"Happy Talk" is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and HammersteinmusicalSouth Pacific. It is sung by Bloody Mary to the American lieutenant Joe Cable, about having a happy life, after he begins romancing her daughter Liat. Liat performs the song with hand gestures as Mary sings.
In July 1982, The Damned's guitarist Captain Sensible reached the No. 1 position on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks with his version of the song,[2] featuring backing vocals by the band Dolly Mixture. This version also peaked at number 35 in Australia.[3]
Claudine Longet recorded a version for her album Love is Blue (1968).[4]
In 1967, Harpers Bizarre did a cover of the song, including it in their album Feelin' Groovy, which was released in the same year.
Daniel Johnston covered the song at least two times, first on his solo 1983 cassette "The Lost Recordings II", and later with Jad Fair on their album It's Spooky, released in 1989.
The Four Freshmen covered the song on the album Voices in Fun (1961).
