Venable performed in numerous theatrical and musical productions as a youth with the San Francisco-based Young People's Teen Musical Theater Company. She was also in the cast of the Lewis Carroll-themed musicals "Right Mind" and "Right Mind is Nowhere" directed by George Coates.
Her original one-act play "Annie Beckstead Does Her Homework" won at the Rocky Mountain Student Theater Project in Telluride, CO. She attended Bennington College as a Dramatic Writing and then a Music major before deciding to pursue music as a career.
In 2004 Venable moved to Brooklyn where she continues to compose and perform with longtime-collaborators Todd Sickafoose and Alan Lin. Her songs are noteworthy for their striking melodies and complex subject matter, and she invites comparison with musicians Elliott Smith and Mazzy Star.
Her albums include You Talking to Me? (1996), No Curses Here (1998), Down Easy (2000), Boots (2002), The World Is Bound by Secret Knots (2003), and The Summer Storm Journals (2007).
Noe is rumoured to have a second new album in the works, "a concept album-rock-opera-story thing" (the first being the recently released SSJ, a collection of songs), as stated on one of her rant room entries on her website.
Happiness
Noe Venable Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It has not consented to run since 1970
Brothers bent on the destruction of innocent t-birds
Crowbarred everything but the
Radio, windshield, driver's side mirror
Love is alone with the radio on
And love is a newly blind
Fumbling fumbling
Happiness
Lobsters nesting in a dead man
Waiting at the bottom of the lonely ocean
Neighbors swimming in their fishbowls
Television blue glow if you go I won't know anyone
Taking a bath in the deadly sunshine
Time is a car with the radio on and
Time is a broken boat
Ruddering ruddering
Tell me what to do with all this
Happiness
Busted and broken didn't get very far
Busted and broken sittin right where you are
[let it last another summer]
But I'm a feather flying, I'm a leaf on the wind
There's no school like driving with the wind on your skin
[let it last another summer]
Love is a newly blind
Time is a broken boat
Taking a bath in the deadly sunshine
Time is a car with the radio on
And time is a broken boat
Ruddering ruddering
Tell me what to do with all this
Happiness
The song "Happiness" by Noe Venable is a reflection on the complexities of life and the uncertain nature of happiness. The opening lines describe a moment shared by two brothers sitting in a T-bird that hasn't run since 1970. The brothers' desire to destroy the car is expressed through their use of crowbars on every part of it except for the radio, windshield, and driver's side mirror. The song then shifts to a consideration of love, which is described as being alone with the radio on and newly blind, fumbling and unsure what to do with all the happiness that may come with it.
The lyrics then take a turn towards darker imagery, as the idea of lobsters "nesting" in the corpse of a dead man waiting in the ocean's depths is juxtaposed with the neighbors swimming in their "fishbowls," isolated by their televisions. The image of taking a bath in the "deadly sunshine" further reinforces the sense of unease and fragility. The chorus repeats the same lines about time being a broken boat, and includes the phrase "ruddering, ruddering," which suggests a struggle to steer through the rough waters of life. The final lines of the song seem to offer a glimmer of hope, as Venable sings about floating like a feather or a leaf and enjoying the freedom of driving with the wind on your skin, but the refrain of "tell me what to do with all this happiness" undercuts any sense of resolution.
Overall, the song conveys a sense of uncertainty and anxiety towards the future, and the difficulty of enjoying happiness without it being tempered by the awareness of its fleeting nature.
Line by Line Meaning
We were sitting in a t-bird
We were in a vintage car.
It has not consented to run since 1970
The car hasn't been operational since the 70s.
Brothers bent on the destruction of innocent t-birds
Those people wanted to ruin other cars.
Crowbarred everything but the Radio, windshield, driver's side mirror
They damaged everything, except for the car's essentials.
Love is alone with the radio on
Being in love is sharing moments with the background music playing.
And love is a newly blind Fumbling fumbling
Love is confusing sometimes.
Tell me what to do with all this Happiness
I am happy, but it's overwhelming - I need guidance.
Lobsters nesting in a dead man
A scenario where we see nature taking over.
Waiting at the bottom of the lonely ocean
Lost and forgotten objects that are now at the bottom of the ocean.
Neighbors swimming in their fishbowls
People seem content in their lifestyles while being oblivious to others surroundings.
Television blue glow if you go I won't know anyone
Watching TV, you won't have a chance to meet people.
Taking a bath in the deadly sunshine
We tend to indulge in activities that can be hazardous.
Time is a car with the radio on and Time is a broken boat
Time passes regardless of whether we like it or not. It can be good or bad.
Ruddering ruddering
Trying to keep things under control.
Busted and broken didn't get very far
When things break down, we tend to halt progress.
Busted and broken sittin right where you are
Both literally and figuratively, broken-down things bring us to a standstill.
But I'm a feather flying, I'm a leaf on the wind
I feel light and easy-going, like a leaf in the wind.
There's no school like driving with the wind on your skin
Nothing beats the sensation of driving with the windows down.
Tell me what to do with all this Happiness
I am happy, but it's overwhelming - I need guidance.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind