Happy Sad

One of Australia’s finest musical talents, Ocean Alley are back with their second studio album, “Chiaroscuro”. The rock/alternative/indie band follow a lovesick theme in this album, with rock and indie undertones to their emotional lyrics. With incredible and intense guitar solos and powerful vocals, Ocean Alley are yet to disappoint.

“Happy Sad” is the third track off “Chiaroscuro”, and perhaps one of the most well-known off the album. The song is brutally truthful about the reality of a relationship not working out, and how it could have been something great. The song starts with it’s namesake in the first line:

“Well I’m happy, but I’m also sad
‘Cause I liked her smile, but the sex was bad
She said can I ask a favour?
I said I hope its nothing major
‘Cause I got things on
It’s where it all went wrong”

The character in the song is singing about a woman he was with, and how despite things he liked about her, like her smile, their intimate life was not as fulfilling as he would have liked it to be. She asks a favour of him, to which he agrees to do but apparently it all goes wrong afterwards. The pre-chrous consists of the words “who knows”, referencing that who will ever know about the future of what their relationship could have been.

“Well it could have been good
Well it could have been great
Well it could have been good
Everybody needs someone to hate
Could have been good
Well it could have been great
Well it could have been good
But everybody”

The chorus is the protagonist reinforcing that the relationship could have been great, but everybody needs to have someone they dislike, and that could be someone that you wish things had worked out romantically with.

“Well I speak in riddles, and she speaks in tongue
Playing a fool, ’cause I’m acting dumb
Situations kinda heavy
Sign me onto the leavy
She’s not the one
Did it all for fun”
The second verse expresses how they well never be speaking the same language, as he speaks in riddles and her in tongues. The protagonists finally admits that this woman is not the one for him, and they either both of them, or just him or her did it for fun. The song continues to repeat the pre chorus and chorus with a soulful guitar solo.

The music video doesn’t follow the story of the song, and simply shows the band on tour in different countries, as they were on their European tour (and still are) the time the music video was released.

Release Date: 9th March 2018

Songwriter/s: Baden Donegal, Angus Goodwin, Nic Blom, Lach Galbraith, Mitch Galbraith & Tom O’Brien

Song length: 5:31

Album: Chiaroscuro (2018)

Record Label: Independent

Music Video Release Date: 20th August 2018

Music Video Director: Tyler Bell