“What’s It Like To Be Happy” by Of Virtue song meaning: finding lasting peace amid life’s struggles
“What’s It Like To Be Happy” is a song that began as an ironic question in an Of Virtue writing session and became a much deeper reflection on what it means to build meaningful peace during even the lowest moments of your life.
Released in May of 2026 as part of a new batch of songs from Of Virtue, “What’s It Like To Be Happy” shows a new side of the band, serving as their most vulnerable offering yet.
What events inspired “What’s It Like To Be Happy?”
When lead singer Tyler Ennis sat down with producers Evan McKeever and Lee Albrecht to write “What’s It Like To Be Happy,” he admits he was at the lowest point of his life.
“My mom got diagnosed with Alzheimer's last January,” Tyler shares. “She's like my best friend. I love her, and she's very supportive. To have that be our reality and her reality now is really difficult to try to process.”
Not long after, the band went on a tour to Europe, which should have been a moment of collective celebration. But just a few days in, Tyler’s life saw another plot twist.
He says, “I got broken up with. So dealing with that heartbreak, especially so far away from home, was a definitely a very challenging thing. I'm very grateful that I was surrounded by my friends, my band, and that I got to play music. That helped keep my mind busy.”
At the same time, while he was in Europe, his dad was in and out of the hospital. Tyler didn’t even have time to process the torrent of personal events while finishing the shows abroad.
The band came home and immediately went into the studio to work on the album that will be released in 2026. But for Tyler, the unprocessed emotions of what he’d been through were a relentless backdrop.
What is the meaning of the song “What’s It Like To Be Happy?”
“What's it like to be happy was actually just a question that we asked in a joking way,” Tyler starts.
The band was writing with two of the producers who worked on the album, Evan McKeever and Lee Albrecht.
“Evan was sitting there trying to come up with some lyrics, and he jokingly said, ‘what's it like to be happy?’” Tyler recalls. “We all looked at them, we're like, no, that can’t be it. But he's like, ‘no, hear me out. Like, what's it like to be happy? What is happiness to you?’”
The singer continues, “Asking that question in a song form is such a genius thing to do, because you're asking a question, but you're also telling people what's going on in your life.”
And for Tyler, he had a lot to share. He started by writing the lyrics:
“What’s wrong with me?
I woke up without the taste of dopamine.”
Tyler has ADHD, which means that his brain is actually chronically overloaded on dopamine at all times.
“Raining on your parade
'Cause I've got the time to waste.”
“I let myself go for a while,” Tyler admits. “I didn't care about myself. I didn't care about other people. I didn't care if I hurt other people. And that's not who I am. I've never been that kind of person. Usually, if I make someone upset, I think about it all day. But there were times when I'd make someone mad, and I'd be like, it's not my problem.
“‘What It’s Like To Be Happy’ is written about mental health,” Tyler says simply. “It's written about the trials and tribulations of trying to find what happiness is to you. Going through the motions, feeling depressed, feeling like those things that maybe you have enjoyed in the past, you don't enjoy anymore. Being able to write a song in that mindset was very therapeutic, but also very vulnerable and scary. It was writing a song where I was basically going to go out and tell people, ‘Hey, I was at the lowest point of my life when I wrote this song.’”
Tyler adds:
“Not knowing if you're ever gonna be able to feel happiness again is one of the scariest feelings. You start questioning, ‘Is this just who I am now? Do I really not enjoy these things that I used to love?’
If you’re feeling that way, there is nothing wrong with you. You're not broken. You are good enough. You do belong here. And even on your worst days, there's always something positive to take away from it.
I think we all get caught up in where we want to be, not where we are right in this moment. And a lot of the reason why we do that, of course, is because we don't want to be in this moment. We want to feel better. We want to feel good. But you can’t until you sit with your feelings, until you sit with your thoughts, and you take these issues, problems, and battles that you deal with every day head-on. Then you're going to walk away from that situation better off because you stood up for yourself.”
How does “What’s It Like To Be Happy” fit into Of Virtue’s new album?
The forthright emotional tone taken in “What’s It Like To Be Happy” defines much of their 2026 album.
“There's no hidden message. It's very direct and in-your-face, and that's something that we wanted to kind of try, because we haven't really done that in a while,” Tyler explains. “Our last album was a lot of different ways of going about things, and on this one, there's nothing to interpret in our songs. You know exactly what it's about when you listen to it.”
You can stay up to date with news about more music from Of Virtue on Instagram, Facebook, and at ofvirtueband.com.
What is Of Virtue’s message on mental health right now?
“I want people to know that no matter what's going on, you are strong enough to get out of it. I am a walking example,” Of Virtue’s Tyler Ennis says clearly. “The last year of my life was a lot of low points. But when you get out of your own way, when you think about things in a different light or have other people give you a different perspective, you begin to see patterns and also begin to appreciate the small things.”
For Tyler, that can be as small as enjoying time with his mom and his cats while he’s home from the road instead of getting focused on being off tour and missing the road.
“I am able to appreciate the fact that because I'm not on tour, I'm able to do this. And that at least still gives me something to look forward to,” Tyler explains. “No matter what's going on, find the the things in your life that you can appreciate.”
He also offers a few practical tools that have helped put him back on the path towards enjoying his own life again: “What helped me is just doing things with intention. I was journaling every day for a while. With ADHD, there's just so much going on in my brain and my thoughts that I have to slow down — that's the only way that I can get anything done. The only way that I can feel calm is when I slow things down. So I don't like getting up early, but I have to. That is the only way, because if I'm rushing out the door, my whole day is messed up. I try to stick with a routine.
Then I try to put my phone away if I'm having a conversation with someone. Taking away those distractions is one of the best things.
And the other tool that I use is my environment. Being outside, there’s so much going on that it's easier for me to focus, versus if I’m in my room where I usually do content. It’s putting myself in an environment that I know is going to work for myself.”
Tyler concludes, “Happiness is something that I think we are always going to chase, we are always going to try and find what does make us happy. I think it's a good thing that it's always going to be something I'm chasing. I don't think I'm ever going to know exactly what it is to be happy. But I do know that I'll be able to find peace: with myself, with my thoughts, with where I'm at in my life. Because as long as I start appreciating more of the stuff in this moment, here and now, I think I'll be able to get to where I want to be.”
“What’s It Like To Be Happy” by Of Virtue lyrics
What's wrong with me?
I woke up without the taste of dopamine
Got some vices, self-inflicted therapy
I feel dead on the inside
Waste away my whole life
I've got no tears left to cry
I'm so sad at myself
Mad at myself
Sick of myself
It feels like every day is the same
Wake up in misery
Take a blue sky, blue sky, make it cloudy
What's it like, what's it like to be happy?
Raining on your parade
'Cause I've got the time to waste
Take a blue sky, blue sky, make it cloudy
What's it like, what's it like to be happy?
What's wrong with me?
Locked up in my head alone without the key
Why am I so secure in insecurity?
I feel dead on the inside
Waste away my whole life
I've got no tears left to cry
It feels like every day is the same
Wake up in misery
Take a blue sky, blue sky, make it cloudy
What's it like, what's it like to be happy?
Raining on your parade
'Cause I've got the time to waste
Take a blue sky, blue sky, make it cloudy
What's it like, what's it like to be happy?
Happy, happy
I'm so sad at myself
Mad at myself
Sick of myself
I was on my way to heaven
But my friends are all in hell
It feels like every day is the same
Wake up in misery
Take a blue sky, blue sky, make it cloudy
What's it like, what's it like to be happy?
Raining on your parade
'Cause I've got the time to waste
Take a blue sky, blue sky, make it cloudy
What's it like, what's it like to be happy?
Will I ever be happy?
