THE SAYING MADE FAMOUS BY BABA & BOBBY: “Don’t worry, be happy.”
First popularized by Meher Baba (1894-1969); made even more famous by Bobby McFerrin
“Don’t worry, be happy” is a catchphrase used by Indian spiritual master Meher Baba and featured on his posters and “inspiration cards” in the mid-1960s.
Baba probably coined the saying. But it achieved far wider fame after being borrowed as the title and chorus of the 1988 song written by McFerrin, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” McFerrin’s original recording was a huge hit, becoming the first a cappella song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It has since been covered by many other musicians and bands.
Most people now know (and either love or hate) the song, which starts with the following lyrics:
Here's a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don’t worry, be happy
In every life we have some trouble
But when you worry you make it double
Don’t worry, be happy
Don’t worry, be happy now |
PUBLIC ENEMY’S COUNTERQUOTE: “Don’t worry be happy
Was a number one jam
Damn, if I say it you can slap me right here”
Public Enemy
Pioneering American hip hop group formed in 1986
This was Public Enemy’s mocking response to Bobby McFerrin’s feel-good hit “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” in the lyrics of their song “Fight the Power.” The original version of the song was on the soundtrack of Spike Lee’s 1989 film Do the Right Thing. A second version was featured on Public Enemy's 1990 studio album Fear of a Black Planet. |
PUTIN’S PARIS DISAGREEMENT PLATITUDE:
“Don't worry, be happy...This accord has not yet come into effect; it is supposed to come into effect as of 2021…so we still have time. If we are all constructive in what we do, there are things that we can agree on.”
Vladimir Putin
President of Russia
This was Putin’s widely-quoted response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw United States from the Paris Climate Change Accord, an agreement to reduce the use of fossil fuels to mitigate the global warming.
Putin himself had two reasons not to worry. For him, Trump’s decision was a win-win, since it made the U.S. look bad and because Russia is the third biggest oil producing country in the world (slightly behind the U.S. and Saudi Arabia). |
THE GRUMPY VERSION: “Don’t Worry, Be Grumpy”
Ajahn Brahm
Australian Buddhist teacher and writer
The title of a book he published in 2015, subtitled “Inspiring Stories for Making the Most of Each Moment.” I wonder if it sold better than his earlier book “Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung?: Inspiring Stories for Welcoming Life's Difficulties.” |
THE CRABBY VERSION : “Don’t Worry, Be Crabby”
The motto of Crabby Bill’s
A Florida-based chain of seafood restaurants |
A WORSE VERSION: “Don’t Worry, It Gets Worse”
Alida Nugent
American writer and actress
The title of Nugent’s book about what she describes in the subtitle as her “(Mostly Failed) Attempts at Adulthood.” |
THE NATTY DREADLOCKS VERSION: “Don’t Worry, Be NAPPY!”
Jeffery Bradley
American author and Internet entrepreneur
The title of his book about “maintaining and living with dreadlocks, a hairstyle that most in American society consider impractical.” (Alas, a hairstyle that for me is impossible, as much as I’d love to have dreads.) |
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