Happiness Runs

Happiness runs, happiness runs
Happiness runs, happiness runs
Happiness runs in a circular motion
Thought is like a little boat upon the sea
Everybody is a part of everything anyway
You can have everything if you let yourself be

Happiness runs, happiness runs
Happiness runs, happiness runs
Happiness runs in a circular motion
Thought is like a little boat upon the sea
Everybody is a part of everything anyway
You can have everything if you let yourself be

Happiness runs in a circular motion
Thought is like a little boat upon the sea
Everybody is a part of everything anyway
You can have everything if you let yourself be
You can have everything if you let yourself be

This peppy little song was written by Donovan Leitch
I got to open for him once, well, twice
Two shows on a Saturday night at the Bottom Line
In West 4th Street in Greenwich Village
Way back in the mid-1980s, you know, last century
The night before, I did two shows of my own
At Passim in Cambridge, Massachusetts
And the next day, Saturday
I flew on a shuttle from Boston to New York
By coincidence, Donovan was on the same plane
Now, in real life, I am shy
So it took about half the flight to get my courage up to the point
Where I felt bold enough to introduce myself
I made my way up to his seat, stuck out my hand and said
"Excuse me, are you Donovan?"
He took my hand, smiled, and said "Yes, I am!"
So I said, "Hi, I'm your opening act tonight"
He looked confused
"You're my opening act? What are you doing up here?"
Now, to this day, I don't know why I said what I said
But it went something like this
"Oh, it's a Bottom Line tradition
When you are opening for one of your musical heroes
That you find out what city he is in the night before
You go to that city
Then the day of the concert you go to the airport to see what flight he buys a ticket for
And you buy a ticket for the same flight
Wait until you are exactly midway between the two cities
Then introduce yourself and shake his hand
Just to make sure his concert goes really well that night"
Donovan's eyes grew wider and wider as I spoke
"You've got to be kidding!", he said to me
"Yes, I am", I whispered
"But you are going to put on a phenomenal show tonight"
And he did, twice

Happiness runs in a circular motion
Thought is like a little boat upon the sea
Everybody is a part of everything anyway
You can have everything if you let yourself be
You can have everything if you let yourself be

Happiness runs in a circular motion
Thought is like a little boat upon the sea
Everybody is a part of everything anyway
You can have everything if you let yourself be