"If this is heaven, then send me to hell": the determined optimism of "Good Enough"

A post about the song "Good Enough" from Dodgy's 1996 album, Free Peace Sweet.

Good Enough

I've got an aching in my bones
I've been exposed to what I want to see
The fuse is burning somewhere
It's drenched in heat
It's where I long to be

There's always two sides
You don't have to suffer
If this is heaven, then send me to hell
So stay in the light,
Don't take your eyes from the prize
Hey, there goes the bell

If it's good enough for you,
It's good enough for me
It's good enough for two
It's what I want to see
If it's good enough for you,
It's good enough for me
It's good enough for two
It's what I want to see

Sing a song
As the sun does rise
If you don't ask questions,
Then you don't know why
There's a bridge to the other side
Don't take your eyes from the prize

There's always two sides
You don't have to suffer
If this is heaven, then send me to hell
So stay in the light
Don't take your eyes from the prize
Hey, there goes the bell

If it's good enough for you,
It's good enough for me
It's good enough for two
It's what I want to see
If it's good enough for you,
It's good enough for me
It's good enough, it's true
It's what I want to see

[voices: doo-doo-doo]

[special effect: dewdrop noise]

There's always two sides
You don't have to suffer
If this is heaven, then send me to hell
So stay in the light,
Don't take your eyes from the prize
Hey, there goes the bell

You don't need to bother [about?]
A situation you may never find

If it's good enough for you,
It's good enough for me
It's good enough for two
It's what I want to see
If it's good enough for you,
It's good enough for me
It's good enough, it's true
It's what I want to see

Composers: Nigel Clark, Andy Miller, Mathew Priest

The opening stanza indicates that this song will be about a mental state.

More specifically, "Good Enough" is about conveying the state of euphoria that unbridled optimism releases.

The stratagems that allow for the euphoria are a series of liberatory realizations, revealed in the subsequent stanzas.

Stanza two is a string of non-stop, relentlessly chipper clichés: "There's always two sides / You don't have to suffer / If this is heaven, then send me to hell / So stay in the light, / Don't take your eyes from the prize / Hey, there goes the bell".

I'm always amazed at how well this stanza holds together, given that it's just a clump of half-baked sayings.

But I think that's the point. It's a comfort paragraph, something that serves as a reminder that there's an extensive arsenal of positive truisms with which to combat negativity.

The lead singer, Nigel Clarke, sings it with such verve, I defy even the most hardened cynic not to be moved by it.

And I love the irreverent humor in "If this is heaven, then send me to hell", which always makes me smile.

The bland truisms carry over into the fourth stanza ("If you don't ask questions, / Then you don't know why / There's a bridge to the other side", etc.).

Midway through the song, there's a neat little pause where the backing vocals sing a Beatlesesque dooo-dooo-dooo-dooo section. It shows off Dodgy's ability to do excellent vocal harmonization while providing a pause. It's topped by a highly stylized sound of a drop of water. One would think this would sound gimmicky ten years later, but no—it's a nice touch that has aged well. It underlines Dodgy's goofy, silly take on things, and gives the listener a tiny surprise.

Crescendo

After this slight breather, we get another repeat of "There's always two sides / You don't have to suffer", but with a difference: the horns are more noticeable, and we're well into the groovy, power-pop optimism of the song. It's brassy and full-on happy. The whole song has been building to this crescendo moment, and now that it's arrived, just let it wash over you.

If you're not a believer now, you never will be.

Conclusion

"Good Enough" gives you permission to let yourself off the hook. It's a perfectionist's nightmare: a reminder that, for most of the time, things are "good enough".