Racoon is a Dutch pop-rock band founded in 1997 in Goes, Zeeland. Bart van … Read Full Bio ↴Racoon is a Dutch pop-rock band founded in 1997 in Goes, Zeeland. Bart van der Weide (vocals) and Dennis Huige (guitar) were fed up with the sound of their hardcore rockband Vic'tem and decided to go acoustic. Their first writings resulted in a song called Rapid Eye Movement. For their first release, a demo called "It's an Ice Cream Day", Stefan de Kroon (bass) and Paul Bukkens (drums) completed the band's line-up.

The band made a breakthrough appearance at the 1999 Noorderslagfestival in Groningen, resulting in lots of record deal offers. Contracted by Sony's S.M.A.R.T. label, they released their first album Till Monkeys Fly in January 2000. Produced by Michael Schoots, former Urban Dance Squad drummer, the album hit the charts receiving nationwide airplay. Both the first single Feel Like Flying and the second one, Blue Days, became a 3FM megahit. Their festival appearances on Parkpop and Lowlands confirmed their image as a live-act.

Summer 2001 Here We Go, Stereo! was released as their second full-length record. Widely acclaimed, this record was their ticket to play at the Netherlands's largest festival: Pinkpop.

While working on their third album, Sony ended the record deal. With help from Dutch radio station 3FM and the producer of their first album, they signed a contract with PIAS, to release their 3rd album early 2005. The fresh and mature sound, combined with a more serious approach on songwriting got Another Day a slow start with Happy Family. The second single Love You More hits hard: they claimed 3rd spot on the Dutch Top 40; the album skyrocketed to 6th position in the Album Charts. A succesful club tour during autumn and winter 2005 resulted in the release of their first live DVD called Another Night. And the fans really found their true love back, voting Racoon to be Pinkpop's Gouden Tip ("Viewers Choice") for 2006, claiming a spot on the mainstage.

After this clubtour they decided to fulfill a long-lasting dream for the bands vocalist (Bart van der Weide) and went on a theatertour all across Holland, with the adition of a keyboardplayer (Manu van Os) and a re-write of most of the songs to slim them down a bit. They blew away most fans with the awsome sounding back to basics tour filled with emotions and a new track called Close Your Eyes.

After the theatertour Manu went on to join Di-rect for their theatertour. Currently the band is recording a new album

Members
- Bart van der Weide (vocals)
- Dennis Huige (guitar)
- Stefan de Kroon (bass)
- Paul Bukkens (drums)

Links
www.racoon.nl
Official fansite
PIAS Nederland
3FM

Happy Family
Racoon Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

VERSE 1
It would be nice if we could all just sit together
It would be great if we could have a cup of everything
What would you do with everything?

It would be lovely to see all your faces smiling
It would be wonderful if all the ---- I sing about was happening, was happening, was happening

CHORUS
Then it turns out to be with one happy familyyyyyy
But all these families break,
Everybody's on the take,
All that matters today's the kind of money that you maaaaake, the money that you maaaaake.
Yeah all these families break, and everybody's on the take,
All that matters today's the kind of money that you maaaaake, the money that you maaaaake.

VERSE 2
It would be nice if we could all just live together
That's a hand-in-hand situation
It would be great if we could feel a bit of sympathy
Yeah sympathy for you and me
It would be lovely if we'd all stood up together,
It's gotta be like that commercial on tv
It would be wonderful if all this ---- I sing about was happening, was happening, happening yeah.

CHORUS

Oohahooooo

It would be nice if we could all just sit together

It would be great if we could have a little fun
It would be nice if we could be a happy family today.

Overall Meaning

The song "Happy Family" by Racoon is a commentary on the illusory idea of a "happy family". The first verse portrays the idealistic notion of sitting together and having a "cup of everything" which entails being content with what one has. However, the question posed by the singer "what would you do with everything?" highlights the innate greed and materialistic tendencies of our society today. The following lines articulate a wishful desire to see smiles on everyone's faces and a world where everything the singer sings about, such as love, happiness and peace, is happening in reality.

The chorus highlights the harsh reality of families breaking apart and people becoming selfishly driven, solely concerned with making money. The word "take" in this context alludes to people taking advantage of one another and focusing solely on their own interests. Thus, the "happy family" becomes a distant and unattainable dream when everyone is pursuing their own selfish needs, rather than looking out for one another.

Verse 2 continues this theme of collective unity, with the singer wishing for communal living and a shared sense of sympathy. This is juxtaposed with the mention of commercials on TV, which promotes an individualistic but superficial notion of happiness. The singer calls for the world to become a better place, where the idyllic images of love, peace and harmony are realized.

Overall, Racoon's "Happy Family" is a commentary on the current state of society, where money and self-interests take precedence over an emotional bond with people around us. It emphasizes the importance of a collective sense of compassion, shared values, and the realization of the idealistic notion of a "happy family".

Line by Line Meaning

It would be nice if we could all just sit together
I wish we could all be together in a peaceful and harmonious way.

It would be great if we could have a cup of everything
It would be amazing if we could share everything we have without any restrictions.

What would you do with everything?
How would you use all the resources and blessings that we have in abundance?

It would be lovely to see all your faces smiling
The happiness of others brings joy to our hearts and makes everything worth it.

It would be wonderful if all the ---- I sing about was happening, was happening, was happening
It would be amazing if all the things I sing about, like love and unity, were actually happening in the world.

Then it turns out to be with one happy familyyyyyy
Then we could all live as one happy family.

But all these families break,
Unfortunately, many families fall apart due to various reasons.

Everybody's on the take,
People are too focused on their own interests and gains, rather than thinking about the bigger picture.

All that matters today's the kind of money that you maaaaake, the money that you maaaaake.
In today's world, materialistic things and the amount of money one makes is given a lot of importance.

It would be nice if we could all just live together
Living together in harmony is the key to a peaceful and happy world.

That's a hand-in-hand situation
We need to work together and support each other to create a better world.

It would be great if we could feel a bit of sympathy
Having empathy and understanding towards others can make the world a better place for all.

Yeah sympathy for you and me
We all need each other's support and understanding in this world.

It would be lovely if we'd all stood up together,
Standing up for each other and fighting for the greater good is a noble cause.

It's gotta be like that commercial on tv
We need to make love and unity so common that it becomes a part of our daily lives, just like any other advertisement we see on TV.

Oohahooooo
A wordless expression of emotions and feelings.

It would be great if we could have a little fun
Having fun and enjoying life is important for our mental and emotional well-being.

It would be nice if we could be a happy family today.
I hope that we can all be united as one happy family without any conflicts or disagreements.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: DENNIS HUIGE, JACOBUS BART VAN DER WEIDE, PAUL BUKKENS, STEPHANUS JOHANNES PETRUS DE KROON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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