Land of Sunshine
Encyclopedia
"Land of Sunshine" is the opening track to Angel Dust, the fourth studio album
by American rock
band Faith No More
. It was released as a promo single
in 1992 along with "Midlife Crisis
" and has been compared in its opening style to "From out of Nowhere", the opening track and first single off the bands previous studio album The Real Thing
. The songs lyrics contain, amongst other things, questions from Scientology personality tests, with one of them, the question "Does emotional music have quite an effect on you?", being described by Tom Sinclair of Rolling Stone
as "the perfect tag line for Angel Dust". The song was also one of the three key songs picked out by Robert Christgau
from the album in his review, the two others being "Midlife Crisis" and "Midnight Cowboy".
alongside "Caffeine" during a sleep deprivation experiment and included lines taken almost directly from fortune cookie
s and the Oxford Capacity Analysis
personality test offered by the Church of Scientology
. He also watched lots of late-night television to get into the right frame of mind.
There are three total lines taken from the personality test, although a fourth appears in the lyric booklet with Angel Dust; question 179 "Do others push you around?". Two of the questions used were shortened slightly for their use in the song, question 27 "Do you often sing or whistle just for the fun of it?" had the words 'the' and 'of it' removed and question 196 "Do you sometimes feel that your age is against you (too young or too old)?" was shortened to “Do you feel sometimes that age is against you?”. The third and unchanged line, question 69 "Does emotional music have quite an effect on you?" is featured during the choruses along with the words "Here's how to order".
The lines taken from the fortunes in Chinese fortune cookies were virtually unchanged and appear throughout the first and second verses of the song. They are as follows, as they appeared on the fortunes:
“Life to you is a dashing bold adventure”
“Sing and rejoice, fortune is smiling upon you”
“You have a winning way, so keep it”
“You are an angel heading for a land of sunshine”
“Pat yourself on the back and give yourself a handshake”.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Faith No More
Faith No More
Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed originally as Faith No Man in 1981 by bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist Wade Worthington, vocalist Michael Morris and drummer Mike Bordin. A year later when Worthington was replaced by keyboardist Roddy Bottum, and Mike...
. It was released as a promo single
Promotion (marketing)
Promotion is one of the four elements of marketing mix . It is the communication link between sellers and buyers for the purpose of influencing, informing, or persuading a potential buyer's purchasing decision....
in 1992 along with "Midlife Crisis
Midlife Crisis
"Midlife Crisis" is a song by the American rock band Faith No More. It was released on May 26, 1992 as the first single from their fourth album, Angel Dust...
" and has been compared in its opening style to "From out of Nowhere", the opening track and first single off the bands previous studio album The Real Thing
The Real Thing (Faith No More album)
The Real Thing is the third studio album by the American rock band Faith No More. It was first released through Slash Records on June 20, 1989. It was the first release by the band not to feature vocalist Chuck Mosley, instead the album featured Mike Patton from the experimental band Mr. Bungle...
. The songs lyrics contain, amongst other things, questions from Scientology personality tests, with one of them, the question "Does emotional music have quite an effect on you?", being described by Tom Sinclair of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
as "the perfect tag line for Angel Dust". The song was also one of the three key songs picked out by Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
from the album in his review, the two others being "Midlife Crisis" and "Midnight Cowboy".
Lyrical content
The lyrics for "Land of Sunshine" were written by Mike PattonMike Patton
Michael Allan "Mike" Patton is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and actor, best known as the lead singer of the metal/experimental rock band Faith No More. He has also sung for Mr...
alongside "Caffeine" during a sleep deprivation experiment and included lines taken almost directly from fortune cookie
Fortune cookie
A fortune cookie is a crisp cookie usually made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and oil with a "fortune" wrapped inside. A "fortune" is a piece of paper with words of faux wisdom or a vague prophecy...
s and the Oxford Capacity Analysis
Oxford Capacity Analysis
The Oxford Capacity Analysis , also known as the American Personality Analysis, is a list of questions which is advertised as being a personality test and that is administered for free by the Church of Scientology. The OCA test is offered by the Church of Scientology online, at its local churches,...
personality test offered by the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
. He also watched lots of late-night television to get into the right frame of mind.
There are three total lines taken from the personality test, although a fourth appears in the lyric booklet with Angel Dust; question 179 "Do others push you around?". Two of the questions used were shortened slightly for their use in the song, question 27 "Do you often sing or whistle just for the fun of it?" had the words 'the' and 'of it' removed and question 196 "Do you sometimes feel that your age is against you (too young or too old)?" was shortened to “Do you feel sometimes that age is against you?”. The third and unchanged line, question 69 "Does emotional music have quite an effect on you?" is featured during the choruses along with the words "Here's how to order".
The lines taken from the fortunes in Chinese fortune cookies were virtually unchanged and appear throughout the first and second verses of the song. They are as follows, as they appeared on the fortunes:
“Life to you is a dashing bold adventure”
“Sing and rejoice, fortune is smiling upon you”
“You have a winning way, so keep it”
“You are an angel heading for a land of sunshine”
“Pat yourself on the back and give yourself a handshake”.