“Happy On The Hey Now… Behind The Song”

 A Special Song For A Special Person.

Many of you have heard this amazing song on the “Live In No Shoes Nation” album. We were there that day in 2013 at Gillette Stadium when Kenny poured his heart into this beautiful tribute to a special friend! We have also passed the boat those memories were made on. When we visit St. John it is moored right there in Cruz Bay! Yes it survived the hurricanes too!

This amazing song is about Kristi Hansen, a friend of Kenny’s who passed away in 2012 from a brain aneurysm at the age of 35. The singer first met Kristi in the US Virgin Islands in the 1990s and she was part of a group of pals whom he would hang out with during his downtime in the Caribbean. He recorded this touching tribute to her as the closing track of his sixteenth studio album, Life On A Rock. “This record was tough for me in the studio, especially that one,” the Nashville star told Billboard magazine. “To sing a song that personal – about someone who really touched your life was hard for me. It really was. There’s a difference in singing something like ‘ Pirate Flag,’ ‘When The Sun Goes Down,’ or ‘ Summertime‘ in the studio, and getting in there and singing a song like that. This record was so emotional and so close to me.”

The “Hey Now” was a boat that Kenny would hang out on in the Caribbean with his friends and he considered Kristy the centerpiece of all of them. Kenny explained to Billboard magazine: “This person defined that circle of friends, she defined a time in my life when it was a lot simpler for me. I think that she was the kind of person that lived the kind of life I really craved. She was the epitome of living life in the moment. She took life like it was a big lemon and squeezed it really hard. I think we all have somebody in our life that dies young, and it’s hard to figure out why, and that can make such an impact that no matter how busy you are and what you’re doing in life, it can stop you in your life and change you. That’s what it did to me, even before I wrote this song. When that happens to you and you have to let go of someone you really care about, it makes you re-evaluate everything. It makes you re-evaluate the connection with the person you’re in a relationship with, what you’re giving to it, are you giving to it. It makes you re-evaluate your relationships with your family, your friends, and that’s what Kristi’s passing did to me. It changed me as a person, as an artist and songwriter, the way I like to walk through the word. She was a special person.”

“Some people are really good at math, good at school,” he added, “some have a great business mind, some are great at sports. Kristi was good at life and that’s what this song is all about.”

Your spirit will live here forever
The sea will echo your gypsy soul
You will always bring us together, this much I know
Oh, your smile was as big as this island
You could drown in your eyes of blue
You were friend of a friend and someone, I’m glad I knew

I’ll always see you dancing, up there on the bow
Living life in the moment, happy on the hey now
And you’ll live with us as long as, memories stay alive
And you left us with so many, Kristi
You will never die never die
You will never die never die

I hope time can be our healer, maybe time can be a friend
Still I’m a strong believer, someday we’ll see you again
Where the sun is on our faces and the wind is at our back
Sailing south to our favorite places, where the water’s calm and flat

‘Til then we’ll always see you dancing, up there on the bow
Living life in the moment, happy on the hey now
And you’ll live with us as long as, memories stay alive
And you left us with so many, Kristi
You will never die never die

Our circle of friends, we’re sad that you’re gone
We celebrate your life with stories and a song
Somehow you will keep us strong

And we’ll always see you dancing, up there on the bow
Living life in the moment, happy on the hey now
And you’ll live with us as long as, memories stay alive
And you left us with so many, Kristi
You will never die never die
(Left us with so many, Kristi)
You will never die never die
(Left us with so many, Kristi)

Left us with so many, Kristi

Thank You Kenny for sharing this special song with us in the No Shoes Nation!