Happy Lyrics (intro)

[katefans@chinet.chi.il.us (Chris Williams)]

This is a re-edited repost
--------------------------

Vickie here.

Re: Happy Lyrics

First, a message to Neil Calton...please don't delete Happy's
lyrics for the printouts you send to Peter & Krys at Homeground.
They (Hi!) have Happy's first four albums and I'm sure they would 
enjoy having the lyrics too. THANKS!

I think everyone, even those who haven't heard the songs (yet!), will
enjoy reading Happy's lyrics. Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway),
everyone should either print them out or put them in an easily found
file. Even if you're not interested in Happy now, that might very well
change at some point in the future. I hope they'll go in the archives.
I tried to give (in print) each song a different "look" because, though
it might be distracting or annoying to some, it might help others who
are just starting to separate and distinguish the 53 songs.

Of course, lyrics cannot in any way give you a sense of how extraordinary
and original the music is. Or how beautiful and expressive Happy's voice
is. The slight Celtic lilts, the textured emotion, crystal clear clarity,
the honesty and vulnerability and strength and awesomness of it. Sometimes,
I rewind over and over again just to marvel at how she sings lines like
"Ever see the wings of a dragonfly? Paper-thin and cellophane
And quickly broken like the will to live for a mind in pain" or "Get your
head out of the cotton clouds, put your precious feet on the floor" or
"Go away way very far away, take your leave" (in that same song, "If So",
I get goosebumps and teary the way she sings "Never grieve the loss")
or "Farewell thou lob of spirits, I'll be gone" or "And they're telling me
'You should find out what is wrong'  I think I'm alright, I'm still putting
up a fight. But I keep on losing, soon I'll be dying of fright" or
"Despite the bad ways of the girl with the purest of hearts" or any number
of others. 

Could anybody imagine that a line like "I'll speak to you, but my flesh will
burn" could sound so achingly beautiful? No, unless you've heard Happy.

----

Big, large, very huge amounts of !!THANKS!! to Jeffrey for taking on
the enormous task of sitting down and transcribing each song on the
first three albums. I'd never even tried to attempt it, even though
I truly love lyric sheets. Seeing lyrics in front of you brings the
meanings of songs closer to home. Jeff accurately caught lines that
I'd puzzled over and given up on over two years ago! I'm in awe at his
accomplishment. Happy was amazed and quite pleased too. She said that
she was re-listening to "Ally Ally Oxenfree" and SHE couldn't even
understand the lyrics. It had been so long since she'd heard the song
that she'd forgotten what she wrote. Yet Jeff got nearly ALL the words
right! Wow! She wrote "I'm amazed you got any of these lyrics! Good job!!"
 
There were lines that had him shaking his head though.
Michael helped clear a few of those up and I went through and put in
my own corrections and comments, then mailed them off to Happy.

She sent them back with lots of corrections in red pen and in purple
ink she wrote little comments about some songs. I'll share some of those
with you in a bit.
Before I got the lyrics back from her, Happy told me over the phone 
answers to some of the most vexing lyrics.
For example, parts of the song "For We Believe" were particularly
difficult because the high and low voices are singing different
lines but they're intertwined so without knowing the exact lyrics it's
impossible to understand what's going on.

This is an example of what was sent Happy to correct:

For We Believe  (high voice)  ((high & low voices together))
 [Vickie's interpratation-sounds like...]  

What are these things 
[What (I) ees (are) these thing (we) ((words alway))]
Why is this love ...  
[What (I) ees (ah) this love (we) ((words alway))]

Where is this hole coming from?
Where is this hole coming from?

HUH???  HELP!!!

This is the corrected version of that line:

For We Believe

    (Why)  (are)    (we)      ((worlds away?))
What     is     this    thing?
    (Why)  (are)    (we)      ((worlds away?))
What     is     this    love?

Where is this hope coming from?
Where is this hope coming from?

....Thanks to Happy for clearing THAT one up! Whew! Of course, now that
I know what she's singing it sounds perfectly clear to me! 

----

"Oh The Drears"-the word came from a schoolchum of Happy's, who was
always moaning about having the drears. The word stuck in Happy's mind.
In the beginning of the song (that *wonderful* beginning) the sound you
can't quite make out is the sound of Happy calling out to her engineer.
Listen on headphones to catch it during the echoes.
  
----

I asked Happy about "Rainkeeper" and said it was a puzzle to me.
She's no help at all, saying "It's a puzzle to me too" :-)
The lyrics are sort of "Mother Stands For Comfort"-ish.

----

The song "He's Alive" is about "Alice" the He-monster. It's based
on a painting Happy did when she was 14 or 15 years old. I haven't 
yet heard the entire story. Can't wait for that one! I always liked
the song but thought of it mainly as the song separating two of my
favorites (Given In and Possessed) so was always kind of impatient
with it. Believe me, now that I know the lyrics and the "Alice arise"
part is clear, I'm listening to it with a new mindset!

----

The "Mikey" in the song "The Revelation" is a fellow Happy used to
know who was disgustingly optimistic. Disgustingly because Happy was
at that time one of the most pessimistic people on earth. The song is
not really "about" him, but sort of "to" him. Telling him, in a way,
that there is no hope, there is no love etc. Kind of like "See reality 
willya?" Those who have yet to get _Warpaint_ should know that Happy
doesn't have that kind of attitude anymore. She can still remember and
see currently the very dark side of life, but knows (and writes about)
the light and goodness of life. _Warpaint_ is her most optimistic album,
even though there are major streaks of darkness in there too.

----

In "Moonbeam Friends" I thought the line was "my oxy and my troll"
and I asked her what an oxy was, thinking it was some mythical creature.
As Michael stated, the line is actually "my oxy and nitro" but she now
much prefers Michael's line "my oxy and my toe" and maybe it will end
up on a tape somewhere, sometime, just for fun!
This song is sung from a child's point of view, about comforting, yet
somewhat sinister, "imaginary" friends.

----

All of us had come up with some very inventive words that were as wrong
as could possibly be. I think Happy had a grand time with it all. In the
song "Number One" none of us could get this one phrase. Michael came up
with "...and the clays maray" (that's what it sounded like to me too!)
and Happy wrote on the printout "What the hell is a clays maray?"
Well, Happy, gee...we were wondering ourselves. The line is actually
"(The ways away)... from the craze we're in." I knew that...yeah...

Another good one was in the song "The First To Cry", which none of us
could understand. Michael wrote "untanglase or in tan raise" and Happy
drew a little arrow to it and wrote "What the hell is he smoking?"
Well, of course, the line is "mine are timeless" and it sounds perfectly
clear to me now.

Since I've had the tapes for nearly three years and phonetic phrases
stick in the brain, I'll probably catch myself singing "...and the 
clays maray" or "a million to one" often, before realizing it.
Happy & I were talking about that. I was telling her about having the
pre-release cassette of TSW and listening to it countless times before
actually getting the real lyrics from IED. A line in "Rocket's Tail" 
sounded like "I put on my traveling suit" and it was logical, so I sang
it that way to myself. Getting the lyrics and finding out the line was
"I put on my cloudiest suit" was actually a disappointment and I've 
continued to sing it my way. Happy said "wait a minute, you mean she's NOT
singing 'traveling suit'?" She had heard it that way too and had never
checked the lyric sheet to correct it. I'm glad I'm not the only one!

----

In "Noone Here" Jeff thought the line was "Well, I locked my own brain"
and Michael thought it was "Well, I longed a warm rain" and I just put
a ?. Happy said she thought we all knew what she was really singing but
just wouldn't let ourselves believe it.

 "Well, I want a warm brain" 

Meaning that the lonely character (Happy...it's autobiographical) in the 
song was desperate for intellectual companionship.
This song speaks directly to the soul of anyone who's seen a beautiful
sunrise or a glorious lightning storm while alone felt honered and awed
to be able to see it, but ached to share it with someone.

Happy's cat makes a special appearance, a kittycameo, in the song. A long
time ago I asked her about the kitty and she said it was a "secret" so
it seems there's a mystery there.

----

In "To The Funnyfarm" she really does sing "And when I go I'll bring
with me both of my bros" meaning her brothers. She said they were a
bit on the "strange" side too. I guess! Happy was telling me that she
had sent a CD of _Warpaint_ to one of her brothers weeks ago and had
not heard from him. Not a word. I was very indignant and said "I guess
he doesn't realize he's related to the Holy Ghost!" Amusing, but very
sad, in a way. Think of the support and help that Kate's brothers have
provided to her. What would she have done without them? Happy's had to
work without much of a family support system. I don't mean to slam
her brothers, because I don't know much about them, but from what I've
heard, they're not giving Happy the support she deserves.  

Anyway, this is a great song! This is one of the very first songs she
ever wrote.

----
The first line in "Possessed" is "Analyzed, crucified, caught on Satan's
wing. Angels of night, vultures in flight. I've a love for the fatal
things"

This song should have been used for that 20/20 "Exorcism" (snort-snort)

Ooooooooh! This is one of my all-time favorite songs. It's fast-paced and
causes my mind to warp a bit every time I hear it.

----

In "I Am A Legend" she's been to "Anglo-land" and beyond the castle walls.

Yeoooow!!! This song is a complete hoot! Who says Happy doesn't have a
sense of humor? This song is so funny, the way she sings it, and especially
the "La-De-Da's" at the end....! Very sly! Beyond that, it's not a "novelty" 
song. The music and voices and arrangements are totally brilliant! 
This is Chris' favorite Happy song.

Happy wrote about this song: "I wanted respect for my musical abilities,
but at the time, I was waitressing and bartending. The people there
couldn't have cared less that I was a songwriter. It's funny how much I
wanted them all to know how good _I_ thought I was"

----

"I'm Not Awake, I'm Not Asleep" - Happy writes "This song describes what
I felt and saw one night, while in a trance-like state"

----

Where Do I Go? - "I think I need people to know that when I use the
word "lord" I do not mean it in the religious sense. I'm not speaking 
to "The Lord" but more to myself. Blasphemous to some, I'm sure"

Not to me. I can't imagine another word that would fit better.
That song is excruciatingly, heart-wrenchingly honest and powerful. 

----

I had asked Happy what nightmare inspired "Beat It Out" and she wrote
"Just me, being weird. I think I was testing out my low register. I
wasn't in the habit of using it that much at that time" 

----

Steve VanDevender writes:

> I swear Happy sings "I'm not a peapod, but someday I will pass on
> through" in "The Wretches Gone Awry".

Steve, I would have disagreed strongly. I was convinced the line was 
"... _*Under*_ the peapod, but someday we will pass on through"  :-)
The line is actually "I'll never be part, but someday I will pass on 
through".

> For those of you willing to buy Happy Rhodes's music based on
> just our recommendations, the best way I can describe it is that
> it's very simple, light-sounding music on the first listen, but
> the lyrics are complex and often dark.  Vickie's example quote
> from "To the FunnyFarm": "And when I go I'll be efficient at
> making ashtrays" not only looks rather chilling in print, but the
> delivery is subtly amazing.  "The First To Cry" is another song
> that sounds like some sort of romantic tearjerker if you don't
> pay attention, but which seems to be a song about suicide to me.

Yes, that's right. Happy's main euphemisms for suicide are the
words "oblige" and "comply" and both are used in "The First To Cry"
as in "I haven't the courage to oblige" and "If I choose to comply,
not one would wonder why would I". It's a heart-wrenchingly sad song
about the struggle within (and wondering if anyone would care) and
to me it's a sister song to "I Have A Heart" on _Rearmament_.

One of my listeners in Kansas City, a very, very nice and gentle man
named John Hasseltine, was a Kate, Jane and Happy fan. He committed
suicide because his girlfriend left him. I played this song in his honor.

----

I had told Happy that many of her songs make me cry or want to cry and
she wrote a very poignant thing about the song "Let me Know, Love":
"This is one of the only songs that makes *me* cry when I hear it.
It was and is the truest expression of what I was feeling. I finally
realized that in order to have peace and love, I'd have to give up my
habit of self-loathing. I started fighting back at this point"



Vickie (one of Vickie'n'Chris)

"I've confided in you, my friend. Now we have something to do"
                                                    Happy Rhodes


Chris here,
     I'm posting the above for Vickie. We will post the lyrics in little
bits, seeing if the first ones appear.