Brandi Carlile – Happy
“Happy” lyrics by Brandi Carlile
I don’t hang around that place no more
I’m tired of wearing circles in the floor
And I don’t carry myself very well
I’ve gotten so much braver
Can you tell?
I’m happy
Can’t you see?
I’m alright
But I miss you Amber Lee
And I line my secrets up all one by one
I put ‘em all away when I was done
And I would really love to hear your voice sometime
To close a little distance in my mind
I’m happy
Can’t you see?
I’m alright
But I miss you Amber Lee
Amber Lee
Where have you been all these years?
And how could you just disappear?
And when did you stop
Missing me?
I’m happy
Can’t you see?
I’m alright
But I miss you Amber Lee
I’m alright
But I miss you Amber Lee
(Click on images to view them individually.)
© All rights reserved by Brandi Carlile.
A few of her songs can be heard here:
http://www.myspace.com/brandicarlileband
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Brandi’s next 2 concerts are in London, UK on November 30 and in Portland, Oregon on Dec. 14. Both are happily sold out.
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4 comments so far
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Funny thing… I’m friends with Brandi and I laugh at this song stirring up speculation because in truth there is no one named ‘Amber Lee’. In fact, when Brandi started singing this song years and years ago (this is actually quite an old song of hers), there wasn’t really a set lyric for the end of the chorus and she’d change it up – usually singing “i miss you Abilene” (like the city in texas). And sometimes we’d tease her and sing over her “i miss you Emily” because she loved the Indigo Girls so much and one of them is named Emily. So yeah, if you’re looking for clues to Brandi’s sexuality, this is not the path to follow.
sorry kids.
Funny how everytime I read one of these one of the artists “friends” just so happens to drop in to say something lol right
The response of the person who knows Brandi in this blog/article is interesting. I very specifically remember a person in the crowd at a concert saying “Who is Amber Lee!?”
Brandi had laughed and said “it’s not like that.”
If my memory serves me right, Brandi had replied that she was a girl she sang Elvis tunes with in a cover band and she had ended up getting married and she didn’t hear from her after that.
“I’ve gotten so much braver, can you tell.” This is referring to how Brandi used to be stage shy. Amber Lee would know because she was on stage with her.
Take it from a die hard fan who has been to over 20 concerts. I remember most of what she says on stage.
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OneMoreOption: Fascinating. I’ve been to 4 of her concerts – I don’t know why I’m mentioning that fact, but nevertheless . . . it’s there.
I found a few articles where Brandi talks about Amber:
Let’s talk about your self-titled Columbia debut. Who or what inspired “Happy,” and do you know someone named Amber Lee?
Carlile:”I do — Amber Lee was my counterpart background singer for the Elvis impersonator and my best friend in the world. We got a little bit older, and I became absolutely obsessed with music, and she got married. And so we talked once a week, and then once a month, and then once a year. And then we just didn’t see each other anymore.
I wrote that song about the fact that I was really happy in my life, but that I wondered where she was and that I missed my childhood friend.”
SOURCE: http://www.medleyville.us/2006/04/qa_brandi_carlile.html
“When I was eight or nine I met this little girl who was singing as well and her dad was an Elvis impersonator. We became friends and I was always spending the night at her house and kind of grew up with her. My brother was always teaching me harmonies of Motown singers and these amazing background vocals. Spending the night at her house one time I heard her dad practising with his band so we went downstairs and I started singing the harmonies to the songs and he hired me and his daughter to tour with them as background singers”.
SOURCE: http://www.ilikemusic.com/interviews/Brandi_Carlile_interview_2008-4980/1
^^
That whole article is very cool, it had a lot of information in it about Brandi’s personal/family life that I didn’t know.
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OneMoreOption: Excellent, thank you very much.