“There’s a need to keep writing even after you finish a record,” says Jenny about the downtime that followed the occasionally tumultuous recording of More Adventurous, “but it’s taken me some years to feel confident writing alone. Now I realize the privacy behooves my songwriting. I was more relaxed and worked on these songs at my leisure.” Still, even with a bevy of “private” songs cluttering up the corners of her brain (“they were slightly more sedate, more word-focused”), Jenny had no plans to release or even record the lot of them. It took a Bright Eye-d friend to convince her otherwise. “I didn’t even consider making a solo record until Conor [Oberst] asked me a couple of years ago,” she laughs. “He said he was starting a label, Team Love, and he’d love for me to make a record for it.”
In keeping with the loose origins of the project, recording was also a catch-as-catch-can affair, done in between press and performance obligations for Rilo Kiley. After laying down a number of songs with old friend and co-conspirator Mike Mogis in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, Jenny flew herself to Portland to work with M.Ward, a collaboration that bore instant fruit. “When I flew to Portland all I had of “Happy” was a verse,” she explains. “As soon as I got there Matt came over to my hotel room and I played it for him and it just sort of happened – the chorus just came out. The whole process was quick and casual.”
Modeled after the great “white soul” classics of the past – particularly Laura Nyro and Labelle’s seminal Gonna Take a Miracle – Rabbit Fur Coat finds Jenny reaching out to her farflung assortment of wildly talented friends (including co-producer M.Ward, Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, Maroon 5’s James Valentine and Mickey Madden, and label boss Oberst) while simultaneously coming into her own as an individual performer and storyteller. “That album was always in the back of my mind: if I could just make something that captured the feeling of that record.” Enter the Watson Twins, a set of Kentucky-born sisters with an other-wordly gift to harmonize. “I met the girls through Blake in L.A.,” she explains. “I’m just so impressed with their instincts as singers and their relationship to my songs. They were very serious about them.”
On the galloping “Big Guns” and the smoldering “Rise Up With Fists!” the Watson Twins tease out the soulful corners of Jenny’s confessional narratives, steering strong story/songs about religion, forgiveness, and the nature of art into the weedy and dense grounds of a gothic, southern estate. Indeed, this atmosphere of dixie-fried mystery pervades the disc, heightening and haunting Jenny’s nuanced compositions.
Happy
Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'd rather be free
I'm as sure as the moon rolls around the sea
But I like watching you undress
And I think we're at our best
By the flicker by the light of the t.v. set
Can't remember why I still do
But I'm a sure as the moon rolls around you
That I could be happy
Happy
Oh so happy
Happy
Oh so happy so happy
They warn you about killers and thieves and knives
I worry about cancer and living right
But my momma never warned me about my own destructive appetite
Or the pitfalls of control
How it locks you in your grave
Looking for someone to be saved under my restraint
So I could be happy
Happy
Oh so happy
Happy
So happy
Happy
So happy so happy
I'm as sure
As the moon
Rolls around
The song "Happy" by Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins begins with the statement that the singer would rather be lonely and free. However, the song then delves into the messy and complicated nature of relationships. The singer admits to being attracted to their partner and enjoying watching them undress, but also admits to not being able to remember why they hate each other. Despite this ambiguity, the singer is sure that they could be happy with this person.
Later in the song, the singer expresses concern about their own destructive tendencies and the dangers of control. They acknowledge that their need for control is causing them to miss out on a potential happy relationship. Ultimately, the song captures the push and pull of relationships – the desire for freedom and control, the attraction and repulsion towards another person – and the difficulty of finding true happiness.
Overall, "Happy" is a complex exploration of relationships and the human condition. It touches on themes of desire, control, and destructive tendencies, while also expressing a longing for happiness and connection.
Line by Line Meaning
I'd rather be lonely
I prefer solitude over the confinement of a relationship
I'd rather be free
I value personal freedom over the limitations of being with someone
I'm as sure as the moon rolls around the sea
I am completely positive of my preference
But I like watching you undress
However, I enjoy the intimacy and vulnerability of watching you undress
And I think we're at our best
I believe that we have the strongest connection during the moments we share together
By the flicker by the light of the t.v. set
This includes the simple yet intimate moments of being together in silence, such as watching T.V.
'Cause I can't remember why I hated you
I can't recall why I held resentment towards you
Can't remember why I still do
I don't know why I am still holding onto those negative feelings
But I'm a sure as the moon rolls around you
Despite the confusion, I am certain of my attraction towards you
That I could be happy Happy Oh so happy Happy Oh so happy so happy
I believe that being with you could bring me happiness
They warn you about killers and thieves and knives
People are warned about the obvious dangers in life, such as murderers and robbers
I worry about cancer and living right
I am concerned about the silent and more subtle threats in life, such as cancer and living a moral life
But my momma never warned me about my own destructive appetite
However, my mother never warned me about my own inclination towards self-destructive behavior
Or the pitfalls of control
Nor did she warn me about the dangers of wanting too much control in my life
How it locks you in your grave Looking for someone to be saved under my restraint
This behavior can be suffocating and isolate me from others who might want to help me
So I could be happy Happy Oh so happy Happy So happy Happy So happy so happy
Yet, I believe that if I could overcome these tendencies, I could find happiness, just like I believe that being with you could make me happy
I'm as sure As the moon Rolls around
Despite the doubts and complexities in life, I am as certain of my feelings as the moon's rotation
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Jenny Lewis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind