"I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying" is a song written and recorded by

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

rock singer Sting, which featured on his fifth album, ''

Mercury Falling ''Mercury Falling'' is the fifth studio album by Sting, released in 1996. The album begins and ends with the words " mercury falling." In 1997, the album earned Sting two Grammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Male Pop Vocal Pe ...

'' (1996). The song was also released as a single, and reached No.94 in the US. Sting also recorded the song as a

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

with American country music artist

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's ''Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 1996' ...

for Keith's 1997 album '' Dream Walkin'''; this version reached No.2 in the US

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

charts and No.84 in the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 charts, giving Sting his only country hit.

Background and release

Sting began composing the song as a rock song, but the lyrical content pushed the song in a country direction, and it evolved into a country-rock shuffle. The song begins in the key of

E-flat major E-flat major (or the key of E-flat) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats. Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E minor, (or enharmonically ...

, before modulating a

semitone A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...

upward to

E major E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, ...

in the final verse. Its lyrics concern a father whose wife has left him for another man and taken their two children. After a cynical beginning, he has a revelation about the connectedness of life and the universe, and finishes the song truly 'so happy he can't stop crying'. The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song was directed by

Lol Creme Laurence Neil "Lol" Creme (born 19 September 1947) is an English musician and music video director, best known for his work in 10cc. He sings and plays guitar, bass and keyboards. Biography Creme was born in Prestwich, Lancashire, England. ...

. During the ''Mercury Falling'' tour, Sting would often invite audience members up onto stage to sing the song along with him.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' described the song as "a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

-flavored

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

that shows the artist at his most tender and engaging." He added, "It's kind of odd at first to hear Sting's reedy

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

amid the twang of a slide guitar, but it ultimately works."

Track listing

* US edition #"I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying" #"This Was Never Meant to Be" #"Giacomo's Blues" #"Beneath a Desert Moon" * German edition #"I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying" #"Moonlight" #"La Belle Dame Sans Regrets"

Charts

Toby Keith version

In 1997, American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer

recorded the song for his fourth studio album, '' Dream Walkin''' (1997). His version, a duet with Sting, was released in late 1997 as the album's second single. It out-peaked the original version on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at No.84. It reached No.2 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now

) charts, becoming Sting's only entry on that chart. Additionally, it was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration With Vocals.

Background

According to Keith, Sting agreed to let Keith record the song to give it a second chance at radio, as long as Sting could play

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

and sing duet vocals on it. The two also performed the song at the 1997

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

awards.

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price, of ''

'' magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that Sting and Keith's voices "complement each other extremely well." She goes on to say that a great songwriter can write words and music that transcend any genre and Sting's "poignant lyrics and strong melody on this song are perfect evidence."''

'', 11 October 1997

Charts

"I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying" debuted at number 53 on the

Hot Country Singles & Tracks Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart for the week of 11October 1997.

References

{{authority control 1996 singles 1997 singles Sting (musician) songs Toby Keith songs Male vocal duets Songs written by Sting (musician) Song recordings produced by James Stroud A&M Records singles Mercury Nashville singles 1996 songs Song recordings produced by Hugh Padgham Songs about fathers