Happy Anniversary

Album: Go (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This cut was influenced by vocalist Justin Pierre's experience of being with his grandmother a few hours before she passed away. He explained to Spin magazine: "My grandmother died late in 2009 and it was the strangest thing. I was trying to go back to film school when we had this big break, this big opportunity. But I wanted to see her because I knew she had cancer and was on her way out. Something told me I just had to go see her. I had to put my life and band on hold and say, 'Screw it!' and go hang out with her. I flew down to L.A. the next day and hung out with her.

    It was a weird experience being with this shell of a woman that I used to know," he continued. "She couldn't move or communicate. I didn't know what to do. I hung out with her for a few hours and she died the next morning. If I hadn't gone, I would have never experienced that. And that experience might have been what set me towards this idea of just existing and living in the moment, and that definitely plays into the record. 'Happy Anniversary,' this sad new song, is based on that experience. It's from the point of view of the someone who is dying. It's one of the songs that I'm very excited about."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?

Millie Jackson

Millie JacksonSongwriter Interviews

Outrageously gifted and just plain outrageous, Millie is an R&B and Rap innovator.

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"They're Playing My Song

Gramm co-wrote this gorgeous ballad and delivered an inspired vocal, but the song was the beginning of the end of his time with Foreigner.

Harry Shearer

Harry ShearerSongwriter Interviews

Harry is Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, Mark Shubb in The Folksmen, and Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.

Jay, Peaches, Spinderella and other Darrining Victims

Jay, Peaches, Spinderella and other Darrining VictimsSong Writing

Just like Darrin was replaced on Bewitched, groups have swapped out original members, hoping we wouldn't notice.