Someone once told me that you have to choose
What you win or lose
You can't have everything

Don't you take chances
Might feel the pain
Don't you love in vain
'Cause love won't set you free
I can't stand by the side
And watch this life pass me by
So unhappy
But safe as could be

So what if it hurts me?
So what if I break down?
So what if this world just throws me off the edge
My feet run out of ground
I gotta find my place
I wanna hear my sound
Don't care about all the pain in front of me
'Cause I'm just trying to be happy, yeah
Just wanna be happy, yeah

Holding on tightly
Just can't let it go
Just trying to play my role
Slowly disappear, oh
Well all these days, they feel like they're the same
Just different faces, different names
Get me out of here
But I can't stand by your side, oh no
And watch this life pass me by, pass me by

So what if it hurts me?
So what if I break down?
So what if this world just throws me off the edge
My feet run out of ground
I gotta find my place
I wanna hear my sound
Don't care about all the pain in front of me
'Cause I'm just trying to be happy, oh, happy, oh

So any turns that I can't see,
Like I'm a stranger on this road
But don't say victim
Don't say anything

So what if it hurts me?
So what if I break down?
So what if this world just throws me off the edge
My feet run out of ground
I gotta find my place
I wanna hear my sound
Don't care about all the pain in front of me
I just wanna be happy
Oh, yeah, happy, oh, happy
I just wanna be, oh
I just wanna be happy
Oh, happy


Lyrics submitted by englishtea

Happy Lyrics as written by Ryan Tedder Evan Bogart

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Bucks Music Group, Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Happy song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

29 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    General Comment

    i would say its simply about taking chances to be a happier person. even if that sometimes involves pain. it isnt necesarily about love. its about life in general

    whohoopon October 24, 2009   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    Love this song, she is such an amazing singer.

    I think this song is not necessary related to relationship, just trapping in a situation and looking for a way out to be happy. Getting out of the comfort zone and facing all the uncertainties could be painful and helpless. However, that's the only way to find the happiness, to break free.

    mwong1979on January 03, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    this song hits a cord with me. i can't be in a relationship.. any type of relationship.. because quite frankly, i don't trust people easily. i've built myself in a way that has allowed me to live safely and distantly. i'm in my mid-late twenties now, and i'm beginning to realize that i'm becoming someone who is unhappy with life. I do want to be happy, but as she says in this song, it's going to take a lot of risks which for someone like me.. is rare, uncommon and very.. scary.

    holding on tightly, i just can't let it go just trying to play my role, just slowly disappear all these days, i feel like they're the same just different faces, different names, get me out of here

    failure to connect with anyone leaves you looking at everyone and everything as the same, but with just different faces or names. and without connection, you feel like you're going to just disappear.. but maybe you feel you just have to continue playing your role.. and stay away from the risks and changes that can possibly bring happiness to your life.

    i don't want to blame this on being a victim of my past or how i was raised.. or what i went through when i was a child, although i know it all plays a big role in why i am the way i am. but at the end of every day, i want to be happy.. but i haven't been able to figure out if it's worth the risk.

    dewaffon January 23, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Beautiful song, this will be a big hit for Leona. She sounds amazing on this.

    englishteaon September 06, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I think this song could also be about moving on from a long safe relationship that someone is unhappy in but they're just playing their role. There will be a lot of pain in the future because they want to break up with someone or from something they've been apart of for a long time so they can start living again

    federercakes10on September 20, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song is about moving on and letting go,i.e.becoming famous,being a small town girl..sounds like it was optioned for MARIAH....I like leona ,actually LOVE

    HollabackZackon September 10, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think its about taking chances even if it goes wrong you know you tried and didn't hold back. She had a lot of pain and she just wants to be happy and she will do whatever she has to for it.

    live2l0v3on October 26, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    To me, I think this song is full of regret. I don't think the song itself is happy, but is about happiness. I think she is saying that if she wouldn't have been as scared to begin with, maybe she would be MORE happy. If she would've taken the risk, she might have turned out better.

    "Don't care about other pain in front of me Cos I'm just trying to be happy"

    The last two lines in the chorus is what I believe for her to be saying that she is scared to take a risk, but she will.

    Just what I think, though. Love this song!

    stripeypopcanson November 06, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song is about exactly what it says. It is kind of a selfish song, she is just trying to be happy regardless of anyone else. It is all about the person singing it. We all fell like this at some point in our lives, dont give a care about anyone else but ourselves. Yes this is a beautiful song

    zeebenon November 12, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think that the song is about someone who is in a unhappy situation and is tired with settling for the way things are. So they are determined to change their situation and they will do whatever it takes to just be happy because that's all they have ever really wanted.

    uhhmazingloveon November 27, 2009   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him. There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere. In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."