Lisnaholic

The Brits are not particularly convincing when it comes to celebrating happiness. That's understandable during a war, of course, when alcohol may be necessary to help you forget the bleakness of circumstances for long enough to laugh. Even so, this popular 1942 drinking song, for instance, is actually of Czech origin - and if you have to import your good cheer from Czechoslovakia, then you really are a gloomy nation!



In the early 60s, with Britain struggling out of postwar austerity, there was still something vaguely unpatriotic about being too happy; it was something you shouldn't succumb to wholeheartedly.The uncomplicated Americans seemed to do it so much better, which is why, for a number of years, this song regularly turned up on the radio across the summer months :-



... so Fun, Fun, Fun (1964) and other Beach Boys songs seemed to reinforce an established precedent : that Americans, and especially Californians, were better at being happy than we were.
But by 1966 the mood in England was lighter and The Beatles, with their reputation and talent, were able to get away with the unashamedly upbeat Good Day Sunshine. In general though, I think the Brits were still suspicious of too much home-grown cheerfulness*. Maybe that's why serious respect for their musicianship always eluded Mungo Jerry, even though their 1970 song, In the Summertime, was a huge and happy hit. It's an infectious, neatly put together song with lyrics that manage to include many elements typical of good times, like fine weather, women, fishing, drinking, driving and parties. But Mungo Jerry came from Kent, where an anthem of such unbridled joy is out of place. Although the song rocketed into the charts, I think it was perceived as a kind of midsummer madness that people were embarrassed to admit to afterwards!




* The happy innocence of Good Day Sunshine is even more remarkable when you consider that just one year later the Beatles released Magical Mystery Tour, with its mocking, ironic look at British seaside pleasures. This is something Brits are much more comfortable with - being tongue-in-cheek and scornful about themselves. In 1977 the Stranglers did it particularly well with Peaches. They laugh at the traditional seaside scene (Oh Sh*t, there goes the charabanc!) and drench it with a dose of punk lust that would've been unthinkable in earlier decades :-

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"Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953