“If It Makes You Happy” by Sheryl Crow
Reportedly, the sentiments upon which Sheryl Crow’s “If It Makes You Happy” is based are derived from an era in Crow’s professional history right after the dropping of her first album. Said project (“Tuesday Night Music Club”), has achieved for instance RIAA septuple-platinum status – a level of commercial success that is nearly impossible to replicate. Yet Sheryl was under pressure to do so nonetheless.
So this song, which is featured on her sophomore album, starts off by speaking to the sacrifices she has made in the name of her craft. And you know, by this point Sheryl is in fact a multi-Grammy certified music star. And having achieved the highest echelons of success in your field of course “makes you happy”. But that then begs the question of “why the hell are you so sad?”
So going back to the background of this piece, the first chorus, even if the addressee is referred to in the third person, can be considered a soliloquy. In other words, Sheryl is asking herself why is she depressed amidst such achievement? But ultimately such is a rhetorical question, as we already know the answer is stress.
Some Romance?
Meanwhile, going a bit out on a limb, it is possible that the second verse is rather set in a romance. Here, leading into the pre-chorus, the vocalist alludes to waiting on her lover, hand and foot. Yet he is unable to fully accept her, since she’s like a bohemian or something. And in that regard she seems to be asking dude, like one second he’s “happy” with her in bed. So if he is deriving pleasure from this relationship, then why is it that the next second it’s causing him to spaz?
Takeaway
The conclusive sentiment of this piece appears to be along those same lines, whether we are referring to Sheryl’s career or the vocalist’s lover’s disposition towards their romance. And that is “if it makes you happy, it can’t be that bad”.
So presumably, that is the disposition Crow ultimately took towards her career. Yes, the powers that be may have been pressuring her to drop another classic album, perhaps even to the point that Sheryl contemplated quitting. But considering that she has achieved what seems to be the dream of all major-label musicians – undisputable commercial success with Grammys to boot – then it shouldn’t be a situation where some associated discomfort causes her to give up.
And to note, there are no actual allusions to Sheryl’s professional achievement in the lyrics. So as implied concerning her music career, her greatest joy comes from a genuine love of the art form and what it entails.
When was “If It Makes You Happy” Released?
The song was released on September 3 of 1996. It came off the album, “Sheryl Crow” as its lead single.
The song peaked at number 1 in Canada and ranked top-10 in the following countries:
- US – 10
- UK – 9
- Scotland – 6
- Netherlands – 6
- Belgium – 5
“If It Makes You Happy”, is one of the singer’s best performing singles of her music career. It made it No.663 on Q Magazine’s list of “1001 Best Songs Ever”.
The song attracted a lot of positive reviews from stakeholders. For example, it had a 5 out of 5 rating by a reviewer from Music Week, a paper for the UK music industry.
When the award for “Best Female Rock Vocal Performance” was up for grabs at the 39th edition of the Grammys, the song rose to the occasion. It won the award in the midst of competition from the following:
- Tracy Bonham’s “Mother Mother”
- Tracy Chapman’s “Give Me One Reason”
- Joan Osborne’s “Spider Web”
- Bonnie Raitt’s “Burning Down the House”
Writing and Production Credits
Crow collaborated with an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and music producer, Jeff Trott in penning down the song while the singer took charge of its production herself.
The “Sheryl Crow” Album
The American singer’s self-titled album, “Sheryl Crow” is her 2nd studio album. It was released on September 24 of 1996 and is widely regarded as the singer’s best album.
The album was produced by Crow herself and was released through the record label, A&M Records.
In total, five singles including “If It Makes You Happy” were released from the album.
The album put up an impressive performance on charts around the world.
In 2002, it was number 44 on “Women in Rock: The 50 Essential Albums” by Rolling Stone. Slant Magazine, an online publication, had it featured in its “Vital Pop: 50 Essential Pop Albums” list.
In 1997, “Sheryl Crow” took home the “Best Rock Album” at the Grammy Awards.
