For some reason, my car stereo is always tuned to Magic Malta. And I know I’m listening to it too much lately, because I keep catching myself humming “Farrugia lighting and interiors… more than just lights” as if it was a Top 10 hit.
The other day, the Malta Eurovision winning song Coming Home came up on radio and I put the volume on for my seven-year-old and her friend to listen to at the back of the car.
They immediately stopped their giggling and were all ears. Their verdict at the end showed they were clearly disappointed: “This is not a happy song.”
My daughter then went on to explain how at school that week, her friends had “discussed” the Eurovision. (Proof, if we ever needed that, children are our mini-versions). She said that everyone was rather upset, because no one – including her – knew the name of the singer who won the Eurovision this year, “And!” – a look of shock on her face – “No one even can sing the song!”
So they all came to the conclusion that maybe it would be better if Gianluca takes part again instead. “Because Tomorrow is a very happy song, mama,” she said with an air of wisdom.
I had to agree. This time last year everyone was feeling rather upbeat and you couldn’t go anywhere without people bursting into an impromptu “My name is Jeremy, working in IT, la la la”. In fact, Paddy Cooke, my Scouser colleague, formally declared Gianluca as the nation’s favourite son. Wait. Or was that Joseph Calleja? No, no, said Paddy: Calleja is the national treasure.
In any case, Gianluca deserved that title because he gave us an uplifting earworm – a song which burrowed into our brains and stayed there long after the music has stopped. And God knows, with all the depressing news around us we could all do with a bit of cheering up.
Which is why this year, we all love that Pharrell Williams’s Happy, the first song since the 1950s to reach the top spot on three separate occasions.
Because of their positive kick they spur us to do little things that fill every corner of our souls with joy and laughter
It’s a relief to hear something which sounds so inviting, especially as nowadays everyone seems intent on making music that sounds weird and alien (or maybe I’m just growing old).
We need tunes that give out a sense of lightness rather than darkness or sadness.
A psychologist recently told The Sunday Times of London that these kind of ditties “light up all areas that matter in the brain”, as a result of which our “mental jukebox” “keeps us fired up” long after the music is finished.
It doesn’t matter if we’re broke, if work is dreary, if we’re not as fit as an Olympic trainer, if the weather is dull and grey, happy songs make us believe the sun will shine after all.
Also, because of their positive kick they spur us to do little things that fill every corner of our souls with joy and laughter, such as: speaking in front of a fan to do a robot voice; wriggling your arse in front of a mirror to the Mambo Italiano; strolling in Maltese poppy fields; holding hands while driving the car; telling someone five things you like about them and getting five things back.
We forget sometimes, how free and liberating it is to feel not just ‘relatively OK’ or ‘tired-but-fine’, but simply, merely, happy. It takes a song or two to remind us.
• Still on the topic of happiness. Quick question: If you had to choose between being a priest or nun and running a pub, which would you go for? Serving pints or serving God?
According to UK research on the relationship between different jobs and levels of life satisfaction, running a pub is the unhappiest occupation of all. They are closely followed by debt collectors (no surprises here).
The happiest workers, the research suggests, are vicars and priests. They enjoy the most satisfying lives, closely followed by farmers and fitness instructors, who lead a pretty jolly life too.
I was stunned. I would have thought running a pub, with all that access to tipple, would put one in a cheery mood, but in fact, the outdoor life and helping people seems to be the trick with greater personal wellbeing.
Jobs associated with the lowest life satisfaction include telesales workers, bar staff, rent collectors and leisure assistants. Journalists, in case you were wondering while reading this paper, fall bang in the middle: neither too happy nor to sad.
The UK government will be trying to use this research for its policy to boost the happiness of the nation.
Our government could simply recruit Gianluca and put him permanently on the airwaves.
• Messers Farrugia Lighting and Interiors, I can tell you: your happy song advert works – if only I know where your shop is.
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Twitter: @KrisChetcuti
www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Sxv-sUYtM