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Shut Up and Be Happy

from Don't We Feel Great? by Goldstein

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about

James #2: This song was inspired by a person in my life who I found to be unrelenting in her pessimism. I always found it quite easy to escape from negative emotions and find my way back to happiness quite quickly, but I felt that she put a lot of energy into being miserable a lot more than I thought was necessary. So the idea behind the verse lyrics was that there's always going to be a perspective from which life seems appealing, if we choose not to focus on the negatives. And the chorus was a not at all subtle way of getting the message across.

Of course, this is my side of the story, and maybe this person had valid reasons for being sad. Hell, there have been plenty of times when I should've followed the advice I laid out in this song. In any case, I wrote this song almost 2 years ago, and I like to think that I maybe have a less heavy-handed approach to encouraging positivity now.

(Bonus trivia; I wrote most of my verse while on the train back from Manchester after seeing Refused live. They kicked insane amounts of ass.)
_________________________________________

lyrics

James #2:
You've reason to believe you have been forsaken.
Your plane has hit turbulence, your lifeboat has been taken.
The lost battles are adding up and you might lose the war.
But it's not life that's the problem, it's your attitude I abhor.

They say that clouds have a silver lining that you've missed,
It's fair to say that neither of us are meteorologists.
The truth behind the matter is you don't have to feel down.
There are just as many reasons for you to smile as to frown.

So dial back the drama and get a check on your perspective.
Parallax is handy if you want to see things shine.
If you can't find a spot from where things look appealing,
Then it's time to take a listen to the rules that I'll assign, so...

Shut up!
Shut up!
Shut up!
And be happy.

Shut up!
Shut up!
Shut up!
And be happy.

Tiger:
There's solid ground beneath this sinking sand
And it's only ankle deep,
So give us a smile and after a while
You'll begin to see your feet.
There's two sides to every coin,
No one can stop you from flippin' it twice,
In the end you'll see I guarantee
The result's not quite what it seems.
In the roadside puddle the other day
I thought I saw the sky,
So I lifted my head and what I saw instead
Was the sun staring in my eyes.

Shut up!
Shut up!
Shut up!
And be happy!

Shut up!
Shut up!
Shut up!
And be happy!

*Bass solo*

Shut up!
Shut up!
Shut up!
And be happy!

credits

from Don't We Feel Great?, released July 7, 2014
Lyrics by James #2 and Tiger. Music by James #2

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about

Goldstein Leicester, UK

Goldstein were brought together by a unifying love of modern punk music. From their covers to their originals, you'll find the power-chords and speed endemic to old school punk, mixed with more melodic vocals and skilful playing present in modern punk. Of course, variety is the spice of life, and Goldstein aren't afraid to mix some ska, rap or Muse into their set to keep things interesting. ... more

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