Happy Nation as a Spiritual Nation

My interpretation of "Happy Nation", which I have held for thirteen years, was thrown into a tailspin as I listened to the concert version in Copenhagen. I always felt the band was singing about different countries on Earth that were peaceful. After watching the live version, I did not know what to make of the presentation, lyrics, and projections. Curiously, the live version left me with three different interpretations of the song. I plan to write about all three interpretations here. Each view is somehow linked to the next one but each one stands on its own in a way.

My first interpretation: I believe that the "Happy Nation" that the band sings about is not physical in nature but is spiritual in nature.

November 23, 2007. Valby Hallen. Copenhagen, Denmark. The concert hall is dark, ominous. Suddenly, lights flicker and sounds blast from the speakers. Sirens, gunshots, bombs. And a wailing that is reminiscent of a funeral dirge reaches the audience. A lamentation at the highest level.

The opening conveys a sense of foreboding, fear, and uneasiness. Grainy projections flicker on the screen in a seemingly random pattern and we are reminded by a voice in the distance that man is in no position to rule alone. The projections become clearer. They show us what happens when man rules the world alone. We see helicopters attacking, troops marching, planes dropping bombs, fires, atomic explosions.

Complete destruction. Hell on Earth.


The band steps out of the darkness, solemn and serious. Dancers walk the length of the stage with marching steps, giving military salutes as they parade around. Jenny walks up to the microphone and begins singing, "Laudate omnes gentes laudate. Magnificat in secula. Et anima, mea laudate. Magnificat in secula."

And a slight change occurs. It is easy to miss if you are not watching closely.

The projections. They change.

They become holy.

A dove soars through a brightly shining light. A stone angel sits praying under a window. A hand holds a flower. A child walks through a field of wheat. A dove sits atop a barbed wire fence.

As the Latin choir concludes, the terrifying images of destruction and war return. Fear, pain, agony, and utter despair is presented to the audience frame by frame. Over and over again.

What are we to make of these images of terrifying pain and suffering as the band sings such positive words? Aren't they supposed to be singing about nations that are happy? How can these places ever be considered happy nations?

They can't.

No nation is happy and can never be happy because we hurt, injure, maim and kill. We cannot be perfect and cannot rule without trouble. We die but our negative ideas live on. The situation is dire and extremely fragile. Our human situation, our human condition, leads to death. But within the lyrics, we find that the situation we are in leads somewhere. It leads to "sweet salvation."

This idea of salvation that comes out of a difficult situation brings me to the conclusion that the happy nation they sing about is not a physical nation run by man. But a happy nation is a spiritual one built upon God's love for us.

As Jenny stands with her arms stretched out in a cross position, with the black and white projections flickering behind her, she nears the end of the song, "situation leads to sweet salvation. For the people, for the good, for mankind, brotherhood."

Finishing the performance, she repeats the Latin choir, "Laudate omnes gentes laudate. Magnificat in secula. Et anima, mea laudate. Magnificat in secula."

"Praise, all people praise. The most magnificent of all time. One spirit, I praise. The most magnificent of all time."