anonymous January 12th, 2006 11:36PM  
This is my favorite song, and I agree with the other person who replied, but this is how I think it relates to me. Ever since I was a young kid, I was expected to be good, and do great in everything. I was captain of the cheerleading squad, I went to nationals at an acting tournament, and I even won in a beauty pageant. On top of it all I am expected to get perfect grades. No matter how hard I try at everything, it's never enough. There's never a point when someone says,"good job - you can take a break". No - I have to be perfect. Well I'm sorry - I can't be perfect. An that's how I feel this song when this song plays.

witfull_sparrow March 31st, 2006 10:03PM  
This song allmost makes me cry because I can't stand the music video. I don't mean that its bad, or anything...but it makes me so emotional. I am a child in a mix of 5 and I turned out so much diffrent then the others. They are all in college and when they were high school they made great grades, did all the extra-cir and everything. I on the other hand have not and it makes me so different in their eys(my parents). In all this is a great song and it makes a wonderfull piece of music. I wish that I could get away and still be different.
Chris.

anonymous October 12th, 2006 09:46AM  
My sister was pushed over the edge trying to be perfect for our father. As a result she's spent several years in a psych unit, trying to become 'normal' again. He abused my mother all their married life, and broke my trust to all men forever. I think of this song as mostly my sisters, because it fits her perfectly. She loved him so much and tried so hard but she can't be perfect, no one can. I remember hiding her shoes and sitting outside her bedroom door all night so she wouldn't run away, I realize now that while I was doing that she was slicing her wrists and concocting plans for her suicide attempts. I hate those memories and I hate my father. So yeah, that's what the song means to me.

anonymous November 13th, 2006 07:07PM  
I feel this song says a lot more than just that their parents didn't like them. Their parents don't appreciate them for who they are, I think this song is mainly to his dad, because it says so right in the first line, "hey, dad, look at me, think back and talk to me." this is one of my fav. Songs because I can relate to it myself. Plus in the music vid. They show the band members in the rooms with the kids, and that one kid that writes, "i'm sorry I can't be perfect" on the wall behind his pictures. Those kids in the music vid. That yell at their parents, or that one girl who ran away. I can relate to that. And so can a lot of you out there. This is one of the best songs of simple plan, so many others can feel the same way about it too. Well, that's what I feel!

anonymous March 27th, 2007 06:17PM  
This is one of my favorite songs. I discovered my interpretation of it a couple of years ago when I was going through a rough time and it just happened to be playing. I had been a rough summer I had gotten myself into a lot of trouble. Before this I had always been the perfect kid who always got straight A's and did everything my parents wanted me to do. That summer I snapped and I was sitting in my basement after a huge fight with my mom about some of the crap I had been doing, when this song came on the radio. After an hour long fight about how I was living up to my potential, it was really good to hear a song that was basically telling me it's fien to not be perfect you can't always do everything right. The even deeper message that helped me through this time was that I felt like the song was addressing my shortcomings and saying you only have to do what you want to do, and I've lived up to those words ever since.

cutlerwinsXLII July 24th, 2007 02:13PM  
The song is more about him not ever being good enough for his dad. It straight up says "hey dad look at me think back and talk to me did I grow up according to plan" its all about him not being good enough for his dad and not being the way his dad wanted him to be and the kinda lost relationship between them "nothing's gonna change the things that you said nothing's gonna make this right again please don't turn your back I can't believe its hard just to talk to you but you don't understand" probably sums up the whole song.

anonymous November 25th, 2007 09:25PM  
I think this song is for anyone who's had a hard relationship with their parents or a relative. I think it's saying that someone is trying their hardest for a person they love, but it's never any good. And they keep pushing and striving to be the best, and end up losing it all. It reminds me of a story I read once called The Scarlet Ibis, about a crippled boy whose brother pushes him to be normal, and he pushes so hard, the crippled boy dies at the end. I can relate to this because I've felt at times when someone expects me to be perfect and I feel like it's never going to be good enough for them.

anonymous January 6th, 2008 03:33AM  
I can relate to this song a lot. I am like the biggest nerd, I get good grades and I never get detentions or anything but my dad still thinks I'm this rebellious daughter but I haven't even done anything wrong.

anonymous February 11th, 2008 07:10PM  
I agree with the last person only in my case its my mom! I get great grades but if its anything worse than an 'A-' she says 'dear I know you can do better' psh she didn't take geometry in 8th grade and I don't think she was in a GT class either!! every time I do something... ANYTHING wrong she flips out!! it drives me insane! but this song helps me remember that I'm not the only one out here

pixiestixstoner May 18th, 2008 01:26PM  
I love this song! And I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Jeff actually wrote it. It's about his dad and how he died of cancer before the band really became famous and never had the chance to see them do well.

anonymous July 7th, 2008 02:04PM  
THIS SONG IS AMAZING! Simple Plan are awesome and can definitely come up with some great lyrics!! No one can say this song has no meaning to it!! Although this ain't my case I still find it amazing!!

anonymous September 26th, 2008 12:55PM  
This song is basically about never being good enough for your parents. I relate to this song a lot because I have and older sister and younger brother. My parents are always congratulating them if the get a B- in a class. I play on all the sports teams at my school and I think my dad came to 1 game in the past 2 years. I also get like a's on my report card most of the time. The lowest grade I have gotton in my whole life so far has been a B-. I think I've been told good job or that's awesome for my grades 5 times. (I am 14 and a freshmen in high school) In fact just the otheer night I got an A+ on my test and I told my dad and all he said was mhmm. Wait it gets even better. After I told him he says Hey Dalton (younger brother) who did you play with at school today. Dalton told my dad who he played with and dad said "that's awesome I am proud that you made a new friend" I can't remember the last timemy dad said he was proud of me. Anyways about the song. You know basically just saying that you try to make your parents proud of you and try to do what you want to do and it just doesn't work out. Your parents always ttell you to be yourself and then when you are they try to change you.

pennybee22 September 26th, 2008 10:29PM  
I think this song is absolutely amazing, mainly because it can be understood by any teenager in the world. We all have been through disappointing our parents, I know I have. They pay all this money for me to go to a fancy college prep school, and therefore I have all this pressure to get good grades. It's so hard to please them; this song really lets me understand that everyone goes through this. Everyone sees the disappointment in their parents eyes, or the tone in their voice when they talk to you. It's so hard to please them, and because that's what I've been trying to do my whole life, it lead to my eating disorder. So I thank simple plan.

anonymous October 11th, 2008 08:35PM  
This is one of my favorite songs, because to my dad no matter how hard I try I will never be good enough. I bought it for all of my life except this past year. I finally figured out that I will NEVER be good enough for him, so why should I try. And this year I have found myself, someone who tries hard but doesn't go too overboard. So for anyone who is reading this, you are good enough, don't belive them. They ain't worth SHIT!!

anonymous December 17th, 2008 12:51PM  
Let me just preface this interpretation by saying that none of us are perfect. Every single one of us has to battle our own demons every day in hopes that we will be given someone's approval as a reward.

That being said, this song has 3 basic parts:
Act I (Acceptance)
Act II (Denial)
Act III (Reiteration)

Act I really puts forth the mood for the song. I personally grew up with 2 (gay) dads, and I never felt good enough for either of them. They always wanted me to try things I was never comfortable doing. Some of them were borderline illegal. Every night I'd try to do a little more, but I never felt like I was pleasing them, even when I was the lucky pierre. Maybe God will understand.

Act II speaks REALLY strongly to me. It transcends all elements of traditional denial with underlining metaphors. When he says "Did you know that you used to be my hero?" I think he really means "Did you know that you used to be my hero, until you started sexually abusing me?" Also, when he says "I can't stand another fight" I know he really means "I can't stand when you bite my foreskin. That really hurt last time." To me this is the overall dramatic shift in tone in the song and sets up for a totally magical finale.

Act III is reiteration of all the elements presented earlier in the song, just repeated over and over....and over again.
"'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"

Truer words were never put forth so eloquently. I can't be perfect, either. None of us can be perfect until we accept that none of us are perfect.When God created us in his mold, he shaped our moral clay with some intentional imperfections, ergo leaving us to struggle our entire lives searching for an answer to our own existence. The truth? I don't think we can handle the truth. Salvation lay within, my friends.

anonymous March 31st, 2009 07:38PM  
So many people have answered this one VERY accurately, and my entry will make absolutely no difference, just that I can relate a bit to this song. Most people wouldn't even cast a compassionate glance in my direction for what I feel relates to this song for me. I'm expected to be "perfect", by my father. I'm so far from perfect it isn't funny, but my father seems bent on having a perfect child to make up for the teenagers he tried to raise before me.