Chords + Lyrics | Happy
Intro
| F5 |
Verse 1
| F5 N.C | N.C | Fm Ab Bb Ab | C Bb Ab Fm Ab Bb |
It might seem crazy what I am ’bout to say.
| F5 N.C | N.C | Fm Ab Bb Ab | C Bb Fm Ab |
Sunshine, she’s here, you can take a break.
| F5 N.C | N.C | Fm Ab Bb Ab | C Bb Ab Fm Ab Bb |
I’m a hot air balloon that could go to space.
| F5 N.C | N.C | Fm Ab Bb Ab | C Bb Fm Ab |
With the air, like I don’t care, baby by the way, huh!
Chorus 1
||: Dbmaj7 Cm7 | Cm7 | Cm7 C7sus4 F | F F7 :||
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof.
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth.
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you know what happiness is to you.
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do.
Verse 2
Here come bad news talking this and that (yeah).
Well give me all you got, don’t hold me back (yeah).
Well, I should probably warn you I’ll be just fine (yeah).
No offence to you don’t waste your time, here’s why.
Chorus 2
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof.
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth.
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you know what happiness is to you.
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do. Hey, come on!
Breakdown 1
||: N.C :||
Uh, bring me down, can’t nothing, bring me down, my level’s too high (happy, happy).
To bring me down, can’t nothing, huh, bring me down, I said, let me tell you know (happy, happy).
Bring me down, can’t nothing (happy, happy, happy, happy),
bring me down, my level’s too high (happy, happy, happy, happy).
To bring me down, can’t nothing (happy, happy, happy, happy),
bring me down, I said (happy, happy).
Chorus 3
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof.
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth.
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you know what happiness is to you.
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do.
Chorus 4
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof.
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth.
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you know what happiness is to you.
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do. Hey, come on!
Breakdown 2
||: N.C :||
Uh, bring me down, can’t nothing (happy, happy, happy, happy),
bring me down, my level’s too high (happy, happy, happy, happy).
To bring me down, can’t nothing (happy, happy, happy, happy),
bring me down, I said (happy, happy).
Chorus 5
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof.
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth.
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you know what happiness is to you.
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do.
Chorus 6
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof.
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth.
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you know what happiness is to you.
(Because I’m happy) Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do.
Happy Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Happy. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, keys, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
You may find that after understanding the chords and learning the riff (using TAB of course) they are in a small (but happy!) part of the musician population that can play this correctly.
Verse
TAB is better but you could describe the main riff of Happy as chords as well, like this:
| F5 N.C | N.C | Fm Ab Bb Ab | C Bb Ab Fm Ab Bb |
| F5 N.C | N.C | Fm Ab Bb Ab | C Bb Fm Ab |
If you think of these chords as just single notes, you’ll see how these are the notes from the minor pentatonic, check the TAB further down this lesson for a more clear view.
Chorus
The chorus chord progression of Happy can only be one thing: the IV – III – VIx. The reason I say this is because there’s only one place among the diatonic chords where we find a major chord with a minor chord a semitone below.
Here’s the progression for the chorus:
||: Dbmaj7 (IV) Cm7 (III) | Cm7 | Cm7 C7sus4 F (VIx) | F F7 :||
These two chord progressions are all that you need to play Happy. This chord chart will help you remember the structure when you play it at a gig, which is very likely!
Happy Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Happy chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Happy iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Happy | TAB
The extensions are decorative and could be played using a clave rhythm. You could vary the chord shapes; here’s just one way of playing Happy’s chorus in TAB.
Compare this chord progression to that of B.B. King’s The Thrill Is Gone, a song in Bm. Happy is in Fm. The fact that the chorus lands on an F major, not an F minor, is a temporary change.
The verse progression is based around an Fm blues scale. Harmonise the riff and it becomes:
| Fm Ab Bb Ab | C Bb Ab Fm Ab Bb |
Followed by:
| Fm Ab Bb Ab | C Bb Fm Ab |
After playing Happy at least a hundred times with various bands, I can safely say that the car crash moment usually happens because most musicians don’t realise the riff changes every other time (I include myself in that category, by the way!).
Here’s some TAB showing how Happy’s verse could be played. I guess the real question is: what do you do if everyone else isn’t changing it every other time?
Get yourself prepared for the gig by jamming along with the backing track, use only the chord chart as a guide.
Achieving success through audience participation
The genius part that led to Happy‘s success was not just that it’s a catchy song, or that it came as the only single from Despicable Me 2‘s soundtrack.
This alone wasn’t enough to spread the word of Pharrell Williams‘ latest hit. The genius part is the music video, which invited the fans to make their version.
it wasn’t until people started making their own Happy videos that the tune became a hit.
This audience participation idea can only be compared with the dance craze concept Get Ready, The Macarena, Gangnam Style, (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life, or Do You Love Me caught on to.
By 2013, when Happy was released, people could make music videos using their phones and upload them to YouTube.
Perhaps this is a tip for the budding artist seeking fame, invite the audience to somehow participate!
Happy Chords: Continue Learning
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