Björk further said that the song was inspired by her living in Reykjavík and being far away from her lover: "For me, it's quite a brave thing. It's like putting your diary out for everyone to read. Of course, I didn't put everything in, I very carefully edited it. I'm very good with scissors". The lyrics are autobiographical as Björk stated: "It's just the same as if you go out with a mate and get drunk and get to the 'truth' stage and you wake up next day and think 'fuck, what did I say?'. Sometimes you feel fine, sometimes you feel embarrassed, sometimes you feel a friend has told you something they shouldn't have. I think our instincts know when you've given too much".
Composition
"Violently Happy" is an upbeat track influenced by techno. Its genres range from dance to synth-pop. The song begins with a nearly a cappella section, in which Björk sings the line "Since I met you/this small town/hasn't got room", underscored only by ambient sounds. When Björk continue the verse "For my/big feelings" percussion starts to play and lead into a house influenced score. The song is dominated by techno grooves mixed with percussions and drums. After Björk finishes the second refrain, a funk-rock oriented interlude starts, juxtaposed with repeating Björk vocals.
Portions of the melody are influenced by, if not directly lifted from, Björk's earlier composition "I'm Hungry" from The Sugarcubes' album Stick Around for Joy.
Critical reception
"Violently Happy" received generally positive reviews from music critics. It was defined "bittersweet" by Heather Phares of AllMusic, and "insanely addictive" by Sean McCarthy of The Daily Vault, which also deemed its title as "one of the best song titles of all time". The Daily Telegraphs journalist Emily Bearn noticed that "Violently Happy" finds her making guttural noises at the sea: "I tip-toe down to the shore/Stand by the ocean/Make it roar at me/And I roar back". Brantley Bardin of Details commented that "songs like “Violently Happy” summed up a worldview that put all its faith in emotional abandon instead of logic. “Too much cleverness,” says Björk, “is the worst disease in the world. It ruins everything. Give us a laugh—make us happy". Brad Beatnik from Music Weeks RM Dance Update named it Tune of the Week on 26 February 1994, writing, "A typical fourth single, this might not be quite as immediate as her previous hits but it still has some damn fine moments."
In particular, Simon Reynolds of The New York Times praised the song generally, "The title of 'Violently Happy' captures the Björk effect perfectly: a gush and rush of euphoria, a tidal wave of oceanic feeling. Over the song's brisk house beats, Björk stammers as she struggles to express feelings of excitement so intense she seems on the brink of leaping out of her skin: I'm driving my car too fast with ecstatic music on/I'm daring people to jump off roofs with me. In the end, she and Mr. Hooper resort to studio wizardry to gesture at inexpressible feelings, sampling one syllable and turning it into a stuttering vocal tic". Johnny Dee from NME commented, "More fun, madness and surprise follows", noting its "pulsating grind". Andrew Perry from Select found that it "verge on garage". Sylvia Patterson from Smash Hits gave it a score of four out of five, writing, "Not quite the jovial rejoicings of "Big Time Sensuality" but a giant of space-dance majesty, nonetheless." Troy J. Augusto from Variety described it as "a smoothly twisted tune". David Petrilla from The Weekender stated that the singer "is aiming directly at the dance floor" with the song. In 2019, Defected Records featured the Basso Hitto Dubbo remix of "Violently Happy" in their list of "17 Best Remixes Ever".
Music video
thumb|right|250px|In a scene of the music video, Björk removes the innards from a [[teddy bear]]
Background
The accompanying music video for "Violently Happy" was directed by French fashion photographer and music video director Jean-Baptiste Mondino. To shoot it, Björk flew to Los Angeles in January 1994 and this was further confirmed by Mondino, who added: "She said she was so happy to have experienced the earthquake, and on top of that she didn’t have her son with her so she was freer to experience it without fear... For me she is an iceberg, we only see a little tip of it".
MTV found the video a bit too violent so when they showed the video it received a formal warning from the Independent Television Commission.
Live performances
Björk performed the song in a few TV appearances. On 12 February 1994, she performed the song in the French show Nulle Part Ailleurs, and on 17 March 1994, she performed "Violently Happy" on Top of the Pops. She further performed it on MTV show 3 From 1, along "Venus as a Boy". The song was part of Björk's MTV Unplugged performance, which was released on her DVD MTV Unplugged / Live and on Debut Live, included in Live Box
The song was performed during her first three tours. The performance during the Debut tour was released on Vessel, where she wears a dress similar to the one wore in the music video. The performance of the song during the Post tour, where "Violently Happy" was usually the encore was heavily praised by critics. Nick Coleman of The Independent stated that during "Violently Happy" "Björk formed a stubby pencil shape and bounced herself silly". During its review of Björk's performance at The Academy, MTV Online complimented the singer's energy and wrote that "during "Violently Happy", I thought maybe someone might have snuck something into the coffee I had before the show", on a similar note, Barry Walters of The San Francisco Examiner stated that "a relatively low-key track like "Violently Happy" was turned into the evening’s pounding peak".
Its performance during the Homogenic tour was praised by James Sullivan of the San Francisco Chronicle, who wrote that "As the string section sat motionless during the dance track "Violently Happy", Björk raced back and forth in bare feet to the syncopated thump. She’s an irrepressible dust devil, a former child star who knows how to command attention."
Track listings
Charts
Weekly charts
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (1994)
!Peak<br />position
|-
|Australia (ARIA)
|align="center"|94
|-
|align="left"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)
|align="center"|29
|-
|align="left"|Europe (European Dance Radio)
|align="center"|12
|-
|align="left"|France (SNEP)
|align="center"|31
|-
|align="left"|Germany (Media Control Charts)
|align="center"|100
|-
|-
|align="left"|UK Singles (OCC)
|align="center"|13
|-
|align="left"|UK Airplay (Music Week)
|align="center"|34
|-
|align="left"|UK Dance (Music Week)
|align="center"|10
|-
|align="left"|UK Club Chart (Music Week)
|align="center"|24
|-
|UK Indie (Music Week)
| align=center|1
|-
|align="left"|US Dance Club Play (Billboard)
|align="center"|4
|}
Year-end charts
{|class="wikitable"
!Chart (1994)
!Position
|-
|UK Singles (OCC)
|align="center"|187
|}
Release history
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
!scope="col"|Region
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Format(s)
!scope="col"|Label(s)
!scope="col"|
|-
!scope="row"|United Kingdom
|7 March 1994
|
|One Little Indian
|
|-
!scope="row"|Japan
|30 April 1994
|rowspan="2"|CD
|Mother
|
|-
!scope="row"|Australia
|27 June 1994
|
|
|}