"Good Days" is the twenty-second track and lead single from SZA's sophomore album SOS. It was released on December 25, 2020, through Top Dawg and RCA. The song was written and produced by SZA, Jacob Collier, Carlos Muñoz, Carter Lang, and Christopher Ruelas and mixed by Shawn Everett. The song also provides vocals from Jacob Collier.
Upon release, the song became popular on streaming platforms and became SZA's first solo top-10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
Background and release[]
SZA first teased the song on July 15, 2020, via her Instagram stories. "Good Days" was originally featured at the tail end of the music video for "Hit Different", released in September 2020, leading to speculation among listeners that it would serve as a B-side to that single. On October 21, 2020, SZA explained that the song was "in clearance" for release. A week before release, she confirmed the track to come out before 2021. The song was eventually released as a surprise drop on Christmas Day 2020. Upon release, the singer revealed that she started writing the song during a session on Carter Lang's birthday and "finished it randomly recently".
Composition[]
Dubbed a "nostalgic track", "Good Days" sees SZA singing about "former love, soul searching, and rejoicing carefreely" over "guitar-tinged riff plays", while she makes use of her "dreamy vocals". Compared to its predecessor, the song "manages to hit much more of a melodic, narrative-driven tone that puts it more in line with her CTRL output".
Chart performance[]
In the United States, "Good Days" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 38 as the week's highest debut. The song rose to number 23 the following week. The song later reached a new peak at number 9 on the Hot 100, making it SZA's first top ten single as a solo artist, second top 10 as a lead artist following "All the Stars", and third in total including "What Lovers Do" with Maroon 5. The song also reached a peak of number three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number seven on the Global 200, her highest peak on either chart to date.
Music videos[]
Two music videos were released for "Good Days". Both videos were directed by SZA.
Official fan video[]
On January 13, 2021, SZA tweeted a request for fans to submit videos of their "happiest, saddest, [and] YOUR UGLIEST moments" to an email address, with a deadline of Saturday at midnight. The fan video was released on February 10, 2021, and featured a compilation of videos submitted by fans lip-syncing to the song as well as featuring the aforementioned moments intercut with behind-the-scenes footage of the official video.
Music video[]
On March 5, 2021, the official music video was released. The video takes place with SZA experiencing a mushroom-induced psychedelic experience. It features scenes of SZA dancing while buried waist up in an oversized Alice in Wonderland-inspired garden and pole-dancing in a library. Jacob Collier cameos in the video as the man within the green television. In a similar fashion to the video for "Hit Different", the video ends with a teaser of an upcoming song, known as "Shirt", which went viral on TikTok in 2020. The ending teaser features SZA pole-dancing at an empty gas station while bathed in pink lighting.
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1: SZA]
Good day in my mind, safe to take a step out
Get some air now, let yo 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
[Pre-Chorus: SZA]
I try to keep from losin' the rest of me
I worry that I wasted the best of me on you, babe
You don't care
Said, "Not tryna be a nuisance, this is urgent"
Tryna make sense of loose change
Got me a war in my mind
Gotta let go of weight, can't keep what's holdin' me
Choose to watch while the world break up in front of me
[Chorus: SZA & Jacob Collier]
All the while, I'll await my armored fate with a smile
Still wanna try, still believe in
Good days, good days, always
Always inside (Always in my mind, always in my mind, mind)
Good day living in my mind
[Verse 2: SZA & Jacob Collier]
Tell me I'm not my fears, my limitations
I disappear if you let me
Feelin' like, yeah (On your own)
Feelin' like Jericho
Feelin' like Job when he lost his shit
Gotta hold my own, my cross to bear alone, I
Ooh, played and dipped, way to kill the mood
Know you like that shit
Can't groove it, ba-baby
Heavy on my empty mind shit
[Pre-Chorus: SZA]
I gotta keep from losin' the rest of me (Rest of me)
Still worry that I wasted the best of me on you, babe
You don't care
Said, "Not tryna be a nuisance, this is urgent" (It's urgent)
Tryna make sense of loose change
Got me a war in my mind (My mind)
Gotta let go of weight, can't keep what's holdin' me
Choose to watch while the world break up in front of me
[Chorus: SZA & Jacob Collier]
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 on my mind, good days on my mind)
Sunny inside (Always in my mind, always in my mind, mind)
Good day living in my mind
[Verse 3: SZA]
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, it's in the present
(Na-na, na-na, na-na, na)
Half of us chasin' fountains of youth and it's in the present now
[Outro: Jacob Collier]
Always in my mind, always in my mind, mind
You've been making me feel like I'm
Always in my mind, always in my mind, mind