This song was written and performed by Christian rock band MercyMe. It was the first radio single released in promotion of their 2006 studio album, Coming Up To Breathe. The single reached the number one position on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs radio airplay chart.

We're live right now with an inside look at MercyMe ++++ check for tonight's performance.

- Wait a minute, that's not us?
- Why, how do you know for sure?
- Well, because we are here and they're... We gotta stop 'em.

Well if I come across a little bit distant
It's just because I am
Things just seem to feel a little bit different
You understand
Believe it or not but life is not apparently
About me anyways
But I have met the One who really is worthy
So let me say

So long, self
Well, it's been fun, but I have found somebody else
So long, self
There's just no room for two
So you are gonna have to move
So long, self
Don't take this wrong but you are wrong for me, farewell
Oh well, goodbye, don't cry
So long, self

Stop right there because I know what you're thinking
But no, we can't be friends
And even though I know your heart is breaking
This has to end
And, come to think of it, the blame for all of this
Simply falls on me
For wanting something more in life than all of this
Oh, can't you see

So long, self
Well, it's been fun, but I have found somebody else
So long, self
There's just no room for two
So you are gonna have to move
So long, self
Don't take this wrong but you are wrong for me, farewell
Oh well, goodbye, don't cry
Oh, so long!

Don't feel so bad (don't feel so bad)
There'll be better days (there'll be better days)
Don't go away mad
But, by all means
Just go away, go away

So long, self
Well, it's been fun, but I have found somebody else
So long, self
There's just no room for two
So you are gonna have to move
So long, self
Don't take this wrong but you are wrong for me, farewell
Oh well, goodbye, don't cry
Oh, so long, self
Farewell, goodbye (Oh, so long self)  x5

LIVE= /laɪv/ if you see something live on TV (or hear it live on the radio), you see it or hear it at the time it is actually happening. If a CD has a song live, that song was recorded during a concert, not in a studio.

WE GOTTA= (coll.) We've got to

'EM= (informal)  /əm/ Them.

COME ACROSS= To give an impression
Although we don't see it here, when this phrasal verb has this meaning, it usually uses the preposition AS (at least in BrE): He comes across as a very loving person.

I HAVE MET THE ONE WHO REALLY IS WORTHY= The word "One" is spelt with capital letters because words referring to God or Jesus are usually spelled with capital letters. The word WORTHY means valuable, honourable.

SO LONG= (a bit old fashioned or informal) good bye.

SELF= Your self is your ego, used here in a pejorative way: the part of your mind that makes you think you are the centre of the universe and much more important than the others.

ROOM= Space.

GONNA= (coll.) going to.

DON'T TAKE THIS WRONG= Don't be offended by this, it's not my intention.

FAREWELL= (old fashioned) Good bye.

THE BLAME= The responsibility for something wrong.

MAD= (AmE) Angry.
In BrE this word means "crazy":
BrE: - Oh boy, you're mad (= crazy)
AmE: - Don't be mad at me (= angry)

BY ALL MEANS= Oh, please.... do it!
This expression means "certainly", "without fail", but it is often used (esp. in formal English) as an emphatic form equivalent to "please", though it sounds more like a command than a polite request (= do it "without fail").
- That's by all means the best option (= certainly)
- Stop that noise, by all means (= please)

Many religions (most notably Buddhism) teach that to be good and happy you need to say goodbye to your ego (your self). Why? Your ego is the part of you which makes you unhappy because it separates you from the others and is always unsatisfied, always wanting more and more.

In this Christian song, the singer is saying goodbye to his self. But doing that is not easy. We usually identify so much with our self that we think we actually are our self, so "killing" our self would feel the same as killing ourselves (killing "us"). The self is also the part of our mind that controls our conscience, our thoughts, our wishes and our needs, so when we try to get rid of it, the self will defend itself and fight back, stopping our attempts. So how can we get rid of our self if that's the part in control? Well, one way is through prayer and meditation, but there's another path much shorter than that: falling in love with God. As the song says, in your soul there's no room for two (probably a biblical reference to Jesus' words: "You can't serve two masters at the same time"), so when you meet Jesus for real, your self simply dissolves.

Before we meet Jesus we completely, utterly love our self, but afterwards our love for Jesus is stronger than our love for our self, so we happily say goodbye to it. Because it's all about love, the song talks about it using the same kind of typical expressions and things we say when breaking up with a lover, but it's not a traumatic separation, for us it is a happy one since it makes us free to love fully and feel complete.