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"Goodbye Horses" is a song recorded by American singer Q Lazzarus. It was written by Q Lazzarus's bandmate, William Garvey, and released in 1988, with an extended version released three years later. It is a synth pop, dark wave, and new wave song with lyrics based on "transcendence over those who see the world as only earthly and finite" and androgynous vocals from Q Lazzarus. After Q Lazzarus played a demo tape for Jonathan Demme while driving him in her taxi, which included a demo of "Goodbye Horses", he featured the song in his crime comedy film Married to the Mob (1988). It then became a cult hit after he used it in a scene of his film The Silence of the Lambs (1991), which was widely lauded for the usage. Since then, it has been used in various films, television series, and video games, often with references to its use in The Silence of the Lambs, and has been covered by numerous artists.

"Goodbye Horses" was written by songwriter William Garvey and performed by Q Lazzarus, both of whom were bandmates in the band Q Lazzarus and the Resurrection and according to friends of Garvey, had a tumultuous relationship with one another. Q Lazzarus disappeared from the public eye after the band disbanded in 1996, while Garvey died in 2009. synth pop, dark wave, new wave, and dance ballad, features Q Lazzarus's androgynous Its lyrics were based by Garvey on "transcendence over those who see the world as only earthly and finite", with the "horses" in the song representing "the five senses from Hindu philosophy". It was described by Tracy Moore in Vanity Fair as a "gothy, somber ode", and by Tyler Jenke of Tone Deaf as "rather creepy".

In the 1980s, Q Lazzarus worked as a taxi driver in New York City and was unsigned, with record labels allegedly turning her away due to her dreadlocks. One day, in 1985, she picked up director Jonathan Demme and producer Arthur Baker in her taxi during a blizzard after the two finished doing the final mix on Little Steven's music video for his song "Sun City". After dropping off Baker, Q Lazzarus asked Demme if he was in the music business, then proceeded to play her demo tape, which included "Goodbye Horses". After listening to the tape, Demme was impressed, saying, "Oh my God, what is this and who are you?" "Goodbye Horses" quickly became a cult hit after Demme used it in a scene from his 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs. In the scene, the film's antagonist, serial killer Jame Gumb (portrayed by Ted Levine) puts on makeup in the mirror and plays with his nipple ring while his victim, Catherine, attempts to escape from a deep pit. As the song plays, Gumb says to himself, "Would you fuck me? I'd fuck me. I'd fuck me so hard", and then begins dancing naked into a video camera with his penis and testicles tucked between his legs as Catherine cries in the background. "Goodbye Horses" was not in the script, and other songs by David Bowie and Mick Jagger were also considered for the scene. Howard Gorman of NME included the song on his list of songs that "became inextricably linked to the horror movies they were ultimately featured in", writing, "Regardless of how great a track this is not even an MIB neuralyser can prevent us from recreating [Gumb's] unsettling mangina meets Bon Jovi moment in our heads whenever we hear it." "Goodbye Horses" was included on Flavorwires list of the creepiest soundtrack songs, where they wrote that the "infamous 'tuck' scene" in The Silence of the Lambs is "invariably associated" with the song. Billboards Ron Hart wrote that the inclusion of "Goodbye Horses" in The Silence of the Lambs "immortalized" the song as a "classic". For The New York Times, Joe Coscarelli wrote that "Goodbye Horses" "adds an extra layer of eeriness" to what many consider the "indelible shot" of The Silence of the Lambs. "Goodbye Horses" also appeared in the 2012 slasher film Maniac, a remake of the 1980 film of the same name, as a tribute to the Silence of the Lambs scene. The CBS television series Clarice, a spin off of The Silence of the Lambs, featured the song in a 2021 episode. "Goodbye Horses" was also featured in the video games Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) and Skate 3 (2010). as of 2021, the house in Perryopolis, Pennsylvania, used as Gumb's house in the film is a vacation rental, and, when visitors enter the basement, "Goodbye Horses" plays as a disco ball lights up.

"Goodbye Horses" was first released in 1988, and, in 1991, Q Lazzarus released an extended version of the song, with her song "White Lines" as a B side. In 2021, Ryan Leas wrote for Stereogum that the "cult icon status" of the "beloved" "Goodbye Horses" "seems to keep strengthening over the years". Electronic band Fan Death released a disco cover of the song in 2009 for their first European tour, which was praised by The Fader as a "bang up cover" with "deep and husky" vocals. In 2011, Kele Okereke of Bloc Party included a cover of "Goodbye Horses" on his EP The Hunter. In 2012, Psyche's cover of "Goodbye Horses" was released through Optimo. In 2013, American rock band the Delta Mirror included a cover of the song on their 2013 album Better Unsung, which the staff of Entertainment Weekly described as "appropriately Ian Curtis y" and Zach Kelly from Pitchfork viewed as "more than a little silly". A 25th anniversary re release of the single, issued by Mon Amie Records in 2013, included a B side of a minimalist cover of the song by Hayden Thorpe and Jon Hopkins. In 2014, Crosses, the musical side project of Deftones singer Chino Moreno, Far guitarist Shaun Lopez, and bassist Chuck Doom, released a cover of "Goodbye Horses" shortly after releasing their self titled debut album. In 2021, in anticipation of a new album, the band released a second cover of the song. Ryan Leas of Stereogum called the latter cover "a pretty faithful rendition" that was "a little grainer and more haunting" than the original.