Wow Noel, I like everything about this, starting with the story of how you found your chord progression! I dare say the struggle we all face is that of finding new ideas... and dipping into the repository of established classics makes perfect sense to me.

Having expressed my thoughts on your inspiration, let us move on to your melody. You have an amazing voice my friend! That melody is very active in ways that would be difficult for most people to sing... but you NAILED it! Can you offer any insights on how you arrived at the melody? I ask because to my ears, it's not at all intuitive. I'm guessing you put some thought into picking those notes. However you got there, the combination of that melody and your ability to sing it is very impressive to me!

Now the lyrics themselves are also noteworthy. Here you have put together what I can only describe as a practical life philosophy. It's a song about CHOOSING to be happy even though your words express it as a request. But whereas a request might be denied, a choice is absolute. At a time when so many people are dealt a life of goodness, yet they still choose dissatisfaction because (insert ridiculous reason here)... you have written a song that the whole world needs to hear and embrace.

What's left then is the song itself. You really know your way around BIAB. Your selection of Real Tracks suits the song perfectly, and you've put it all together in a way that sounds natural, like a real band (literally) performing. This is a very nice and uplifting composition, exactly what I have come to expect from you. I really like your analytical approach to song writing.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ey71h8ep047758h/AAC12jNM0Hz9Q8zsh5iDeqNHa?dl=0