He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
I helped my good friend's brother
Out of trouble when he was in jail
I was flush 'cause I got lucky
Paid his lawyer and I paid his bail
Glad to be able just to pay the price
The price it took to set him free
I never heard a single "thank you" at all
You'd think by now I could see
All the good that I did was for nothing (ah)
All the good that I did was for nothing
Why don't I just let it be?
I'm thankful to young lovers
New York artists, they were on the run
I got them out to California
One was gifted and the other was fun
Merchants will always be merchants, of course
But an artist is a fragile life
And it's something I have always believed
The memory cuts like a knife
All the good that I did was for nothing (ah)
All the good that I did was for nothing (ah)
All the good that I did
All the good that I did
Why can't I just let it be?
All the good that I did was for nothing (ah)
All the good that I did
All the good that I did was for nothing (ah)
All the good that I did
All the good I did
All the good I did (ah)
All the good that I did was for nothing, yeah yeah (ah)
Out of trouble when he was in jail
I was flush 'cause I got lucky
Paid his lawyer and I paid his bail
Glad to be able just to pay the price
The price it took to set him free
I never heard a single "thank you" at all
You'd think by now I could see
All the good that I did was for nothing (ah)
All the good that I did was for nothing
Why don't I just let it be?
I'm thankful to young lovers
New York artists, they were on the run
I got them out to California
One was gifted and the other was fun
Merchants will always be merchants, of course
But an artist is a fragile life
And it's something I have always believed
The memory cuts like a knife
All the good that I did was for nothing (ah)
All the good that I did was for nothing (ah)
All the good that I did
All the good that I did
Why can't I just let it be?
All the good that I did was for nothing (ah)
All the good that I did
All the good that I did was for nothing (ah)
All the good that I did
All the good I did
All the good I did (ah)
All the good that I did was for nothing, yeah yeah (ah)
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae
Good for Nothing Lyrics as written by Robert William Lamm David Foster
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
Corpse I Fell In Love With
Gadjits, The
Gadjits, The
Show Me a Little Shame
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
He certainly did earn that reputation.
when rules change
Life in Your Way
Life in Your Way
High life
Step
Ministry
Ministry
Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
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.