I don't know if 'happy' is the correct word for it, but the song does have a certain 'you're not here, but you're not all that far from here' quality about it that can act as a catharsis if you're in the right circumstance whne you happen to hear it. Maybe people get cheered up not so much by the song itself, but by the fact that they can listen to Ball & Chain for their wallowing without having to resort to country music schlock. I know that'd cheer me up.
@roleki
Very good point about the song's relation to "country music" themes but with music in a context both more like modern rock/new wave and more happy in tone than a typical moody country song of similar theme. It's a great song, in my opinion; but I don't necessarily agree with some of the comments that suggest a plea for salvation or something like that. I like it more as a simple guilty confession/admission of where the narrator ended up after years of the same mistakes: 80% in favor of getting struck by lightning (i.e., "waking up dead"...
@roleki
Very good point about the song's relation to "country music" themes but with music in a context both more like modern rock/new wave and more happy in tone than a typical moody country song of similar theme. It's a great song, in my opinion; but I don't necessarily agree with some of the comments that suggest a plea for salvation or something like that. I like it more as a simple guilty confession/admission of where the narrator ended up after years of the same mistakes: 80% in favor of getting struck by lightning (i.e., "waking up dead" after his latest binge) to end his/her seemingly unconquerable misery, rather than have to live again the next day/week, etc.
I don't know if 'happy' is the correct word for it, but the song does have a certain 'you're not here, but you're not all that far from here' quality about it that can act as a catharsis if you're in the right circumstance whne you happen to hear it. Maybe people get cheered up not so much by the song itself, but by the fact that they can listen to Ball & Chain for their wallowing without having to resort to country music schlock. I know that'd cheer me up.
@roleki Very good point about the song's relation to "country music" themes but with music in a context both more like modern rock/new wave and more happy in tone than a typical moody country song of similar theme. It's a great song, in my opinion; but I don't necessarily agree with some of the comments that suggest a plea for salvation or something like that. I like it more as a simple guilty confession/admission of where the narrator ended up after years of the same mistakes: 80% in favor of getting struck by lightning (i.e., "waking up dead"...
@roleki Very good point about the song's relation to "country music" themes but with music in a context both more like modern rock/new wave and more happy in tone than a typical moody country song of similar theme. It's a great song, in my opinion; but I don't necessarily agree with some of the comments that suggest a plea for salvation or something like that. I like it more as a simple guilty confession/admission of where the narrator ended up after years of the same mistakes: 80% in favor of getting struck by lightning (i.e., "waking up dead" after his latest binge) to end his/her seemingly unconquerable misery, rather than have to live again the next day/week, etc.