Be Good At It

The Story behind the Songs Newsletter Series
April 03, 2004 Issue #19

Be Good At It – written by JR Still 2003

‘Be Good At It’ is the second track on the album. The title came from something my dad would often say to me when I was going to school, “Be good …and if you can’t be good be good at it.” Dad was a funny guy…well, he told me he was anyway. :-) I was actually a pretty good kid but I did get in my fair share of trouble from time to time. All good clean fun of course. ;-)

This song is a mix of truths and fiction. Starting with the first line, “I learned my lesson a long time ago when I got caught I was four years old”. I had no idea what I was doing but I was trying to score with the girl next door. She was the older highly educated and sophisticated woman two years my senior. She was the cutest girl in the area. Come to think of it she was the only girl in the area. So, needless to say I was keen to take her for a ride on my trike. Do you remember those plastic ‘Big Wheels’ every little boy wanted? Well, I had one! And, man was I cool and cocky. At four!

“I was dreadin’ the moment when daddy found out there’d be a butt whippin’ without a doubt”. I was sure I was going to get it good when the neighbour lady told dad I was making moves on her daughter. The mama was not happy and she let my dad have an ear full. In my defence; I was being raised by a single parent father fresh out of the navy, in his prime and loving single life. Not too discrete I guess for peeking little eyes. Enough said.

“I knew if I’d lie then I’d’ve a really had it when daddy said ‘son if you can’t be good be good at it.” Dad was a real stickler for telling the truth. I knew I could never lie to dad and that he would never lie to me. We were real straight up that way. Needless to say, that type of truthfulness between parent and child allowed me to grow up quick. If I asked, no matter what it was, he told me the truth. So, as it turned out I didn’t get the butt whipping I was expecting because I told him the truth and no crime or harm was committed. I think he may have even been a little proud that his ‘little man’ was already trying to woo the girls. After he sent me to the house I think dad may have even tried to ‘woo’ the very upset mother knowing him.

In the chorus lines “Well, I tried to be good but I was no good at it; I can’t help it that I have a lot of good bad habits; Lord help me if you can ‘cause I’m just a man; If I could be good you know I would Be Good At It.” These lines are a mix of memories and creativity. I was often the new kid at the various schools I went to so I was always interesting to the girls and a threat to the guys. I learned early on to quickly become the teachers pet; that is, if the teacher was a lady and in those days they usually were. It was like second nature to ally with beautiful teachers. So, really my ‘good bad habit’ was playing the sweet and cute card every chance I got using all the good manors my dad taught me to manipulate the situation. I was constantly bucking the system in some way and getting away with it somehow. Lord have mercy!

Speaking of the Lord; in those days we had Bible ladies that would come around to our school and tell us Bible stories and we’d memorise Bible verses for prizes. Though my dad would seldom go to church he’d let me go anytime I wanted. I really enjoyed church and did my best to be a good Christian boy. The line “The Good Book says you reap what you sow and the preacher man’s preaching to save my soul” comes from those early years of indoctrination. “I don’t pretend to be above the law I just do my best not to get caught; when fortune comes my way I reach out and grab it; I’m gonna have fun if I can’t be good… I’ll Be Good At It.” I knew that I wasn’t exempt from punishment and never pretended to be. But, when I got caught and couldn’t talk or charm my way out of it; I took my punishment while thinking of a better way to not get caught. I figured ‘Fortune’ and ‘fun’ are just opportunities or choices that we make so “Seize the day”, “If it feels good do it”, “If you’re not living on the edge you’re taking up too much space”, “Live for the moment”, “We’re here for a good time not a long time.” Oh the deep philosophical ideals of youth.

Well, having survived those memorable years of youth fairly intact; I can now merely reflect on those life path events and share them by turning them into simple melodic memories. It’s a little scary sharing this much information about my thought processes and my past but it’s also kind of confessional which is good for the soul I guess.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the story behind the song. If you’d like other information you can check out the CD credits at www.jamesray.info/cdcredits.html