Posted by Happiness is the second single released by the 1975, from their album Being Funny in a Foreign Language. The song follows Part of the Band, the first song announcing the new album, a track we analyzed here. Even for this new song, the lyrics hide some cryptic meaning, and this article will give a possible interpretation of the lines.
You can find the official video of the song below.
Happiness: inside the lyrics and their meaning
Happiness is a song about love. Not necessarily a love letter to the girl the protagonist loves, the track is more about freely reflecting on the concept of love and the feelings the singer has in this situation.
The frontman of the band, Matty Healy, explained in an interview before the release:
“It really doesn’t really have much structure. It came through like jamming, and we haven’t done that in like years. So we just wanted this record to be really like a captured moment and not be too constructed and even produced that much.”
Therefore, Happiness came out spontaneously. The lyrics describe what the protagonist feels towards the girl he loves, and that makes the two verses of the song:
She showed me what love is
I’m actin’ like I know myself
Oh, in case you didn’t notice
Oh, oh, I would go blind just to see you
I’d go too far just to have you near
In my soul, I’ve got this feeling I
Didn’t know until I seen ya
Her body’s like a modern art
Take it out in front of me
I’ve gotta stop messin’ it up because
I’m feelin’ like I’m messin’ it up
Because I’m callin’ out your name and God help me
‘Cause oh, I’m never gonna love again, hey
I’m never gonna love again, hey, oh
The singer is overwhelmed by his feelings. He’s afraid he will mess it up, but he really wants her. The author is ready to do anything to have her near, to see her.
The chorus is interesting. It’s composed just of the following two lines:
Show me your love
Why don’t you grow up and see?
It looks like a dialog: the singer asks her to show him what love is, and she answers unexpectedly, suggesting to grow up. Somehow, we can deduce that the singer has a childish vision of love, so she wants him to grow up and look at love through adult eyes. “Maturely look at me,” she seems to say, “and you will see what love is.”
This explanation helps us interpret these lines:
She showed me what love is (Showed me what love is)
I’m actin’ like I know myself (Actin’ like I know myself)
Oh, in case you didn’t notice (Ooh-ooh)
Oh, oh, oh, I’m never gonna love again, hey
The singer doesn’t really know himself. Once again, like a child who doesn’t know his emotions in depth, he knows he’s loving but doesn’t understand what that means. Although she’s trying to guide him to grow up and be mature about this feeling, he’s confused. And he believes that this confusion won’t let him love again in the future. At least, not until he hasn’t learned to love more wisely.
That could be the real meaning behind Happiness lyrics: I’m in love, and I express all the confusing things I feel. I wish I could understand more, but I’m not there yet. In return, she’s trying to show me what love is, and she knows what I have to do: grow up and look at it as a mature man.
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The complete lyrics
She showed me what love is
I’m actin’ like I know myself
Oh, in case you didn’t notice
Oh, oh, I would go blind just to see you
I’d go too far just to have you near
In my soul, I’ve got this feeling I
Didn’t know until I seen ya
My, my, my, oh, my, my, my
You mind my mind, you mind my mind
Oh, my, my, my, you mind my mind
Oh, my, my, my
She’s insatiable, is what she is
Her body’s like a modern art
Take it out in front of me
I’ve gotta stop messin’ it up because
I’m feelin’ like I’m messin’ it up
Because I’m callin’ out your name and God help me
‘Cause oh, I’m never gonna love again, hey
I’m never gonna love again, hey, oh
Show me your love
Why don’t you grow up and see?
Show me your love
Why don’t you grow up and see?
Show me your love
Why don’t you grow up and see?
Show me your love
Why don’t you?
You met me at the right time
Met me at the right time
Oh, show me your love, why don’t you?
Oh, oh, oh, oh
She showed me what love is (Showed me what love is)
I’m actin’ like I know myself (Actin’ like I know myself)
Oh, in case you didn’t notice (Ooh-ooh)
Oh, oh, oh, I’m never gonna love again, hey
I’m never gonna love again, hey, oh
Show me your love
Why don’t you grow up and see?
Show me your love
Why don’t you grow up and see?
Show me your love
Why don’t you grow up and see?
Show me your love
Why don’t you?
