I Just Can't Be Happy Today

{{Infobox song

| name = I Just Can't Be Happy Today

| cover = IJustCan'tBeHappyToday.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| B-side = {{ubl|"Ballroom Blitz"|"Turkey Song"}}

| released = 16 November 1979{{cite web|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1979/Music-Week-1979-11-17.pdf|title=Music Week|page=56}}

| recorded = 1979

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = {{flatlist|

Punk rock
{{cite web |author=Ryan Davey |title=I Just Can't Be Happy Today: A Dark Wave Retrospective

|url=https://ceremonymusic.ca/home/darkwave? |website=Ceremony }}
- dark pop
  - darkwave
    
    }}
    
    | length = 3:34
    
    | label = Chiswick
    CHIS 120
    
    Motown
    CHIS 115
    
    | writer = * Captain Sensible
    
    Giovanni Dadomo
    
    | producer = * Roger Armstrong
    
    the Damned
    
    | prev_title = Smash It Up
    
    | prev_year = 1979
    
    | next_title = White Rabbit
    
    | next_year = 1980
    
    }}
    
    "I Just Can't Be Happy Today" is a song by the English punk rock band the Damned from their 1979 album, Machine Gun Etiquette. Released as a single in November on Chiswick Records, it peaked at No. 46 in the UK Singles Chart.

Production

The single was heavily edited for radio airplay, removing the spoken word monologue, though the version on the record is unaltered. The first track on the B-side, a cover of Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz", was recorded with Lemmy of Motörhead fame on bass guitar. "Turkey Song" was not credited on the sleeve.

Live performances

The Damned performed "I Just Can't Be Happy Today" alongside "Smash It Up" on the BBC2 television show The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1979, where they infamously trashed the stage towards the end of the song.{{cite AV media|title=The Old Grey Whistle Test|medium=DVD|publisher=Warner Home Video|year=2003}}