SHINY
HAPPY
PEOPLE

After losing my dad and not knowing how to proceed in my music career, a dear friend encouraged me to write some songs all alone. I have had many collaborators through the years, and I think my friend knew that the songs I had to write next were going to come in the stillness, the silence and the solitude. He was right. I am here to present the first of these songs, Shiny Happy People.

Shiny Happy People is a song about the pressure I felt to be a shiny happy person in the wake of my dad’s death. I heard things like “You’re dad is in a better place now,” “He is dancing with Jesus” and perhaps the worst “He would want you to stay strong.” I could not stay strong. And imagining my dad “in” heaven didn’t have the desired effect. However well-intentioned, these statements dismissed the reality and process of grief. So this song is about learning to grieve.

In many ways it is a letter to the church and my own exploration of my Christian faith. In my faith we have the example of Jesus who is the victor over death and yet, he still wept at the tomb of his dear friend. So when life throws you things that must be grieved, may you grieve and know that you do not just have to be a shiny happy person in this life. May you know that in this life you will be weary and you will be cheery and everything in between.