The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
I got it bad
You don't know how bad I got it
You got it easy
You don't know when you've got it good
It's getting harder
Just keeping life and soul together
I'm sick of fighting
Even though I know I should
The cold is biting
Through each and every nerve and fibre
My broken spirit is frozen to the core
I don't want to be here no more
Wouldn't it be good to be in your shoes
Even if it was for just one day?
Wouldn't it be good if we could wish ourselves away?
Wouldn't it be good to be on your side?
The grass is always greener over there
Wouldn't it be good if we could live without a care?
You must be joking
You don't know a thing about it
You've got no problem
I'd stay right there if I were you
I got it harder
You couldn't dream how hard I got it
Stay out of my shoes
If you know what's good for you
The heat is stifling
Burning me up from the inside
The sweat is coming through each and every pore
I don't want to be here no more
I don't want to be here no more
I don't want to be here no more
Wouldn't it be good to be in your shoes
Even if it was for just one day?
Wouldn't it be good if we could wish ourselves away?
Wouldn't it be good to be on your side?
The grass is always greener over there
Wouldn't it be good if we could live without a care?
I got it bad
You don't know how bad I got it
You got it easy
You don't know when you've got it good
It's getting harder
Just keeping life and soul together
I'm sick of fighting
Even though I know I should
You don't know how bad I got it
You got it easy
You don't know when you've got it good
It's getting harder
Just keeping life and soul together
I'm sick of fighting
Even though I know I should
The cold is biting
Through each and every nerve and fibre
My broken spirit is frozen to the core
I don't want to be here no more
Wouldn't it be good to be in your shoes
Even if it was for just one day?
Wouldn't it be good if we could wish ourselves away?
Wouldn't it be good to be on your side?
The grass is always greener over there
Wouldn't it be good if we could live without a care?
You must be joking
You don't know a thing about it
You've got no problem
I'd stay right there if I were you
I got it harder
You couldn't dream how hard I got it
Stay out of my shoes
If you know what's good for you
The heat is stifling
Burning me up from the inside
The sweat is coming through each and every pore
I don't want to be here no more
I don't want to be here no more
I don't want to be here no more
Wouldn't it be good to be in your shoes
Even if it was for just one day?
Wouldn't it be good if we could wish ourselves away?
Wouldn't it be good to be on your side?
The grass is always greener over there
Wouldn't it be good if we could live without a care?
I got it bad
You don't know how bad I got it
You got it easy
You don't know when you've got it good
It's getting harder
Just keeping life and soul together
I'm sick of fighting
Even though I know I should
Lyrics submitted by sage_morphine, edited by eucalypt
Wouldn't It Be Good Lyrics as written by Nik Kershaw
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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It's purely about "the grass" being "greener" on the other side. How we imagine things would be better "if only..." instead of loving what we have and who we already are.
I always loved this song and the video from the eighties. Now, I hear something that I didn't at a younger age.
It's a two-sided dialogue. One party is telling how they are struggling and unhappy: restless.
The other party is the chorus: Those who think it would "be good" to be the first party.
The former tries to explain their eror, but the chorus remains unchanged each time. I imagine a celebrity and their fans. Artists make their work look easy, and fans imagine that it truly would be all "good" if they could live their imagined perceptions of a celebrity's life.
The video was always eerie and omenous to me, and now I see a bit more... The character constantly reflects and carries the experiences of others right within his person. It's not something he can control, and yet it is what drives him. Others wish they could be in his place, though he tells them that it's not all that they imagine it to be. He lives, like an alien, among others and eventually must return to from wherever he came, possibly as only energy when he finds a device that can take him home.
It's a pretty somber theme to me.
-Phase
A very nicely written and well thought out summary. I never thought of the artist/performer angle, but so many other polar positions... I feel like the cold could be perceived failure, and the heat could be perceived success - the one who watches the success wants it but the one who experiences it wishes they didn't have it. But the lyrics are so visceral and physical. "The cold is biting through each and every nerve and fibre." "The heat is stifling, burning me up from the inside." These have to be two of the best lines ever written. They say the same thing from opposite sides. The whole song is a perfect balance of emotional imbalances. Love it.