IS EVERYBODY HAPPY?
(Words and Music by Rick Springfield, Bob Marlette, Tim Pierce and Dubin)

If I see one more smiling face
In a magazine - Yeah
If I see one more pretty girl
On my t.v. screen
Everybody's pretending
Future's burning real bright
All good children go to heaven
God's still on our side
He's gonna make it up to you
He's gonna make it up to you
Baby in this life

So much pain
In the faces that we wear behind the smiles
We keep too much inside
Way too much inside
Baby stand up
And be the one to testify
Tell me how you feel

Is everybody happy
Uh-huh
No!
Is everybody happy
Uh-huh
No!
Is everybody happy
I don't think so

If I hear one more lover promise me everything - Yeah
If I hear one more lonesome ol' cowboy start to sing
Everybody's elected
To carry the party song
You can't be too protected baby
You can't be too strong
Never let'em get to you
Never let'em get to you
Baby in this life
We live
In a quiet kind of desperation here
We lock it up inside
Lock it up inside
Baby get on up and be the one to testify
Tell me how you feel

Hey!
Is everybody happy
Uh-huh
No!
Is everybody happy
Uh-huh
No!
Is everybody happy
I don't think so

na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na
na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na

na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na

Baby get on up and be the one to testify
Tell me how you feel

Is everybody happy
Uh-huh
No!
Is everybody happy
Uh-huh
No!

Is everybody happy
Uh-huh
No!
Is everybody happy
Uh-huh
No!

Is everybody happy
Uh-huh
No!
Is everybody happy
Uh-huh
No!

Is everybody happy
Uh-huh
No!
Is everybody happy
NO!

(total playing time 5:24)

Song Facts: This can be found on Sahara Snow.

According to US

I've always had a love/hate relationship with this song. When I first heard it, I absolutely hated the chorus. The "Is Everybody Happy..NO!" just irritated me beyond belief. That yelling, the repetition, I don't know what it was. So I skipped it a lot when I first got the disc.

Later, when I was using the CD to work out to (clearly those days are long gone), I really started to listen to this song. And this line truly hits home for me:

"So much pain in the faces that we wear behind the smiles, lock it up inside, lock it up inside...baby stand up and be the one to testify...tell me how you feel..." 

and then later in the song...

"Everybody's elected to carry the party song, you can't be too protected baby you can't be too strong, Never let 'em get to you, never let 'em get to you, baby in this life..."

That was a real eye opener for me. I think this is really true for a lot of us, and clearly true for Rick too, that we all tend to hide what we are really feeling and who we truly are to make ourselves more likeable, more presentable, to get through our days. It actually somewhat reminds me of that Matchbox 20 song "Unwell"..."I know right now you can't tell, but wait a while and you'll see, a different side of me.." And then after I started thinking about this song beyond it's annoying repetivie chorus, I really got into it. The entire vibe of the song seems to be summed up here:

"We live in a quiet kind of desperation here, we lock it up inside...baby get on up and be the one to testify...tell me how you feel!"

There is a lot of depth to this song, but it isn't apparent on the first few listens, or at least it wasn't for me. Now it is one of my favorites on the disc, and I imagine the same type of feel of some of what we'll hear on sdaa. It is a classic case of presenting to the world a prettier face than the one perhaps you see in the mirror. And feeling conflicted over that. I think that is a lot more universal than maybe we all realize.

So now I pretty much love this song, and I've learned to live with the chorus. It's great for those rough days. I just scream the NO!- Amy SP

I've always liked this song. Not necessarily the music or the way it's sung, but mostly the message of it. I don't like the way Rick's voice is so deep in the beginning of the versus, and I don't necessarily like the way the song flows (or doesn't flow). The first part of the song brings to mind the way that Hollywood and the ad industry have given everyone this impossible standard that some people try to live up to. Beautiful, skinny, yet airbrushed girls that grace all the magazines and are in a lot of the tv shows and movies. People striving for that thinking it'll make them happy, yet Rick, who has been called cute all of his life, would more than likely beg to differ. Is he happy? NO......
There's such a fine line between people that bitch about every little thing and people standing up at the right times and saying "hey, this isn't right".
And possibly there's underlying implications of apathy, suggesting that it's just easier to pretend to be happy, rather than to try to make things better. - rlh