Good Thing by Sam Smith

Album: In the Lonely Hour (2014)

License This Song

lyrics

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

Sam Smith wrote this song with Eg White (Adele, Will Young). He told 4Music: "This track is me at my most vulnerable. I had no energy when writing this and this is the demo. It's me at my rawest."
The song is a track from Smith's debut LP In The Lonely Hour. He told The Sun: "This album is about me falling in love with someone who didn't want me back, which has happened many times."
This was one of two tracks on In the Lonely Hour that Sam Smith penned with Eg White ("I've Told You Now" was the other one). He recalled to Digital Spy: "With all the songs we did together, we wrote in a very odd way. We didn't actually start making music at the beginning of the session, we would sit and he would just ask me about what I was going through."

"With this song, I showed him my text messages. I was showing him some things I had been saying between me and another guy, and he was writing down everything I was saying. He started playing some music and the song was then basically already written. 'Good Thing', for me, is the darkest song on the record. If you actually listen to my vocal, I'm not even trying to sing or sound pretty because I was so upset and sad. I kind of loved that and I feel like it really came across in the song."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

More Songfacts:

Bad RomanceLady Gaga

Lady Gaga is a big fan of horror movies; listen for the names of these three Alfred Hitchcock films in the lyrics to "Bad Romance": Psycho, Vertigo, Rear Window.

Country Grammar (Hot S--t)Nelly

Nelly's "Country Grammar" is a celebration of his hometown of St. Louis, which some folks from the coasts consider "country" because it's in the Midwest.

Cigarettes And Chocolate MilkRufus Wainwright

"Cigarettes And Chocolate Milk" describes a time in Rufus Wainwright's life when he found himself hungover and pounding chocolate milk to feel better. It didn't work, so he smoked a cigarette, which is when he realized his addictive personality could be a problem.

Shine On You Crazy DiamondPink Floyd

Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is about their founding member Syd Barrett, who became an acid casualty. Notice the S-Y-D in the title.

Turn On The RadioReba McEntire

When "Turn On The Radio" topped the January 1, 2011 Country chart, Reba McEntire became the first female solo act to have a #1 hit on that tally in four straight decades.

(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The BayOtis Redding

Otis Redding often ad-libbed vocals at the end of songs, but for "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" he just whistled instead - it became some of the most famous whistling in song history.

Editor's Picks

Jimmy WebbSongwriter Interviews

Webb talks about his classic songs "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman" and "MacArthur Park."

Graduation SongsFact or Fiction

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

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."

Dino Cazares of Fear FactorySongwriter Interviews

The guitarist/songwriter explains how he came up with his signature sound, and deconstructs some classic Fear Factory songs.

Billy Steinberg - "Like A Virgin"They're Playing My Song

The first of Billy's five #1 hits was the song that propelled Madonna to stardom. You'd think that would get you a backstage pass, wouldn't you?

They Might Be GiantsSongwriter Interviews

Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.