He said, he said, he said
"There was nothing to fear boy"
And he said, he said, he said
"Worthless are your tears boy"
"Just realize your senses
and realize your earth
Just realize your essence first"
I'll never be the same again
i want to walk in the sun
i am alive and well again
No more bittersweet
No more good pain
No more
So many of us stand in he middle
Looking back to the worlst
Looking forward to the fall
making weapons of peace for the defense
Of the bloodstains on our
Peaceful sidewalks
Yu say the buildings got too tall
And they're going to fry your brother
Well I say you'd better walk away, walk
away, walk away
And find your mother
No more bittersweet
No more good pain
If I can't sing this song
And tell youy all about it
then I'll just pack it up right now and
Walk away
Don't even doubt it
So when our sherry glass is full
And the day is way too young
you'd better sip today, sip today, sip today
Before it's done
No more bittersweet
No more good pain
"There was nothing to fear boy"
And he said, he said, he said
"Worthless are your tears boy"
and realize your earth
Just realize your essence first"
i want to walk in the sun
i am alive and well again
No more bittersweet
No more good pain
No more
Looking back to the worlst
Looking forward to the fall
making weapons of peace for the defense
Of the bloodstains on our
Peaceful sidewalks
And they're going to fry your brother
Well I say you'd better walk away, walk
away, walk away
And find your mother
No more good pain
And tell youy all about it
then I'll just pack it up right now and
Walk away
Don't even doubt it
And the day is way too young
you'd better sip today, sip today, sip today
Before it's done
No more good pain
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Missing lyrics near the end:
There's a line you've got to cross tonight There's a line we've got to cross tonight x3 No more bittersweet No more good pain
No more weapons of peace No more good pain No more sickening sweet No more good pain No more family feast No more good pain
As for the meaning, it seems to be about making the most of life in a peaceful capacity. More than that I can't really say.
I'm just listening to my old Live CDs for the first time in a while. The whole album, Mental Jewelry, is bursting with wisdom and prophecy. Good Pain has always been one of my favorite songs on it. I think the persona in the song (possibly Ed Kowalczyk himself) is recalling that someone changed his life when he taught him that he could overcome worthless fear and sadness by knowing his true self - his essence. Now, he lives life deliberately, with no fence-sitting or ambiguity: "I'll never be the same again. I want to walk in the sun. I am alive and well again. No more bittersweet, no more good pain."
He sings of the destruction humans cause by focusing on pain experienced in the past or anticipating future dangers rather than living with purpose in the moment, and he rejects the oxymorons most humans accept in their collective insanity: "So many of us stand in the middle, looking back to the worst, looking forward to the fall, making weapons of peace for the defense of the bloodstains on our peaceful sidewalks."
The song predates Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth" by about 13 years, but Tolle's description of his own suicidal thoughts that he overcame by realizing that his self and his ego are two different things, and his advice to live in the moment and shun the "pain body" are reminiscent of the spirit of this song.
I had no idea what I was listening to when I was listening to this album. That's not true. I didn't understand the context or accept the harsh realities of human conduct. The line "Making weapons of peace for the defense of the bloodstains on our peaceful sidewalks." Let's unpack this. Sidewalks with bloodstains? Is it the blood of Native Americans or whatever country we've boomed like crazy? I don't know but it seems like we are no better that our enemies. Why make weapons at all? How dare we call them weapons of peace. The line "When our sherry glass is full". I recon that's the good pain. It's the enjoyment and pleasure built over blood stains. Perhaps it's a condemnation of the west or all of humanity. Or maybe that's just me. The missing line "There's a line we have to cross tonight". That is a call to action. For peace? A clean break?
I don't really understand most of Lives lyrics, they are all deep poetry, sadly I suck with poetry!! I love the title though "Good Pain" It is totally wonderful!
Story time I was listening to Hurt so Good - John Cougar Mellencamp, and my friend was like "How can something hurt good?" I didn't wanna go into the whole self harm thing of mine that she doesn't know about, so I said I didn't know. She answered with "He didn't really think about that when he wrote this did he?" Uhhh YEAH he sure did!! (Even though that is about love, and I was thinking about good physical pain)
Anyway I also like the lines "Of the bloodstains on our peaceful sidewalks" Reminds me of Desperate Housewives, at a glance things look good (peaceful sidewalks) but look closer and there are things that are far from perfect (bloodstains)
Man can I get off the subject.......
We are so good at making negative things in the name of something positive.
But nothing positive can ever come from a negative place.
Weapons cannot be of Peace.
Pain (in a spirtiual and emotional sense) cannot be Good.
Sweetness can never be Bitter.
We have every opportunity to be positive beings of love and light in this life, if we just embrace it.
Also revisiting this song after many years. I feel like this is the tale of a veteran. He was an innocent boy, and then he enlisted and was pressed to kill. Now he\'ll never be the same and he\'s lamenting the state of the world and loves life more now in the present because it is fleeting.