When looking back at the nineties, Sister Hazel are one of those somewhat innocuous pop rock bands people tend to forget when mentally listing the music they associate with the decade. The group would generally be associated with bands like Hootie & the Blowfish and Blues Traveler, with their style of folksy, melodic pop-rock. And there’s no denying that their breakout single “All For You” has withstood the tests of time (having 100m+ streams on Spotify alone).
In my opinion, the group were far from one-hit wonders. “Your Winter” remains an earnest love song for the ages, and their album Chasing Daylight spent a ton of time in my playlist in 2003. What remains surprising to me is that following the success of “All For You”, that album’s song “Happy” didn’t find the same level of success.
While it was released as a single, the track didn’t seem to gain the same amount of traction as “All for You”, which is a shame because the song has a message which is just as important now as it was to me when I first heard it. The idea of simply striving for happiness as an end goal; not fame or wealth or power, is something most members of our Instagram-obsessed society could use.
And you said don’t you want to be like that man!?
Oh No–No–No!
But then he cracks that smile
And that don’t look so bad to me…..
What if we could all just be satisfied by being happy in the lives we had? If we spent more time being envious of people because they were actually enjoying their life, and not because they had physical things we wanted. We’ve all seen plenty of movies and shows that remind us that money and fame do not bring us happiness, and yet how often does that message get through to us in the real world?
Happy–I’m Happy
But that ain’t good enough for you
This line always spoke to me as being sung to a potential lover, looking for something more in a suitor, which I tried to take to heart. If you’re living a life where you’re satisfied and happy, that should make you enough for any romantic interest. If it’s not, then that’s on them, not you.
I think it’s time for this song to be given a second life. Get happier by listening to “Happy” here.
The Indy Review 