PLAYKNOW´s “Is It So Hard To Be Good” is a question aimed at a world that rewards louder voices while overlooking the people who keep things together. The lyric moves from “saviors” who promise everything and take money to the people whose work rarely receives attention: hands that build, fix, care, raise children, and tend to the old. Against the spectacle of ratings and promises, the song keeps asking for something smaller and harder to measure—questioning the invisible pressures and silent harms of modern life explored in Jordan Sommerlad: Chemicals.
The repeated question becomes more pointed as the song replaces kings and queens with “someone who sees us.” A gentle word can carry more strength than a display of power, while the leader who remains when the cameras leave earns trust through presence rather than performance. The shift from “speak for more than yourself” to “care for more than yourself” gives the refrain its clearest change, moving the demand away from representation and toward consideration—a longing for empathy over political posturing shared by The Wheel Workers: One More Thing To Say. Kim Rysstad’s voice, warmth and emotional, carries a lyric that keeps returning to the same unresolved question. “We’re still hoping” is where PLAYKNOW leaves it, not as an answer but as a condition that remains.
For those who might not know you yet, how would you introduce yourself?
I’m a songwriter from Hamar, Norway, and the person behind PLAYKNOW and JustPlayAround®.
Music has been part of my life for a long time. I started in a wind band, then played in cover band, big band, country and blues-rock band and a party band, mainly on trombone and/or keyboards. Never as a professional musician though.
Composing started early, but for many years it was something I did on and off and mostly kept to myself. Writing lyrics came later, almost by accident but that’s a story for another time.
If you had to bottle up your sound into just three words, which ones would you choose?
Melodic. Groovy. Thoughtful.
Which artists or moments have left the biggest mark on your music?
There are so many. The Beatles, T. Rex, Santana, Pink Floyd, Earth, Wind & Fire, ELO, a-ha, Tower of Power, Jan Garbarek, Stevie Wonder and Edvard Grieg are all part of the picture.
I can be inspired by almost any genre if the song connects with the mood I’m in, or simply pulls me in.
When you hit play on your songs, what kind of feeling takes over?
A humble hope that there’s an immediate feeling first; melody, groove and atmosphere.
Then, hopefully there’s something underneath that makes you want to listen again, or leaves you thinking about the song after it ends.
If you could team up with anyone in the world, who would be that dream collaborator?
If there were no limits of time, Quincy Jones, George Michael and Edvard Grieg would be dream collaborators.
Among artists working today, Paul McCartney, Røyksopp, Stevie Wonder and Ed Sheeran would be high on the list.
What are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future?
The next PLAYKNOW single is “Hold On To Now,” featuring an accomplished female artist, we’re keeping her name under wraps for now. We currently have five new songs in the pipeline, with two already in the final stages in the studio. We’re working on the release plans for 2027 now.
The longer-term idea is simple, keep building PLAYKNOW song by song, and when we reach song number nine – ten, bring it all together as an album.
Can you walk us through the story or emotion behind “Is It So Hard To Be Good”?
It started with frustration over how easily power, ego and self-interest seem to take over — in politics, organisations and everyday life.
I kept coming back to one thought: why is it so hard to serve people instead of expecting people to serve those in power?
That eventually became the question. Is it so hard to be good?
Not about being perfect. More about how we treat people, especially when we’re given power or responsibility. I didn’t want to point fingers or give people the answer. The question is meant to stay open.
Musically, I wanted the song to have melody, groove, and warmth, while leaving room for the question underneath. If the question still stays with you after the song ends, that’s enough for me.
