Non poteva esserci sberleffo più eloquente del titolo di questo disco. Sì, perché la sua protagonista non si può certo dire sia una ragazza felice. Forse non si può dire neanche il contrario. Tenterò di spiegarmi meglio.
Lisa è un’artista capace di dare significati sempre nuovi alla parola dolore: il suo atteggiamento nell’affrontare le brutture che la vita propone sembra quello di chi, invece di cullarsi nella sua stessa malinconia, finendo per piangersi addosso, osserva se stesso dall’esterno, quasi con distacco, con un misto di rassegnazione e autoderisione. Non è esattamente, o forse non è “semplicemente”, infelice: piuttosto è una commentatrice, a volte cinica, a volte autoironica, della sua stessa infelicità. Ciò è subito chiaro ascoltando l’incipit di “Bad Attitude”, in cui ogni verso è al contempo una rassegnata presa di coscienza e la derisione di chi si strugge per trovare un senso alla sofferenza (“You wish it was sunny but it’s not…ah ah ah”). Quando il frastuono di violini e chitarre termina dopo l’ultimo ritornello (“You could start over, it’s never too late”) una melodia commovente si insinua tra gli arpeggi delle chitarre mentre Lisa sembra trovare l’unica possibile via d’uscita nel ricordo dell’infanzia (“You would give anything to change back to when you laughed easy and all your moves were childlike”). Simile nell’umore è la successiva “Destroy The Flower”, una istantanea ancora più eloquente della sua fragilità (“it’ll never come out now, and that’s all your fault”).
Queste confessioni da brividi, a differenza di ciò che avviene nei suoi album successivi, sono immerse in un bailamme di suoni distorti frutto di una produzione evidentemente più elaborata e di una attitudine più rock. Il ritornello beffardo e semplicissimo di “Puppet” è immerso in un tripudio di chitarre e effetti di studio d’ogni tipo, “Everyone’s Victim” (“I am everyone’s victim”) una sorta di “Loser” di Beck al femminile, è frastornata dalle continue dissonanze degli strumenti a corda. “Cowboy”, una solenne e innamorata ballata country affidata unicamente al suo bisbiglio e alla chitarra acustica, sembra quasi un improvviso momento di silenzio, di tregua, prima che inizi la trilogia di capolavori del disco, “Happiness”, “The Earth” e “Around the world”, che sfumano l’una nell’altra come in un unico flusso di coscienza. La prima è una pungente riflessione sulla vita (“Give it up, try again, ain’t life fun…happiness”); la seconda una lenta serenata che stringe il cuore quando alla chitarra si aggiunge un celestiale intreccio di mandolino e violino; l’ultima una filastrocca delle sue, non meno sconsolata (“what a waste to feel the way I feel”), ma che può contare comunque su un ritornello che sembra un gioviale girotondo.
La cadenza irresistibile di “Sychophant” non impedisce alla canzone di essere turbata da continui incursioni dissonanti del violino e tastiere dai suoni spettrali. Altro momento più disteso è l’innocente melodia di “The Dresses Song”: Lisa sembra essersi quasi dimenticata del dolore che la tiene in vita, eppure anche qui si scorge una leggera inquietudine, una dolorosa constatazione della propria fragilità e, conseguentemente, la necessità di un “altro” a cui aggrapparsi (“Take me to your castle, it feels so good in there, I’m much safer in your castle, mine got lost somewhere”).
Il finale di “The Darkest Night Of All” ha la dolcezza delle ninne nanne che i bambini cantano a se stessi quando hanno paura del buio, perché il buio della mente è davvero la notte più scura di tutte. Da sberleffi implacabili quali immaginavo fossero, queste canzoni finiscono per essere semplicemente struggenti. Ain’t life fun?
Elenco tracce testi e video
03 Happiness (03:45)
Happiness yeah
Happiness is like tv
On or off
It's up to me
Happiness yeah
Relationships
Are like a cow
Growing strong
Just for now
Poor little cow
Mom and dad
Are like my head
I won't listen to them
Until they're dead
Or I'm dead
Sad but true
Sad but true
Self indulgence
Inconsiderate bitch
Inconsiderate bitch
You're nothing more than this girl
C'mon everybody, sing
Pain and sadness
Are real to me
They stick around
And let me be
Give it up
Try again
Give it up
Try again
Ain't life fun?
Happiness
Sad but true
Sad but true
Self indulgence
Insonsiderate bitch
Inconsiderate bitch
Ain't nothing more than this
Inconsiderate
Bitch
Yeah
Give it up
Try again
Give it up
Try again
Ain't life fun
Happiness?
Sad but true
Sad but true
Self indulgence
Inconsiderate bitch
Inconsiderate bitch
Ain't nothing more than this
You're inconsiderate
04 Bad Attitude (04:43)
You wish it was sunny,
But it's not...hahaha
The sun will come out
The day after tomorrow..haha
And you can move on
To another bad day
You wish you were pretty,
But you're not...hahaha
But your baby loves you,
He tells you so all the time
Oh that must be why
You're so happy together
You're having another bad day
And that's all you could change
But you don't,
But your attitude, baby
Doesn't have to be so sad
You wish you were happy
But you're not..hahahaha
But if life was easy
You wouldn't learn anything,
Now would you?
But most of the lessons you learn
You would rather forget
You wish you could laugh it away
But its hard
A smoke or a drink makes
The laughing part easier, haha
But now you are stuck
With another addiction
You're having another bad day
And that's all you could change
You could change
But you're attitude, baby
Doesn't have to be so mad
If you were just younger, hahaha
Or, you could start over,
It's never too late,
That's what Betty says
Whatever happened
To your sense of humor?
You've had all your treats
And its only 8:30 am
That's am you would
Give anything to change back
To when
The waves
Were smaller
And you could jump
Over
Change back
To when you laughed
Easy
And all your moves
Were childlike
07 Energy (03:37)
You never wanted this to last
You'd always rather feel bad
Who hurts most? is what you wonder
Who had the hardest day?
I have to ask you "What's your problem?"
I don't believe that you love anyone
? ? when you get hungry
'Cause you don't miss me
Lying by your side
I can feel your energy
And I want it to be mine...mine...mine
'Cause you don't talk like you used to do
You don't act like you used to
You don't laugh you to do
You don't seem to want to
Give me your engery
Give it to me
I want your energy
Give it to me
Me me me
You always thought that you don't like you
Well I do.
I ????
Lying by your side
I can feel energy
And I want it be mine...mine...mine
'Cause you don't talk like you used to do
You don't act like you used
And you don't laugh like you used to do
And you don't seem to want to
Give me your engery
Give it to me
I want your energy
You in me
I want your energy
Give it to me
I want your energy
Give it to me
08 Cowboy (04:07)
I love my little cowboy When he laughs, I'm happy When I'm weak He's macho We ride off together I love my little cowboy When he's rough I'm happy When I am He's macho A woman A man But every now and then he cries But swears there's no tears in his eyes 'Cause he a Little cowboy I tell him and he believes me Then he laughs And I am happy We ride off together A woman A man The power The beauty But every now and then he cries He thinks that I don't know this 'Cause he's a little cowboy I tell him And he believes me When he laughs I am happy We'll ride off together We ride off together A woman A man I know what I'm doing
12 Everyone's Victim (04:47)
Undone, everything's over
High strung, minutes are floating
Breakdown, my thought are cracking
Don't you come a step closer
Hard tounge, silence isn't golden
Unsung, unspoken heroes
Mouths shut, injury is opened
Madness, dangerous problem
Dododododododod (etc.)
No fun, everyone's closing
Mind flown, visions are scattered
Anger, shocking in circles
Guilty, powerless feeling
I am everyone's victim
I am everyone's victim
I am
Everyone's victim
I am everyone's victim
I am everyone's victim
I am everyone's victim
13 The Darkest Night of All (04:41)
Goodnight
How can you sleep?
How can you sleep through this?
What are your thoughts?
As you turn to dream?
I wouldn't know
I never look
These things are hard
These things can hurt
All of the secrets
Nobody needs to know
How does it feel?
Falling asleep so hard
How could ask?
How could I say?
The things I need to
You'd go away
Goodnight
Memory must
Fill you with love
Positive days
Positive years
Older than lonely
Older than old
There's only minutes
Minutes to go
You have to feel this
You have to cry
I can go on
I can deny
This stuff it hurts
Always it will
Now I can ask
Now I can say
The things I need to
You've gone away
Goodnight
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