(total playing time 2:57)

Song Facts: This can be found on shock/denial/anger/acceptance.

MORE FAN REVIEWS

This one is to me is a gut response of someone to the pressures of a relationship.  Your partner is saying that you need to give them this, pay more attention to their needs, stop wearing that ugly green shirt (LOL), etc... And your response is a sarcastic one because you know that nothing is perfect.  I totally think that his sarcastic comment at the end "I wish I was perfect... FOR YOU!" is a sign that he's a bit frustrated.  The "turn up your radio, Love is king" chorus is definitely a bit of denial that things aren't perfect. 

To me this song correlates to people's doubt/denial in their "higher power".  When Rick says "Hail, Hail Mary full of grace You disappeared without a trace I needed your hand to lead me through this fire But you let it go, you let it go"  Often when people are down and out they seek out a "higher power" for guidance to help them during their tribulations.  Many times questions go unanswered therefore bringing about denial that a "higher power" exists. 

Another interesting choice of words Rick uses, is when he says "Love is King".   I have heard people use the phrase "Cash is King", which is interesting to me.  Or has society made us believe that money will bring about love and happiness with various social status'?

I can totally see that this is about a relationship.  I am sure there are people out there who feel no matter how hard they try they can never be perfect in the eyes of their partner.  This could cause pain and destruction of their relationship.  While writing this review, another relationship that this song could relate to would be the one between child and parent.   Often children want to be the perfect child in their parent's eyes but in reality, "there's no perfect anything".The "Perfect" song to start off this album, IMO.   Just that little tiny pick of the guitar strings, and the first word out of Rick's mouth ..."love" gives you no indication of how you'll be blown away by the intensity of the words, the music, the complete package.  Love is the perfect word to describe this song, this album.  I love it.

Almost out of the blocks Perfect was my favorite track on SDAA. It was the first song I heard (excluding of course the ones he had already played in concert) from the new CD and talk about a full body check of a song to get your attention. Now THERE was the Rick Springfield I was dreaming of one day hearing. Don't get me wrong. I love everything else he had done to that point. (well most of it;o) I just loved the new harder edged RS. Whoo Hooo!! My hard rock soul was overjoyed at what was pouring out of my speakers at me. I knew this song would be KILLER live and couldn't wait to hear it in concert for the first time. Much to my dismay this one was NOT one of the new tracks they picked to play live in the beginning of the tour. Ahhhhh!! Was totally pumped when it was added to the line up at quite a few shows this summer. 

On to the song. 
I just can't quite chalk this one up as any one specific SDAA category. There are elements of all four there at some point in this song for me. I guess the one dominant for me is Acceptance, though the chorus to me is definitely denial. A kind of sticking your head in the sand kind of vibe. In this case bury you head in the idea that love, without the work put into a relationship, is enough to overcome all. 

I think the statement of love being a drug is great. Something that makes you feel good and euphoric yet that feeling is temporary. It can also take you down and take you to the lowest points in your life. There are highs and lows to even the most "perfect" love. Another powerful statement is "There is no perfect anything." What I get out of this line is disillusionment. He tried to do whatever he could to be the person he thought he needed to be for this person, maybe losing himself along the way somehow. The execution in this case meaning the losing of one's true self.

The second verse to me is more hurt and anger. Though he used the religion thing in the wording, I don't take is as religious at all. To me it is saying when the going got tough and he needed her to stick with the relationship and to work on things together, she wasn't emotionally there with him to work on "fixing" whatever it was . He is left kind of holding the bag so to speak in the middle of all of it and he wonders how he will find his way out of the hurt to get to that place of peace again within the relationship. 

The very last verse is my favorite of the whole song. Musically I LOVE the way it starts out and just builds up to the "FOR YOU" burst at the end. I love the way that section of the song changes musically from the rest of the song, dropping down to an acoustic guitar over a funky drum loop, and then slams back into the chorus of the song. Basically to me that last verse is saying, He'll never give up on this person or this relationship. "I said my perfect love will never die." To me the line "We tear each other limb from limb" refers to the emotional hells people in relationships can put each other through. 
And in the end when all is said and done there is Acceptance. "There's only two choices, sink or swim." You give up or you fight to save what you have no matter what. I think he chooses to fight. 

I think this is a denial song in acceptance clothing. On the surface, he is saying that nothing is perfect, but does he believe it? Look at the last line of the quote "not really dealing with the realization too well". I think the chorus is full of denial - turn up your radio, forget that sting (get lost in the music and pretend there's no pain) and the last line before the final chorus is the kicker for me "I wish I was perfect for you". Uh, he just spent 3 minutes telling us there was no perfect anything, now he wishes he's perfect. Is he NOT paying attention.

Fan Reviews 

I really think this song can be applied to the relationship between the fans and Rick, wanting him to be perfect, thinking he's perfect, being disappointed when he's not, but I don't think that's the way this was written (although I think about that a lot when I hear the song now). 

This seems to have more of a romantic slant to it to me.  When I first heard the song, the verses and the chorus were just not gelling for me.  I couldn't figure out what one thing had to do with the other, it was almost like two songs combined into one.  After having listened to it more, it makes more sense to me now.  I still can't figure out if I think the last line is him still wanting to be perfect, or if he's being sarcastic.  He seems to have such a "pleaser" personality, I can totally see him still trying to be perfect, even though he knows it's something he can't achieve.

This is a nice, catchy song, I love the rhyme scheme within it, and this is a song that I like more and more every time I listen to it.  I'd say it's my second favorite on the cd.

This was my fav song when I first heard the CD and it still is up there.  I like the 'harder' sound and the lyrics are something I think everyone can relate to.  There is a lot of pressure on us regular folk to be perfect - find the perfect mate, have 2.5 kids (is the .5 a pet??) live the American Dream and yet the media is  filled with stories of imperfect people.   

To me this song is about relationships and how you try your best but it never seems to be good enough. 

This song kind of ties in with the line 
Look at something long enough you'll find that the splinters and the cracks begin to show (The White Room)

I love hearing this song live and I still think he needs to include a finger point during 'I wish I was perfect for YOU'

Perfect.  I love this song.  Love it.  Although that was not always the case.  When I first heard SDAA I made some notes about how I felt about the songs and my initial reactions to them.  My comment on this one was (now remember...I was still in that "Karma" state of mind,  despite Rick's repeated warnings, that frightened me, "the new CD is going to be "angry and hard!")  "Someone please pass me the Excedrin....my head is throbbing".  Now.....I just crank up the volume a bit more when I hear those first few notes :)

I love the lyrics, my favorite line being, "we tear each other limb from limb in the name of God in the name of love".  It is just so visual, Rick telling another story that is so vivid you can see it clearly.  I also love the way his voice sounds on, "there is no perfect anything".  I REALLY like the helicopter drums during the last stanza.  That part just kind of hit me when I first heard it, despite the need for medication I was feeling, I really loved it and listened to that part over and over.  I remember when I first heard the song Karma and the stanza "Every single thing I say"...just hit me that way too.  I remember saying out loud to no one "Dang...he is so good"!  I saw this performed live just recently at the North Bend, Oregon concert and I have to say....it is my new favorite live song!

I absolutely LOVE the way the song starts out.  The music at the beginning is so aggressive.  I've found it to be a great song to crank up when driving, though it tends to make me drive faster.  ;o)

"I forget that sometimes love's a parasite" - I like that analogy - some little bug that is itchy and annoying under your skin.  I know that's how I feel about relationships sometimes too!

My favorite lines in the song are:

There are only two choices, sink or swim

I wish I was perfect FOR YOU!

"Perfect Sin" -I woke up during the middle of the night thinking about this phrase! I suppose he means since "sin is sin", I mean there is no perfect or "not" perfect sin---it is just sin---period.  Just another way of him saying "there is no perfect anything"?

Another great relationship song. Anyone who has been married for as long as Rick KNOWS that nothing is ever perfect......not your spouse, not your life, not the world.  As much as we may try, something always goes wrong.  But we deal with it. We "turn up the radio" and just try to forget reality for a while, or at least relieve the "sting" a bit.  I love Rick's little intentional "faux pas" ... AXE-cution, instead of execution.  "Axe", of course not only being a weapon, but slang for guitar. The second verse seems to be a reminder of just how imperfect love can be.  But in the end, it's all we need. More religious imagery stresses confusion and longing for perfection.  The final verse is my favorite:

Hey, Hey, My, My
Said my perfect love will never die
Perfect love, perfect sin
There is no perfect anything
We tear each other limb from limb
In the name of God, in the name of love
There's only two choices, sink or swim
I wish I was perfect FOR YOU

This really sums up the sentiment of the whole song to me.  There really are only two choices, sink or swim...not only in relationships, but in every aspect of life.  I just love his philosophy. Even though he knows it's impossible be keeps trying to be "Perfect".  He may just have succeeded in producing the "perfect" album... .*ooops, I mean CD*.....s/d/a/a.

I'm not sure if Rick is talking about himself on this one, or someone else...my thoughts keep going back to him and the time he was in Vegas.   He was changing his looks a bit (waxing that chest, working out...etc) "Perfect body, perfect skin"  but maybe feeling that when it was all said and done, "it was not enough".  I don't know for sure, but I thought he was really happy doing EFX...I mean he extended his contract and everything...and then s/d/a/a comes out.  He's doing interviews saying that he went through a really rough year, yadda yadda --and I'm like, "What??"   I guess that explains the line, "Welcome to my axe-cution, in the name of love"  Was he being miserable again so he could write music?  He always says he can't write when he's happy, and that music was his first love.

 The chorus on this song reminds me a lot of kids today and how they don't really listen to the words in the music anymore, they just care if it sounds good.  If you turn it up loud enough you can also block out what's going on around you, then "everything will be beautiful".  The beat in this song makes it a perfect one to crank, I love screaming the words while I'm driving. 

My favorite part of this song is the line where the music stops on the "FOR YOU".  When Rick is doing this one live, he sometimes sounds breathless... and to me that's just more thing he does that makes my heart skip a beat.  It does provide an emphasis on how important that part is, as the music stops for a minute and you're totally focused on what the true meaning of the song might be.  But is it "you" as in one specific person, or "you"  in a collective term of fans, or critics, or whomever?  I guess only Rick knows.