Music Review: Sheryl Crow "Good Is Good"
Sheryl Crow
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Good Is Good
Album: Wildflower
Year: 2005
In the empathic ballad "Good Is Good," Sheryl Crow helps a friend fight his depression.
An anxious guitar opens the single. Her friend views life as black and white. If something is good, it's perfect and a dream. If it's bad, it's horrible. However, he rarely saw life in a positive light. His negative attitude led to a break-up of a relationship. She kicked him out out of her apartment. It's the only reminder of something great he once had. Whenever he sees the shoes, he is filled with regret.
He thinks love will solve his problem. If he someone cares for him deeply enough, he will have a new outlook. However, he still blames the world for making everything go wrong. She asks him if he could handle being alone and friendless.
He thinks the worst case scenario is going to happen in each situation. It has caused him to sabotage his life. She inquires if he has ever thought what celebrations he missed out on.
She tells him she's going to be straightforward. She's not going to hide anything from him. She can teach him how to connect to people again. She was depressed several years ago and it's a part of her life she can't forget. She advises him that he does not want to sink any deeper in his tears.
The chorus has a slight variation after the second verse. Her friend is withdrawing. Hes' also embarassed about suffering from something he dismissed.
In the bridge, the warm-hearted strings bloom. Like her, he lies awake at night, staring at the moon through the window. He thinks of the friends he valued but stopped talking to for no reason. He didn't feel as though he deserved to be friends with him. He could never pinpoint his alienation or the cause of it.
The chorus is sung again.
The lovely bridge ends the single, with Crow adding that she still feels like him on some days.
"Good Is Good" is Crow's first strong effort since abandoning her narrative style in 2002. The single is patient and world-weary. Her experience of going through depression has toughened her. Yet, when confronted with it again, she is weakened. As she tries to be a shoulder for her friend, she is repeating her own dark period. Although she's past it, the tears and questioning of herself linger, which she points out in the last lyric.
Album: Wildflower
Year: 2005
In the empathic ballad "Good Is Good," Sheryl Crow helps a friend fight his depression.
An anxious guitar opens the single. Her friend views life as black and white. If something is good, it's perfect and a dream. If it's bad, it's horrible. However, he rarely saw life in a positive light. His negative attitude led to a break-up of a relationship. She kicked him out out of her apartment. It's the only reminder of something great he once had. Whenever he sees the shoes, he is filled with regret.
"Good is good and bad is badYou don’t know which one you had/She put your books out on the sidewalk/Now they’re blowing ‘round/They won’t help you when you’re down."
He thinks love will solve his problem. If he someone cares for him deeply enough, he will have a new outlook. However, he still blames the world for making everything go wrong. She asks him if he could handle being alone and friendless.
"Love’s on your list of things to do/To bring your good luck back to you/And if you think that everything’s unfair/Would you care if you’re the last one standing there."
He thinks the worst case scenario is going to happen in each situation. It has caused him to sabotage his life. She inquires if he has ever thought what celebrations he missed out on.
"And everytime you hear the rolling thunder/You turn around before the lightning strikes/And does it ever make you stop and wonder/If all your good times pass you by."
She tells him she's going to be straightforward. She's not going to hide anything from him. She can teach him how to connect to people again. She was depressed several years ago and it's a part of her life she can't forget. She advises him that he does not want to sink any deeper in his tears.
" I don’t hold no mystery/But I can show you how to turn the key/'Cause all I know is where I started/So downhearted/And that’s not where you want to be."
The chorus has a slight variation after the second verse. Her friend is withdrawing. Hes' also embarassed about suffering from something he dismissed.
"And everytime you hear the rolling thunder/You turn around before the lightning strikes/And you could find a rock to crawl right under/
If all your good times pass you by."
In the bridge, the warm-hearted strings bloom. Like her, he lies awake at night, staring at the moon through the window. He thinks of the friends he valued but stopped talking to for no reason. He didn't feel as though he deserved to be friends with him. He could never pinpoint his alienation or the cause of it.
"When the day is done/And the world is sleeping/And the moon is on its way to shine/When your friends are gone/You thought were so worth keeping/You feel you don’t belong/
And you don’t know why."
The chorus is sung again.
The lovely bridge ends the single, with Crow adding that she still feels like him on some days.
"When the day is done....When your friends are gone/You thought were so worth keeping/
You feel you don’t belong/Neither do I."
"Good Is Good" is Crow's first strong effort since abandoning her narrative style in 2002. The single is patient and world-weary. Her experience of going through depression has toughened her. Yet, when confronted with it again, she is weakened. As she tries to be a shoulder for her friend, she is repeating her own dark period. Although she's past it, the tears and questioning of herself linger, which she points out in the last lyric.