "none of it seems to matter anymore." Schwartz said after the show premiered that to begin the song, he asked his daughter what she would say if she would never see her best friend again, and her answer became the first verse of "For Good".^{[citation needed]}

The lyrics rely on the play of words, "for good," which are used to signify alternatively "forever" and "as an improvement."

Other versions

• Kristin Chenoweth (the original Broadway Glinda) sang a version of the piece at the private funeral for her West Wing co-star John Spencer.

• LeAnn Rimes and Delta Goodrem covered the song for the fifth anniversary soundtrack of the show.

• Lea Salonga and Jennifer Paz, who both played Kim in the musical Miss Saigon also did a cover of the song and ended it with an art from Defying Gravity, another song from the musical Wicked.

• Sam Tsui and Nick Pitera (both popular YouTube singers), recorded a cover that they uploaded to YouTube.

• Lea Michele and Chris Colfer recorded a cover of the song, as their characters Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel respectively, which was featured in the second season finale of Glee.

• Kristin Chenoweth sang a version of the piece during one of the Oprah Farewell shows.