“Happiness is Lubbock, Texas, in my rear view mirror”

Singer and songwriter Mac Davis was born in Lubbock, Texas. His 1980 song, “Texas in My Rear View Mirror,” contains the lyrics: “I thought happiness was Lubbock, Texas, in my rear view mirror.” By the end of the song, however, the singer comes to appreciate home and family.
 
“Rear view” is often given as one word, making the title “Texas in My Rearview Mirror.” The phrase “Happiness is Texas in my rear view mirror” (or, “Happiness is Texas in my rearview mirror”) is sometimes used to deride Texas, but that’s not the message of the Mac Davis song.
 
   
Wikipedia; Mac Davis
Morris Mac Davis, known as Mac Davis (born January 21, 1942), is a country music singer and songwriter originally from Lubbock, Texas who has enjoyed much pop music crossover success. He became one of the most successful country singers of the 1970s and 1980s. He is also an actor.
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During 1974, Davis was awarded the Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year award. Some of Davis’ other successes included “Stop and Smell the Roses” (a number one Adult Contemporary success in 1974) (Popular #9), “One Hell of a Woman” (Pop #11), and “Burnin’ Thing” (Popular #53). At the end of the 1970s, he moved to Casablanca Records, which was now vending country music and was known primarily for its success with disco diva Donna Summer and rockers KISS. His first success for the company in 1980 was the novelty song “It’s Hard To Be Humble” which became his first country music Top 10. He also had another Top 10 song with “Let’s Keep It That Way” later in the year. He achieved other successful songs like “Texas In My Rear View Mirror” and “Hooked on Music” which became his biggest country music success in 1981 going to #2.
   
Lyrics: Texas In My Rear View Mirror by Mac Davis
Texas In My Rear View Mirror
by Mac Davis
1980 - Country
Chart Info & Lyrics
(...)
I thought happiness
Was Lubbock, Texas
In my rear view mirror
My momma kept calling me home
But I just did not want to hear her
 
And the vision was getting clearer
In my dreams
 
OCLC WorldCat Record
Texas in my rear view mirror
Author: Mac Davis
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Casablanca Record and FilmWorks, 1980.
Edition/Format: Musical LP : Country music : English
     
Google News Archive
3 October 1980, Spokane (WA) Daily Chronicle, Focus on Entertainment, pg. 3, col. 1:
MAC DAVIS has written some of his most enjoyable songs on “Texas In My Rear View Mirror,” his latest Casablanca release.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Texas politics in my rearview mirror
Author: Waggoner Carr; Byron D Varner
Publisher: Plano, Tex. : Republic of Texas Press, ©1993.
Edition/Format: Book : Biography : English
 
Google Books
Fire in the water, earth in the air:
Legends of West Texas music
By Christopher J Oglesby
Austin, TX: University of Texas Press
2006
Pg. 3:
Mac Davis, who coined the phrase “Happiness is Lubbock, Texas, in my rearview mirror,” when asked about his hometown, replies, “Let me put it this way: If I was going to have a flat tire without a spare, Lubbock is where I’d like to be.”