According to a 2010 blog post on johnnolanmusic-blog.tumblr.com, It’s for the Best is about John Nolan’s confusion, anger and frustration towards his “Born Again” Christian upbringing–and subsequent rejection of that upbringing.
The instrumental includes a reversed loop of the piano intro from Exis...
[Verse 1: John Nolan]
And it takes more time than I've ever had
Drains the life from me
Makes me want to forget
As young as I was, I felt older back then
More disciplined, stronger and certain
[Chorus: John Nolan & Nate Ruess]
But I was scared to death of eternity
I was saved by grace
But destroyed by naivety
And I lied to myself
And said it was for the best
[Verse 2: John Nolan]
So now faith is replaced with a logic so cold
I've disregarded what I was
Now that I'm older
And I know much more than I did back then
But the more I learn
The more I can't understand
[Chorus: John Nolan & Nate Ruess]
And I've become content with this life that I lead
Where I drink too much and don't believe in much of anything
And I lied to myself
And said "it's for the best."
[Outro: Nate Ruess]
We're moving forward, but holding ourselves back
And we're waiting on something that will never come
It’s For the Best was written by Straylight Run.
It’s For the Best was produced by Michael Birnbaum & Chris Bittner.
Straylight Run released It’s For the Best on Tue Oct 12 2004.