1 Happiness Race

The idea for the lyrics came from a teaching from a Buddhist monk in Internet, saying pretty much what goes in the title: the only contest worth being in is a happiness contest. To that, I tried to add some cheering lyrics with the usual themes of unity and cool it down typical of reggae. At some point, serendipity came in my help and I realized, and used, the double meaning of the word “race”.

Both voice and guitar melodies are sprinkled with Bob Marley influences, the most notorious being ‘Get up, Stand up” (“Makes you feel alright” -> “Don’t give up the fight”). The other great Bob is also present (“Gonna Change my Way of Thinking”). In the vocals I think I took a bit of general vibe from The Police songs, and also from a Spanish punk group called La Polla -Previously La Polla Records, if memory serves me well-. There is also a snippet from Queen’s “Tie Your Mother Down” (look for that “little brother” :) ).

This is a Wikiloops collaboration (http://www.wikiloops.com/backingtrack.php). I’ve written the vocals and the guitar solos, the rest is by other users.