Through only two studio albums, musical artist SZA has established herself as one of the most prolific songwriters and lyricists of this generation. Following a five-year hiatus from her debut album Ctrl, SZA released a 23-track masterpiece, SOS.
There are a number of hits on SOS, including “Nobody Gets Me,” which is regarded as her most emotionally heartbreaking song, and “Kill Bill,” which is her highest-streaming release yet.
However, to me, the unassuming single from 2020, “Good Days,” is her most impressive work to date. In just four and a half minutes, she pulls you through every feeling while reflecting on your own life. While her songs can always be left up to interpretation, I’ll be exploring and analyzing the song in this article.
Good day in my mind, safe to take a step out / Get some air now, let your edge out / Too soon, I spoke, you be heavy in my mind
Can you get the heck out? / I need rest now, got me bummed out / You so, you so, you, baby, baby, babe / I’ve been on my empty mind shit.
In this first verse, SZA is able to convey the difficulties of moving past a person who is no longer in your life, presumably a lover. Every time she feels like she’s escaped, she’s reminded of her old life, which is a debilitating feeling. Not to mention the instrumentals of this intro, which feature dreamy and melancholic guitar patterns, adding to the far-off nature of this song.
I try to keep from losin’ the rest of me / I worry that I wasted the best of me on you, baby / You don’t care
Said, not tryna be a nuisance, it’s just urgent / Tryna make sense of loose change / Got me at war in my mind / Gotta let go of weight, can’t keep what’s holding me / Choose to watch / While the world break up and fall on me.
SZA continues to struggle with being able to “let go of weight” and does not feel like her emotions are making sense. She feels stuck, and lets the world crush her.
All the while, I’ll await my armored fate with a smile / Still wanna try, still believe in (good days) / Good days, always (good days) / Always inside (always in my mind, always in my mind, mind) / Good day living in my mind.
Moving forward, SZA announces that she’s not willing to give up on her happiness and will continue searching for “good days.” Juxtaposing that line with “armored fate” shows she’s willing to accept the inevitable and will be ready to face it.
Tell me I’m not my fears, my limitations / I disappear, if you let me / Feeling like (on your own) / Feeling like Jericho / Feeling like Job when he lost his shit
Gotta hold my own, my cross to bear alone, I / Ooh, paid a deal, way to kill the mood / Know you like that shit, yeah, groovy baby, baby / Heavy on my empty mind shit.
Surprisingly, SZA takes a more biblical approach in this verse, where she compares her experiences to the city of Jericho and the man Job. Like Job, it’s inferred that SZA feels like terrible things have happened to her, despite her being a good person. The so-called “bad things” can be compared to the walls of Jericho collapsing because she feels like she’s lost herself.
Gotta get right, tryna free my mind before the end of the world / I don’t miss no ex, I don’t miss no text / I choose not to respond / I don’t regret, just pretend shit never happened
Half of us layin’ waste to our youth, is in the present / Half of us chasin’ fountains of youth, and it’s in the present now.
In this final portion of the song, SZA sounds much more confident. She claims she doesn’t miss her exes, despite what it may have felt like throughout the rest of the song. My favorite part of this whole song is the last two lines, in which she denounces the way that many people let their youth waste away by overthinking or constantly worrying about remaining young.
I find “Good Days” to be such a relatable confession of just how much our past can dictate our lives. SZA’s realization at the song’s finale should be relatable for just about everyone.
Stop waiting for good days and start making them!
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