Perfect

Artist: Simple Plan
Title: Perfect
Another parent problem, another long conversation, arguments, no arguments, held back tears.....Sigh. Cue song.
Hey Dad look at me
Think back and talk to me
Did I grow up according To plan?
You know what the problem is? Its expectation. Its that bloody plan. The ideal of perfection that you hold in your head. My son should be like this, my daughter should be like this. This is what he should do. this is what he should study, these are the specifications for his frends. This is not a son ure looking at folks. This is myProduct 0.23 Alpha. It comes with the following specifications. It Doesnt? Well ill bloody make sure it does.

Do you think Im wasting My time doing things I Wanna do? But it hurts when you Disapprove all along
Always the disapproval. Dont allow your kids to spend time with their frends. And if you do allow them time-make sure you disapprove a lot. Cos disapproval is good for their souls. Do you know how much we yearn for your approval? Do you? i have this picture in my mind. This lil boy has built a castle in the sand. He's been working hard on it all day long. His dad comes in, the expectation on the kid's face is heart breaking. Does the dad notice? Does he approve? Oh no. His white shirt may get dirty. He gingerly picks up the kid. Ticks him off properly for wasting time. The kid should have bee studying- or otherwise productively employed. ( The definition of "productively employed" for a kid is one word -" studying" ) A single tear hits the sand as the kid is carried away. Im not angry anymore. Im just sad.
And now I try hard to make it I just want to make you proud I?m never gonna be good Enough for you I can't pretend that I'm alright
I want my parents to be proud of me.I want them to point to me and say " That 's my boy", wit pride. And when they dont, Im broken.
And you can't change me Cuz we lost it all Nothing lasts forever I'm sorry I can't be Perfect Now it's just too late And we can't go back I'm sorry I can't be Perfect
We once had so much. You thought i was growing up fine. I was the perfect child. Or was I? Were you just waiting for me to grow up and make real mistakes, differing from your perfect ideal so that you could show me what i was not? Im sorry. I really am. Who's perfect in this world mama? No one is. Why must you expect your son to be perfect. Im sorry.
I try not to think About the pain I feel inside Did you know you used to be My hero? All the days You spent with me Now seem so far away And it feels like you don't Care anymore
My childhood seems so far away. My parents smiled a lot more then. They were my heroes. The time they spent with me, the joy we shared. Who changed? Did i change? Did they change? What went wrong?
Nothings gonna change The things that you said Nothing's gonna make this Right again Please don't turn your back I can't believe it's hard Just to talk to you But you don?t understand
The child was trying to explain himself to his dad. Everytime he tried he was told not to argue, not to be disrespecful. Then he was asked to justify himself. They all got up and left, going their seperate ways. Everybody turns their backs on everyone else.

The song itself alternates brilliantly between a sad, reminiscing regretful tone to a tone of anger- akin to what we go thru with our parents. We 're sad, insecure and unhappy because we feel that the love has gone. We feel frustrated and angry when they dont understand us anymore. Sigh.
So many wars, so many problems, so many broken families could have been avoided if people had just talked to each other as equals.