False happiness is on the rise
I'll be the first to never die
Nice thought, and I'm never gonna lose it
The city grows within my head
Street plans follow electric grids
Brick and steel house everything
I am the founder of myself
And I'm never gonna lose it
Never gonna lose it
Never gonna lose it
Never gonna lose it
Never gonna lose it
On my eyes
Lithe in thought and pumping blood
Muscle, bone and ligament twined
Answer only to that point of light
Love its shine
And I'm never gonna lose it
From this throne see the curve of the earth
Turn around see it curve right back
History's my backyard, eternity's my reward
I have it all and all is mine
And I'm never gonna lose it
Never gonna lose it
Never gonna lose it
Never gonna lose it
Never gonna lose it
The body, the body, the body, the body, the body, the body
The fear, the fear, the fear, the fear, the fear, the fear
The body, the body, the body, the body, the body, the body
The fear, the fear, the fear, the fear, the fear, the fear
The body, the body, the body, the body, the body, the body
The fear, the fear, the fear, the fear, the fear, the fear
He enters the temple
It falls
It falls, it always falls
Why does it shake?
The body, the body, the body, the body, the body
Why does it shake?
The body, the body, the body, the body, the body
Why does it shake?
The body, the body, the body, the body, the body
Reference to (and apparent comment on) the song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, which would have been playing everywhere around the time this song was written:
(Because I’m happy)
Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof.
In an interview with Stereogum, Casey reveals he got the song title and these lines from his mother:
That was something my mom said one day out of the blue. I think she was asking about the tremors in her hand. It seemed like a valid question that really didn’t have an easy answer.
The question itself and the answers (if that’s what they are) shatter the boastful self-confidence of the lines preceding it. Prior references to eternal life, love, thrones, etc. convey a (tenuous) sense of strength and power, and these lines shatter that sense with a stark reminder of the mind and the body’s vulnerability to disease, decay, and fear.
More of that false happiness from the first three lines, and these add hollow confidence into the mix.
Joe Casey knows full well the hope of an evergreen life is a dream because his father died unexpectedly and his mother suffers from Alzheimer’s. Both of his parents are probably behind these lines and the scornful brushing off of these hopes when he says “Nice thought.” That he has no doubt seen his own mother lose her memories and seen her mind diminish adds tragic irony to the closing lines here: These wishes are out of reach and even the hope that they aren’t can be lost.
Possibly a reference to the Camus novel. The Stranger always wins because they are so disaffected they can not be moved by anything.