Good God's Urge

Album: Good God's Urge (1996)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Good God's Urge" is about Vito DiStefano, whose son Peter is the guitarist in Porno For Pyros. The song asks the gods to restore him to health.

    "My father had cancer, then recovered, and then some stuff happened where it went to his bones, so he was fighting that," Peter explained to Songfacts. "He broke his back falling off a roof or something, so he was in bed and we didn't think he was going to make it, but he made it and he got back out and started walking again. We made the song and then he recovered - it was beautiful. But we didn't think he was going to leave the bed. We thought he was going to die."
  • The song title is stylized "Good God's://Urge!" a nod to the internet, which was just starting to make headway outside of academia in 1996. Perry Farrell had a website at teeth.net, and in 1997 he started on-line record label called World Records.
  • "Good God's Urge" is the title track to the second (and last) Porno For Pyros album. Half of the band - lead singer Perry Farrell and drummer Stephen Perkins - were in Jane's Addiction before they broke up in 1991. Pyros formed in 1992 and released their self-titled debut album, with the Modern Rock hit "Pets," in 1993. They played only a handful of shows in 1994 and 1995 (including Woodstock '94) before returning in 1996 with the Good God's Urge album. That year, DiStefano was diagnosed with cancer and his drug addiction was a major problem. The band released a single in 1997 called "Hard Charger" with Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro guesting on guitar. This led to a Jane's Addiction reunion as Porno For Pyros burned out. Both bands reunited sporadically over the years, with Pyros staging their farewell tour in 2024.
  • The band has another song about Vito DiStefano as well: "Pete's Dad," which was written and played live in 1993, years before "Good God's Urge." A studio version was released as a holiday single in 2023.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Graduation Songs

Graduation SongsFact or Fiction

Have you got the smarts to know which of these graduation song stories are real?

Emmylou Harris

Emmylou HarrisSongwriter Interviews

She thinks of herself as a "song interpreter," but back in the '80s another country star convinced Emmylou to take a crack at songwriting.

Actors With Hit Songs

Actors With Hit SongsMusic Quiz

Many actors have attempted music, but only a few have managed a hit. Do you know which of these thespians charted?

Wherefore Art Thou Romeo Lyric

Wherefore Art Thou Romeo LyricMusic Quiz

In this quiz, spot the artist who put Romeo into a song lyric.

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy TalentSongwriter Interviews

The frontman for one of Canada's most well-known punk rock bands talks about his Eddie Vedder encounter, Billy Talent's new album, and the importance of rock and roll.

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.