I was flipping through the channels when suddenly...?

The Happy Talk Song was originally in the 1949 Rogers & Hammerstein musical,

by the same title. The musical was based on the novel "Tales of the South Pacific,"

by James Michener.

In the song when she pinches her fingers together she actually means "happy talk", like the words, "how you gonna have happy talk if you....." she also makes other motions like putting her hands beside her face when she refers to her dream of happiness, raises her hands to the moon, makes hands like a bird flying and in the water as she calls it a lily lake. It is from the original movie musical, starring Mitzi Gaynor,1958 Rogers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific. Although not the main players, when Joe Cable an American lieutenant starts showing a romantic in Bloody Mary's (yes that's her name, but it is because she is a great business person) daughter sings the song and her daughter, Liat uses the hand gestures (pidgin) to represent the words and phrases of the song.

Yes, many do not realize it but there were alcoholic beverages way back in the 50's too, and many were local brew items from various islands in the South Pacific. The happy talk aspect was related to the high one would achieve by a natural juice but very well spiked drink with a little umbrella in it, while watching a hula dancer who is starting to lose her skirt. Happy times.