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So Happy I Could Die

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"So Happy I Could Die"
Song

"So Happy I Could Die" is a song from American recording artist Lady Gaga, taken from her second major released and her third extended play, The Fame Monster. Inspired by Gaga's "Fear of Alcohol Monster", the song is about the "happy place" people go to when under "the influence". During the release of the album the track received a large amount of media attention from its strong sexual context.

A synthpop and dance-pop song, "So Happy I Could Die" contains auto-tune. The song has received mixed reviews from critics. Some critics find its composition similar to Natasha Bedingfield's Pocketful of Sunshine.

Gaga has mostly performed "So Happy I Could Die" on her 2009–11 The Monster Ball Tour. So Happy I Could Die was more prominently featured in the revamped shows, in which she performs the song in a mechanical gown, the "Living Dress". It is also featured in the MOCA Speechless Performance.[1]

Background

"So Happy I Could Die" was written by Lady Gaga, RedOne and Space Cowboy, with RedOne producing the track. The song represents Gaga's fear of what she describes as the "Alcohol Monster". The song makes many references to this fear of hers, such as the line 'Happy in the club with a bottle of red wine, stars in our eyes and we're having a good time.' In an interview, she stated that the song is about our "happy place" that we go to when we're under "the influence", and this fear is split between two songs. The song also makes references to masturbation such as the lines "And in the silence of the night, Through all the tears And all the lies, I touch myself and it's alright".

Composition

"So Happy I Could Die" begins with Gaga saying "Eh-eh Eh-eh, Ye-ha Ye-ha". It contains auto-tune. According to the sheet music published on Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the song is written in the time signature of common time, and is composed in the key of A minor with a tempo of 144 beats per minute.[2] Gaga's voice ranges from the tonal nodes of A3 to A4 and the song follows a basic sequence of F–G–Em–Am as its chord progression.[2] The chorus(Happy in the club with a bottle of red wine...) is similar to Natasha Bedingfield's Pocketful of Sunshine.

Critical reception

The song has received mixed reviews from critics. Most critics praised the melody and "icy" beats but criticized the vocals. Paul Lester of BBC Music described the song as "brazenly Auto-Tuned Europop that telegraphs Gaga’s Sapphic tendencies"[3]. Bill Lamb praised the song, say it had a "beautiful wistful musical atmosphere"[4].Simon Price of The Independent called the song "pop fluff, but there's always a suggestion of something interesting going on behind those glitter-encrusted eyes". [5] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine described the song as a love song, but the object of her affection is herself—looking at herself, drinking with herself, dancing with herself, touching herself. Ben Patashnik from NME praised the song for evoking "the feeling of being alone in a crowded room with its icy beats, suggesting Gaga takes refuge in masturbation as the only way to retain control[6]. Ben Norman says " "So Happy I Could Die" is just waiting for contemporary hip-hop choreography in a cute party video. The track doesn't excel, but it also doesn't let down. It's an average Gaga track."[7]. However, Nick Hyman of Under the Radar criticized the song as "another example of Gaga phoning it in, with an auto-tune chorus and forgetful content, and can't be saved with her cheeky red wine references."[8] Evan Sawdey of PopMatters also criticized the song stating it as "a plodding and repetitive drone of a song that takes an interesting lyrical bent and squanders any impact it could have with the single most sedated vocal performance Gaga has yet given."[9] "So Happy I Could Die" is also Natali Germanotta's, the younger sister of Lady Gaga, favorite song.

Live performances

The song is featured in the MOCA(Museum Of Contemporary Art) Speechless Performance in Los Angeles.[10]

Gaga performing "So Happy I Could Die" wearing the Living Dress on the 2010 shows of The Monster Ball Tour

Lady Gaga performed the song on certain dates for the first North American leg of The Monster Ball Tour. She then later used it on the revamped version. During her first leg, she performed the song before "Teeth", wearing a black leather corset. On the revamped version, she doesn't dance. She wears the Living Dress, a white gown that moves on its own. The song is performed after the Twister Interlude. Because she has a bigger stage for the revamped version of the tour, she performs the song on runways that extend to the middle of the audience. After singing the first chorus, she gets lifted up in the air while the dress's wings open by a platform. Towards the end of the song, she is lowered down to the stage to change into her next costume for her next song.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from The Fame Monster album liner notes.[11]

Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Hungarian Singles Chart[12] 10
Swedish Singles Chart[13] 53
UK Singles Chart[14] 84

References

  1. ^ {{cite web|title=Lady Gaga at MOCA: Ballets Russes Italian Style (The Shortest Musical You Will Never See Again)|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMfW_-JjiNU%7Cdate%7C12 February 2010|accessdate=14 May 2012
  2. ^ a b "So Happy I Could Die - Sheet Music". Retrieved 30 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Text "date" ignored (help)
  3. ^ "The Fame Monster Review". Retrieved 30 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Text "20 November 2009" ignored (help); Text "date" ignored (help)
  4. ^ "Album: Lady Gaga - 'The Fame Monster'". Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  5. ^ "Album: Lady Gaga, The Fame Monster (Polydor)". Retrieved 30 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Text "22 November 2009" ignored (help); Text "date" ignored (help)
  6. ^ "The Fame Monster NME Review". Retrieved 30 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Text "3 December 2009" ignored (help); Text "date" ignored (help)
  7. ^ "Lady Gaga 'The Fame Monster'". Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  8. ^ "Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster - Review". Retrieved 30 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Text "13 January 2010" ignored (help); Text "date" ignored (help)
  9. ^ "Lady Gaga: The Fame Monster". Retrieved 30 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Text "23 November 2009" ignored (help); Text "date" ignored (help)
  10. ^ {{cite web|title=Lady Gaga at MOCA: Ballets Russes Italian Style (The Shortest Musical You Will Never See Again)|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMfW_-JjiNU%7Cdate%7C12 February 2010|accessdate=14 May 2012
  11. ^ Germanotta, Stefani (2011). Born This Way (Media notes). Manhattan, Newyork: Interscope Records. p. 4. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |albumlink= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |artist= ignored (|others= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |publisherid= ignored (help)
  12. ^ "Hungarian Single (track) Top 10 lista". Mahasz. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. 2009-11-23. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
  13. ^ "Lady Gaga – So Happy I Could Die – Song". Ultratop 50. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
  14. ^ "Singles Chart - 05/12/2009". Retrieved 2012-04-30.
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