"The Good Things" is a song by Colin Moulding. The band contributed it under the pseudonym "Terry & the Lovemen" to the 1995 XTC tribute album A Testimonial Dinner: The Songs of XTC.
The demo appeared in 1989 as a B-side to the "Mayor of Simpleton" CD and 12" singles.
Quotes[]
Andy: “Terry and the Lovemen . . . are a group of fellows from Wiltshire and one from Liverpool, who are besotted with XTC. They just seem to take the band's career as a template to live by, (sounds unhealthy to me!) You've got to admit they do a pretty good job on the ‘sounds-alike’ scale. Their singer does a passable Colin and even manages to sound not unlike Dave and Andy in other places (weird). With dedication to duty like this, how could David Yazbek have refused them a place on the album. I hear they took their name from an ad in Japan for our album Black Sea. [The Japanese] jumped the gun and advertised it under the name of one of our ‘in’ jokes at the time, which was calling the record Terry and the Lovemen.”
Lyrics[]
Album version[]
Though your heart desires the things that money can buy
Emptiness lies through the glass, I shield your eyes
There's nothing out there for you, my dear
There's nothing out there for you
Let me tell you about the good things
The good things
I know your head is full of big ideas
You ain't missing anything, have no fear
I have touched the grass so green on the other side
It will grieve you and deceive you with disguise
There's nothing out there for you, my dear
There's nothing out there for you
Let me tell you about the good things
The good things
I know your mind lies in a glossy magazine
I'll take a cloth and wipe away the sheen
Then what you see is what you'll see, believe me!
Remember all of those good things
You know you can't buy all those good things
Demo version[]
Though your heart desires the things that money can buy
Emptiness lies through the glass, I shield your eyes
There's nothing out there for you, my dear
There's nothing out there for you
Let me tell you about the good things
The good things
I know your head is full of big ideas
You ain't missing anything, have no fear
I have touched the grass so green on the other side
It will grieve you and deceive you with disguise
There's nothing out there for you, my dear
There's nothing out there for you
Let me tell you about the good things
The good things
I know you pine for things you see in magazines
That world brings heartache, now it's not real, believe me
Remember all of those good things
You know you can't buy all those good things