King Missile is a band that has been led in various incarnations by poet/si… Read Full Bio ↴King Missile is a band that has been led in various incarnations by poet/singer John S. Hall since 1986. Their work, in the group's current configuration, is a type of Performance Art Rock with John S. Hall's spoken word. In their first inception, as King Missile(Dog Fly Religion), the band's sound was a neo-pyschedelic blend of Dada influenced music and occasional spoken word as well as conventional singing. Their music became more accessible with the departure of Dogbowl and the notable addition of former Bongwater guitarist Dave Rick . The group is probably best known for the 1993 radio hit Detachable Penis. They'd achieved a cult following via college radio with their 1986 song "Jesus Was Way Cool". They were an anchor band for the legendary independent label Shimmy Disc. Now known as King Missile III (pronounced "the third"), the group released its ninth album, Royal Lunch, in 2004.

King Missile III 1998 - present

* John S. Hall - vocals: singing and spoken word
* Sasha Forte - bass, violin, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
* Bradford Reed - pencilina, drums, percussion, synthesizer, backing vocals

Happiness
King Missile Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

(spoken)
Welling up from within, clawing away, eating up the insides; happy heart, broken into bits, bleeding and happy; dissected happiness, wriggling in individual pieces on the floor, secreting happiness that attaches itself to whatever there is.

Parasitic happiness, sucking like a leech in the happy neck, sucking out happiness, sucking out happiness; ripped away from the neck, stepped on, stomped on, happiness oozing out like pus; yes, happy, happy, happy like a clam with its legs cut off, limping along the beach, opening and closing, clopping and clodding, oysterless, pearlless, peerless, puerile.

Empty happiness, echoing in the hollow happy halls, bouncing through the empty happy house; happiness all around: ankle-deep, knee-deep, neck-deep; drowning in the morass of heavy, happy sludge; happy quicksand, pulling in the happy corpses-to-be, bathing, cleansing, purifying, perfecting, self-actualizing, fully realizing; happiness lapped up and licked up like spilled milk spoiled.

Happiness that would kill its own mother for a quarter; soft, white, luminescent happiness, like a light bulb broken in the happy lamp: turn it on, turn it off, turn it on; happy dark, happy light, happy dark; darkness like a blanket, covering, smothering, comforting, enveloping happiness: snuggle up; keep cool and warm. Happy sleepiness, happy sleep, happy happy dreams.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to King Missile's song "Happiness" seem to portray a complex and multi-dimensional view of happiness. The singer begins by describing a feeling that is both joyous and painful, as though true happiness has been consumed and reduced to scattered, wriggling fragments. The idea of a parasitic happiness is introduced, with the image of a leech sucking the joy out of someone's neck, only to be ripped away and stomped on, leaving a trail of happiness oozing like pus. The language used is visceral and uncomfortable, suggesting that happiness is not as straightforward or desirable as it might initially seem.

As the lyrics continue, we see further examples of happiness taken to an extreme. It is depicted as shallow and empty, echoing through empty halls and houses. The singer wades through ankle-deep, knee-deep, and even neck-deep sludge, with the implication that this happiness is so heavy that it can drown and kill. Happiness is personified and anthropomorphized, as something that would kill its own mother for a quarter. Despite all of this, there is also a sense of contentedness and coziness that comes with happiness, as though it can be both soothing and suffocating.

Overall, the lyrics suggest that happiness is a complex and multifaceted emotion, and that it can be both desirable and dangerous. The visceral imagery used throughout suggests that happiness can be uncomfortable or even painful, and that there is a darker side to the emotions that we typically associate with joy and contentment.

Line by Line Meaning

Welling up from within, clawing away, eating up the insides; happy heart, broken into bits, bleeding and happy; dissected happiness, wriggling in individual pieces on the floor, secreting happiness that attaches itself to whatever there is.
The feeling of happiness becomes overwhelming, causing a sense of internal turmoil that leads to a broken, bleeding heart. The once-unified feeling of happiness is now fragmented and scattered, randomly attaching to anything in its path.

Parasitic happiness, sucking like a leech in the happy neck, sucking out happiness, sucking out happiness; ripped away from the neck, stepped on, stomped on, happiness oozing out like pus; yes, happy, happy, happy like a clam with its legs cut off, limping along the beach, opening and closing, clopping and clodding, oysterless, pearlless, peerless, puerile.
Happiness becomes like a parasite, feeding on the source until nothing is left. Once detached from its host, it is trampled upon and wasted. The joy experienced is emptier than a clam without its defining features, leaving one feeling purposeless and dull.

Empty happiness, echoing in the hollow happy halls, bouncing through the empty happy house; happiness all around: ankle-deep, knee-deep, neck-deep; drowning in the morass of heavy, happy sludge; happy quicksand, pulling in the happy corpses-to-be, bathing, cleansing, purifying, perfecting, self-actualizing, fully realizing; happiness lapped up and licked up like spilled milk spoiled.
Happiness feels empty and inauthentic, echoing throughout an empty space. It becomes overwhelming the deeper one wades into it, leading to a sense of drowning in the thick sludge of euphoria. While it may seem purifying and fulfilling, it becomes sickening and spoiled when taken in excess.

Happiness that would kill its own mother for a quarter; soft, white, luminescent happiness, like a light bulb broken in the happy lamp: turn it on, turn it off, turn it on; happy dark, happy light, happy dark; darkness like a blanket, covering, smothering, comforting, enveloping happiness: snuggle up; keep cool and warm. Happy sleepiness, happy sleep, happy happy dreams.
Happiness can become so intense and blinding that it can lead one to commit heinous acts. The happiness experienced is like a flickering light, alternating in brightness and darkness. The darkness becomes a comfort, like a warm blanket, that envelopes the feeling of happiness. Eventually, it leads to a contented state of sleep and ecstatic dreams.

Contributed by Makayla A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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