Woke up in London yesterday
Found myself in the city near Piccadilly
Don't really know how I got here
I got some pictures on my phone
New names and numbers that I don't know
Address to places like Abbey Road
Day turns to night, night turns to whatever we want
We're young enough to say

Oh, this has gotta be the good life
This has gotta be the good life
This could really be a good life, good life
Say oh, got this feeling that you can't fight
Like this city is on fire tonight
This could really be a good life
A good, good life

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

To my friends in New York, I say hello
My friends in L.A., they don't know
Where I've been for the past few years or so
Paris to China to Colorado
Sometimes there's airplanes I can't jump out
Sometimes there's bullshit that don't work now
We all got our stories but please tell me
What there is to complain about?

When you're happy like a fool
Let it take you over
When everything is out
You gotta take it in

Oh, this has gotta be the good life
This has gotta be the good life
This could really be a good life, good life
Say oh, got this feeling that you can't fight
Like this city is on fire tonight
This could really be a good life
A good, good life

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh, a good, good life
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Yeah, oh

Hopelessly
I feel like there might be something that I'll miss
Hopelessly
I feel like the window closes oh so quick
Hopelessly
I'm taking a mental picture of you now
'Cause hopelessly
The hope is we have so much to feel good about

Oh, this has gotta be the good life
This has gotta be the good life
This could really be a good life, good life
Say oh, got this feeling that you can't fight
Like this city is on fire tonight
This could really be a good life
A good, good life

Oh, yeah, good, good life, good life
Ooh
Whoa-whoa, listen

To my friends in New York, I say hello
My friends in L.A., they don't know
Where I've been for the past few years or so
Paris to China to Colorado
Sometimes there's airplanes I can't jump out
Sometimes there's bullshit that don't work now
We all got our stories but please tell me
What there is to complain about?


Lyrics submitted by skydetective

Good Life Lyrics as written by Eddie Ray Fisher Brent Michael Kutzle

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Good Life song meanings
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  • +8
    My Interpretation

    I don't see this song as a straightforward celebration of a "good life." I hear something more like desperation; a frantic search for meaning and connection amidst fading hopes that such things can actually be found in this life. The singer seems aware that he is more fortunate and better-off than the vast majority of the world's population: he insists that "this has gotta be a good life" since he has been afforded such opportunities by the accident of his birth in a wealthy nation.

    He searches for this "good life" in raucous, reckless partying. Waking up with no memory of the previous night's events, and apparently in a different city than he was expecting, obviously indicates heavy drinking the night before. He knows that he met lots of people, went to interesting places, and probably did plenty of exciting things, but it's all a detached sort of fun. It's all what he's "supposed to do" as a young celebrity, but is it really what he wants?

    He doesn't want to deal with that question. When you're "happy like a fool," you can forget about those troubling thoughts for a while. All it takes is a few more shots of liquor...or maybe some harder drugs.

    The bridge lays it all out. The final line contains the theme of the song: "Hopelessly, the hope is we have so much to feel good about." We're young, privileged, and successful on top of that. We don't have a right not to be happy, right? But...what if we're not happy after all? What if the whirlwind days and the crazy nights don't satisfy that little part of us that wants the simpler, more elusive pleasures of warm companionship, purpose, and genuine human connection?

    Well, "we all got our stories." With that, he dismisses any possibility that his unhappiness could be real or understandable. With it goes any chance of resolving the vague longing that troubles him. Stuff your discontent deep down inside, and pretend that it isn't agonizing while it eats at the very substance of your being. That's all you can do, as a conscientious and self-aware member of society. Eventually, the pain will stop...one way or another.

    Star Captainon August 27, 2011   Link

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