Hey, Dad, look at me
Think back, and talk to me
Did I grow up according to plan?
And do you think I'm wasting my time
Doing things I wanna do?
But it hurts when you disapprove all along
And now I try hard to make it
I just want to make you proud
I'm never gonna be good enough for you
Can't pretend that I'm alright
And you can't change me

'Cause we lost it all
Nothin' lasts forever
I'm sorry I can't be perfect
Now it's just too late
And we can't go back
I'm sorry I can't be perfect

I try not to think
About the pain I feel inside
Did you know you used to be my hero?
All the days you spent with me
Now seem so far away
And it feels like you don't care any more
And now I try hard to make it
I just wanna make you proud
I'm never gonna be good enough for you
I can't stand another fight
And nothing's all right

'Cause we lost it all
And nothin' lasts forever
I'm sorry I can't be perfect
Now it's just too late
And we can't go back
I'm sorry I can't be perfect

Nothing's gonna change the things that you said
And nothing's gonna make this right again
Please don't turn your back
I can't believe it's hard just to talk to you
But you don't understand

'Cause we lost it all
And nothin' lasts forever
I'm sorry I can't be perfect
Now it's just too late
And we can't go back
I'm sorry I can't be perfect

'Cause we lost it all
And nothin' lasts forever
I'm sorry I can't be perfect
Now it's just too late
And we can't go back
I'm sorry I can't be perfect


Lyrics submitted by sumblinkfan4182

Perfect Lyrics as written by Arnold David Lanni Arnold Lanni

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network, Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Perfect song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

320 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +4
    General Comment

    I get this song all to well...my younger sis graduated from a well-known school, and I graduated from a local community college...so like my dad ALWAYS compares me to my sister, and it gets to me since I am just as intelligent, but I didn't go to the same school my sis did...so he automatically thinks that I am not as smart.

    CKF929on December 20, 2012   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    Definitely amazing. This band means a lot to me! They never let you down. It doesn't matter what they're doing... "Cause we lost it all, nothing lasts forever, sorry I can't be perfect" Why is it that I can relate to this song too much? I always find myself asking myself if my parents feel I grew up "according to plan". It's too overwhelming. It just takes you whole. This song will always bring a tear to my eye. Je t'aime les garcons!

    PhOeBe*CaTeSon April 24, 2002   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    It was writtewn by chuck and pierre because their parents wanted them to get proper jobs, but they wanted to continue with the band.

    Thats what I hears atleast.

    Jldanielon June 22, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I first heard simple plan "i'm just a kid" and i thought they were good, i heard it awhile back, then i bought the CD and right away this song caught my attention, i love it b/c i've always had problems with my dad, no matter what i do to impress him and make him notice me, i'm never good enough for him, just listening to this song makes me feel that i'm not the only one, maybe i should make him listen to it...

    Hwrdmynson April 19, 2002   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    the first time i heard this song, it hit something in me. i completely relate to this song (and also most of the other songs on the cd). i know a lot of my friends feel the same way toward their parents i do -- that we never match up -- and this song expresses it in such a great way

    emmychloeon April 27, 2002   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    this song is about parents who put so much pressure on teens to be this perfect image when all we really want is to be us. and grow up and become what we want and how we have to fight for it

    embem34on October 26, 2012   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    AMAZING!!! "And now I try hard to make it I just want to make you proud". everybody try to do and to get their best. superior for who they love. but sometime they ask more. "I'm never gonna be good enough for you" it's so match with me :). i'm not perfect:(, but i believe that everyone is unique so nothing can replace us. let's enjoy our own way and get our crown. i love this song so much ^^

    cholisaduhaon February 07, 2014   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This song always catches me. It seems to sit in the back of my mind. This is always a question I want to know. Did I grow up according to plan? Of course, I know some of the answers because I'm not perfect! I'm just your average girl who tries the best she can to be average.

    imastarsimpleplanon April 09, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I cried the first time I heard this. Maybe it struck a chord with me, but whatever it was, all I could think of was "wow". It's just hte fact that so many people feel this way and they don't know how to express it, and this expresses it well...perfectly (lol).

    Megson April 15, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    i agree with u megs. seriously big lump in my throat when i heard this song. ok it hits a pretty big nerve but the way they describe it is just really amazing.

    EmoPunkPiperon April 15, 2002   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Holiday
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday". I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.