David Gilmour and the Musician Who Knew How to Make Happy Songs: "He Tried and Did It"

In music, anguish and inequality are common currency in the lyrics, but there are artists who manage to swim against the current without seeming forced. For David Gilmour, Pink Floyd’s guitarist and vocalist, that exceptional case has its own name: John Denver. “If you look at most good lyricists, there are not many happy songs. Sadness has more emotional power,” Gilmour said in an interview reflecting on the overall tone of lyrics in the rock w…