Sheryl Crow: If It Makes You Happy

The song for which I bought Sheryl Crow: If It Makes You Happy (1996)'s eponymous album, the music video starts afterhours in a wildlife taxidermy museum. The warm & adventurous signature riff of the song starts as the lighting comes on, revealing the handsome, majestic moose. Immediately, I get the sense of a road trip across my homeland of western Canada, with the perfect blend of alt-rock & contemporary country.

Along with the taxidermised animals, Sheryl is also on display, bored & restless. She changes the furniture & layout in her display throughout the video, but remains dissatisfied.

Sheryl's image in as a skid row streetwalker belies her musical talent - she is a graduate in music from the University of Missouri. The theme of her being boxed inside a place where she is nothing but a trophy display for passers-by seems to be a metaphor for the chorus lyric: "If it makes you happy, then why... are you so sad?"

Overall the video is creative, but could have expanded into more scenes beyond Sheryl singing to the camera. More visitors could come in & look at her on display - some shaking their heads in disappointment, some applauding her, etc. This would be a metaphor for what seems to be a common theme in Sheryl's music of not trying to please everybody - the ones who will disapprove, were going to disapprove regardless; might as well go your own way.