Polishing the past: a remix of an old song.

Way back in 2010, I woke up with an idea for a song. The night before was a big one. It was the night Catherine and I got married and the song idea was just a line, as song ideas so often are for me, and the line was nothing more than "happiness, won’t you come on in?" The idea was there because I was feeling good. I felt so fortunate to be married to Catherine, to have had such a beautiful wedding, to have had our union witnessed by the people closest to Catherine and me. And I wanted that feeling of happiness to know it was welcome in me, to not feel spurned, as it so often surely had been all my life. And that’s what the song is about, nothing more. I just wanted that feeling of happiness to stay a bit, the rest of my life, really. I wrote and recorded the song fairly quickly, at least by my standards. But as is the case with so many of my recorded songs, there were a few things about the final mix I felt I had gotten wrong. For one, the harmonies in the chorus were way too loud. I’d been listening to a lot of CSNY and got a bit infected. The other issue, which only struck me as a problem recently, was a chorus extension. And so, as I go about reviving my too-long dormant songwriting efforts, I’m starting with this remix of Happiness. It’s one of my favorites of my songs and certainly among my most meaningful to me and now it’s all the more so.

HAPPINESS

Happiness,
Won't you come on in?
It's been so long, it's good to see you again

Happiness,
I hope you've come to stay
I've got so much to tell you since you last went away

'Cause I have changed inside
I've turned away from money and pride
And I see I was blind
So, happiness won’t you please come inside?

Happiness
I can see you hesitate
I know you have your doubts, but you are not too late

Happiness
Just tell me what to do
Tell me what you need, I'll do anything for you 

'Cause I have changed inside
I've turned away from money and pride
And I see what I once denied
So, happiness won’t you please come inside?

So, happiness, there’s nothing to decide
No excuses to try
So, won’t you please come inside?

And don’t make me guess
Won’t you put my fears to rest?
You know just what I want
All you need to say is yes

Happiness
Won't you come on in?
It's been so long
Won’t you please
Won’t you please
Won’t you please, please, please come on in?

Vocals: Elliot Randall
Guitars: Tim Young
Bass and Piano: Sam Bevan
Drums: Scott Siever
Engineering: Jaimeson Durr
Recorded (mostly) and mixed at Hyde Street Studio C, San Francisco
Written by Jeff Shattuck