Originally Posted by Andrew Dee
Hi Noel!
You got me in the first bar when I realised you were using the ‘boom-boom’ (beats 1 &, 3 &) of the bass. I’ve always loved songs at this tempo range that use that bass style - I think because I am an acoustic rhythm guitarist, it suits two quick down muted half-strums on the E and A strings to mimic the bass. Anyways, I digress …

A good rhythm feel to this song at a nice slow pedestrian pace (= calming) and the synth vocal almost glides over the top of this. The banjo was a pleasant surprise - I’ve used that RT myself - and I love its syncopated feel. The fiddle was also a surprise, and it gave the song a ‘back to basics’ feel - which I also think is what happiness is - the uncomplicated, tech-free, simplicity of ordinary things. I was also surprised by the chord movement returning to the root chord at the end of a verse 2, verse 3, instrumental, and verse 4 - but not verse 1 which ended on the V chord to tension/release to verse 2. However that might say more about my chord proclivities than yours.

Is happiness green? Certainly, the colour green reminds people of things that bring joy, and predominantly things of nature, and often used as a colour metaphor for growth. In fact, I think if you removed all plant life in the broadest sense (those using chlorophyll and photosynthesis) and animals or insects that camouflage amongst plants, we might have very little green colour on Earth, so in that sense, green should give everyone happiness because we have it.

Well done, Noel! I love it.

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Thanks heaps for giving me such detailed feedback. I really enjoyed reading through your comments. Like you this kind of style sits really comfortably with me.

You've got a good ear for identifying chord progressions! Sometimes, if I want a section to lead into the next section I often end on V. It's just something that appeals to me. Nothing more than that.

Your thoughts on the colour green are very interesting. I think you are absolutely correct. As I sit here pondering your comments, I can see that in my per-retirement days as a science teacher, this would have made a very interesting question for my classes. Without chlorophyll to make plants, just about all life on the surface of the earth would not have a primary food source. So in many ways, 'green' is one of life's fundamentals! I wish that I could say I thought that deeply about the colour when I chose the title, but I didn't. It was purely an 'on the spur of the moment' choice.

Thanks for taking the time to have a listen and pass on your thoughts. I appreciate it.
--Noel

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