That I Would Be Good Lyrics

Lyric discussion by sakurablossom 

Cover art for That I Would Be Good lyrics by Alanis Morissette

"That I would be good" is an incomplete sentence. To me, the key missing words here are "I wish"... I wish that I would be good.
To me the song is not optimistic at all, it is about having painfully low self-esteem. If only I could be good, if only I could be loved and accepted despite these flaws I cannot overcome. I wish "that I would be loved, even when"...... It seems to me that the first verse is aimed at her parents/mother, addressing their/her high expectations of her. The second verse seems addressed to the public, from the point of view of being famous. The third and fourth perhaps to a combination of people: family, friends, public, her lover, and also to herself.

I feel she has probably suffered abuse in her life, and an eating disorder, but I don't know that...just speculation, from listening to her songs.

This song really resonates with me, it touches a nerve. This is the only song I know that makes me break down in tears every time that I hear it.

My Interpretation