There's one little brilliant thing about this song. My thoughts.
A kid is told to "be good" through repetition. Simple enough. Millions of things that could mean, the repetition is the important part. Kid promises to be good, who doesn't want their parent's approval. Then, we learn the kid doesn't care about any of that. Johnny talks about how he only likes dreaming, something he was specifically told wasn't good. The "be good be good" comes back after this for a round. Johnny repeats what he said about dreaming.
This is the interesting part. Something you won't see in the lyrics--the lack of them.
The tune kicks back in again, but the "be good be GOOD" is gone. I don't know about you, but at this point, I can't NOT hear the "be good be good" repeated somewhere in the back of my mind, for a few bars at least. It shows how being told something again and again can stick around in your mind, even when no one's saying it anymore. Even if you don't want it there.
There's one little brilliant thing about this song. My thoughts.
A kid is told to "be good" through repetition. Simple enough. Millions of things that could mean, the repetition is the important part. Kid promises to be good, who doesn't want their parent's approval. Then, we learn the kid doesn't care about any of that. Johnny talks about how he only likes dreaming, something he was specifically told wasn't good. The "be good be good" comes back after this for a round. Johnny repeats what he said about dreaming.
This is the interesting part. Something you won't see in the lyrics--the lack of them. The tune kicks back in again, but the "be good be GOOD" is gone. I don't know about you, but at this point, I can't NOT hear the "be good be good" repeated somewhere in the back of my mind, for a few bars at least. It shows how being told something again and again can stick around in your mind, even when no one's saying it anymore. Even if you don't want it there.