Our Song: Lyric Analysis

You Could Be Happy Lyrics
You could be happy and I won't know
But you weren't happy the day I watched you go
And all the things that I wished I had not said
Are played in loops 'till it's madness in my head

Is it too late to remind you how we were
But not our last days of silence, screaming, blur
Most of what I remember makes me sure
I should have stopped you from walking out the door



You could be happy, I hope you are
You made me happier than I'd been by far
Somehow everything I own smells of you
And for the tiniest moment it's all not true

Do the things that you always wanted to
Without me there to hold you back, don't think, just do
More than anything I want to see you, girl
Take a glorious bite out of the whole world.


Meanings, Connotations & Feelings Created
Just reading the lyrics, without listening to the music to accompany them, the initial vibe of the words chosen is very sad and thoughtful. The choice of words and construction of the sentences creates a very gloomy and a definite feeling of the singer being heart-broken about a failed relationship. Although the lyrics reflect upset emotions about a break up, they do not suggest anger resentment towards his 'ex' partner. 
After choosing this song for our music video, I thought it was important to gather general information on what the song meant to people and what emotions, thoughts, images it brought to mind. I asked my class mates, family, friends and also posted a question on Yahoo Answers. 

Feedback

"The singer is thinking about their relationship and how most of it was good, but he also knows that it could have been better. He knows that she wasn't happy but he wishes he could have stopped her. He misses her but wants her to be happy. He wants her to go on with her life and all the things she couldn't do before while in the relationship....I love the last line of the song "Take a glorious bite out of the whole world"" - a member of my media group


"It's like he’s looking back on the relationship and saying she can now go and do the things shes always wanted to without him there to hold him back." - classmate

"My favorite track on the album. The message is easy enough: let go of the person who wants to be happy without you, but never let go of the happy memories. What's exceptional is the way it achieves this message, its pairing of lyrics and music." - Yahoo Answers


"The lyrics are simple and bitter/sweet. They are sung with a tiredness and loneliness that is very appropriate. The music is simple too, but almost cute and child-like. Absolute sweetness and absolute caring with undertones of sadness, truth." - Yahoo Answers


".. he realises that it's too late to mend their relationship but he still has an ounce of disbelief.. he's giving her closure, getting it for himself.. saying i loved you, i love you and i want you to be happy in doing all you ever dreamt but never imagined you could with me by your side.." - family member


"maybe it is about him actually killing - he wishes so much that he hadn't, Or maybe he or she just died. And he feels like there was nothing he could have done. As days go on he realises what they had was amazing and he realises how much he loved her or him. But it also kinda sounds like he died.Or.....killed himself to get out of the way. He wanted the best for her. But saw that killing himself was the only way to achieve this." - classmate


"The beginning of the song has a childish lullaby sound to it, and it reminds me of how when a relationship is over, after all the crying and blaming, sadness, and anger you're left feeling little and wanting someone to hug you and tell you it's okay; you find comfort in the things that remind you of the past." - family member


"As for the lyrics themselves, they just blew me away because of how much they reminded me of the end of my own relationship. "And all the things that I wish I had not said / Are played on lips 'til it's madness in my head", the person is thinking of all of his or her mistakes, the would haves and should haves of the end." - Yahoo Answers


How We Will Use It
Now that I have a range of answers from several sources, my group and I can now sit down and gather the thoughts or images that most commonly came to mind to people. We are able to take some of these suggestions and interpret them into our visual imagery to include in, not only our music video but our other media products such as CD cover, website, poster etc.