“Good Thang” is a ballad written by Steven Tyler with Diane Warren (IDWTMAT and Devil’s new Disguise) in 1991 as part of pre-production sessions to write new material for what would later become the Get a Grip album.
Everything seems to indicate that it was written during a solo session between Tyler and Warren (maybe also Perry), the same session where the demo of “Devil’s New Disguise” was further developed by the trio. Tyler and Perry recalled these sessions in a 2006 interview as spending some time in a beach house with Diane and a piano, and Tyler even mentions it in his 2010 book “Does the noise in my head bother you?”
The song was demoed by Diane Warren’s publishing company, Realsongs, using session musicians in every track with Tyler’s voice on top. This song might have been considered for Get a Grip but there is no evidence of it having been recorded by Aerosmith, however, the song was still registered:
PAu-1-556-922 (COHM)
US Copyright Office record of the song
Title: Good thang.
Claimant: Realsongs, & Swag Song, Inc.
Created: 1991
Registered: 27Sep91
Author on © Application: words & music: Diane Warren & Steven Tyler.
Special Codes: 3/M
The song sounds like a 1950’s mid-tempo rock n roll ballad with cheesy lyrics talking about taking care of the one you love. Drums and bass start the song as a soft intro and head straight on to the verses. The drum bit doesn’t help the verses and at times they feel odd. The rest of the instrumentation is very laid-back, just playing chords without any real arrangements. The chorus is the best part of the song by a far, catchy slow melody with 50’s style back vocals “uhhh’s and ahhh’s”. The bridge features some nice screaming from Tyler, but his voice sounds at the top of his range, struggling to hit some note (the key of the demo could have been adjusted to better fit Tyler’s range), and feature by a soft solo which does not sound like something Perry would do. The song ends with a repetition of the chorus and “bye bye’s” until fade out.
Rumour has it that a Realsong staff member befriended one of Warren’s super-fan which, after a few years of persuasion, agreed to share an mp3 of the demo, which eventually lead to the demo leaking amongst a few private collectors.
Good Thang
(Diane Warren, Steven Tyler)
Yeah, yeah…
You’re some kind of lucky, ohhh,
Blessed by the stars up above,
You should be happy,
Oh, but you feel like it just ain’t enough,
You got the good stuff, yeah,
It’s there right in front of your eyes,
So listen what I got to tell you,
Now you best take my advice,
Be good to your good thang,
Don’t make her cry,
Be good to your good thang,
And don’t let no tears fall from her eyes,
‘Coz if you’re bad to your good thing,
You’ll be sorry I tell you why,
Cause if you’re bad to your good thing,
Your good thing gonna tell you good-bye…
Good lovin’ and money,
Ohhh, it don’t grow on no trees,
And a taste of wild honey,
Ohhh, will knock you right to your knees,
But the one that you got now, yeah,
Is the best thing that you’ll ever find,
And finders keepers losers weepers boy,
Yeah, it happens that way every time,
Be good to your good thang,
And don’t make her cry,
Be good to your good thang,
And don’t let no tears fall from her eyes,
‘Coz if you’re bad to your good thing,
You’ll be sorry I tell you why,
Cause if your bad to good thang,
Your good thing gonna tell you bye-bye, bye-bye, sorry, bye-bye…
And you’ll ask yourself,
Why why did I,
Let love slip through my fingers
Why did I, I, I… yeah…
(solo)
So listen to what I gots to tell you,
Now you best take my advice,
Be good to your good thang,
And don’t make her cry, oh my,
Be good to your good good thang,
don’t let no tears fall from her eye,
‘Coz if you’re bad to your good thing,
Well, you’ll be sorry I tell you why…
Cause if your bad to good thang,
Your good thing gonna tell you bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye…
Bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye…
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