{"id":11792,"date":"2019-07-28T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-28T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/?p=11792"},"modified":"2024-01-02T07:12:14","modified_gmt":"2024-01-02T15:12:14","slug":"roll-of-the-dice-happy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/07\/28\/roll-of-the-dice-happy\/","title":{"rendered":"Roll of the Dice: Happy"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are those who question the official recording date of “Happy,” cited in the Tracks<\/em> liner notes as January 18, 1992.<\/p>\n

I’m not one of them.<\/p>\n

It’s true that such a late recording date would seem odd, given that by this time both\u00a0Human Touch<\/em> and\u00a0Lucky Town<\/em> were in the can and would be on record store shelves just ten weeks later. And yes, in tone and content it sounds like an outcast from the\u00a0Human Touch<\/em> sessions, which finished a year earlier.<\/p>\n

But anyone who remembers their first dreamlike yet sleepless days as a new parent should recognize their fellow traveler in this song, because the official recording date for “Happy” anchors the song on Day 19\u00a0 of Jessica Springsteen’s life, making it highly like that Bruce wrote it on one of those first life-altered nights.<\/p>\n

“Happy” is a love song, certainly, but it’s more about satisfaction than romance. Like “Living Proof<\/a>” (with which it shares a lyric), “Happy” opens the door wide into the joy and peace that he’s always drawn from his family–and perhaps something more, as well.<\/p>\n

Let’s take a listen.<\/p>\n