Happen (formerly known as "How Can This Happen") is a formerly unidentified celtic rock song by Irish band Goats Don't Shave, recorded in 1992 as a live demo for BBC Radio 1.
Search History[]
2022-2023[]
The song was posted to WatZatSong on October 2nd, 2022, by user Fantastict. The post’s description read:
"This is a live version of a song I heard around 1992 when living in England. Can't find when I search for it. Chorus goes "How Can This Happen Does anybody care about it anyway How Can This Happen How come you Can still pull the trigger though you got no gun". Does anyone know who this is by?”
Over time, the song was reuploaded to YouTube by several users, such as Swiðr, JayKay, Q, Aero, No Background, Ofrix, SpikeytheCactus, S2h, AlianTheObscure, LostwaveFinder, 𝑀𝑟. 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑝𝑠, and multiple others, amassing over 15k views.
On November 25th, 2023, Discord user Funado brought up the possibility of the song being Hotel Room by Goats Don't Shave, as the singer's voice sounded similar, and the year, genre, and length matched[1], but a Discogs seller debunked it.[2]
Attempts to contact Pat Gallagher, the lead singer of the band, have led nowhere. His wife has been contacted as well, but she hasn't responded either. No other band members seemed to have been online at the time either.
2024[]
On August 26th, 2024, Discord user PersonOfDistraction contacted Geoff Wallis, one of the biggest experts in Irish rock music[3], and he said the song was "definitely" by Pat, but he didn't have it in his collection.[4] [5]
Two days later, WZS user Hookedrago discovered that in the metadata, the title was listed as "How Can This Happen (You Can still pull the trigger though you have No gun)" and the album as “Radio 1 Live 1992”.[6]
On October 6th, 2024, the OP came back and confirmed that the song was recorded onto a cassette tape off of BBC Radio 1 “probably” in 1992, but they didn’t list who it was by.[7]
On October 28th, 2024, Discord user Loc20 discovered that Pat was in a band prior to Goats Don't Shave, called Roaring Meg. They apparently released in album in 1988, but there was no other information about it.[8]
2025[]
On September 26th, 2025, WZS user Pace claimed he contacted Goats Don't Shave member Declan Quinn, who confirmed it was a 1992 demo titled "Happen". He linked a supposed screen recording of the supposed Facebook message.[9]
More evidence was needed due to the fact that Pace has a history of hoaxing and being untrustworthy, having faked solving Forever and Draai Er Niet Omheen prior to their actual identification.
Luckily, on October 2nd, 2025, Declan responded to PersonOfDistraction, confirming the legitimacy of the messages and placing the song in verification due to lack of high quality audio.
On December 21st, 2025, user Murphy identified the song as Happen by Goats Don't Shave after getting confirmation from Alan Cummings, the band's manager, whom he had contacted the day prior.[10]
Murphy contacted Alan once more a day later to see if there was any HQ audio of the song, to which Alan replied saying the recording posted by Fantastict was likley the only one in circulation.[11]
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
Walking down the alley
The old man heard the sound
Footsteps closing in behind, he turned around
He saw what stood before him
He saw that he was young
The old man felt his wallet
The young man felt his gun
Eyes of desperation, eyes of fear
A single shot, a body dropped
A life just disappeared
[Chorus]
How can this happen, hey hey
Does anybody care about it anyway?
How can this happen, how come?
You can still pull the trigger
Though you got no gun
[Verse 2]
Cathy at college, her heart was broke in two
Her mother cried in shame; “my lord, what will we do?”
We hoped you’d turned out better
This isn’t what we planned
The people in this small town won’t understand
They said it was an accident, a tragedy
The current was too strong
It carried Cathy out to sea
[Chorus]
How can this happen, hey hey
Does anybody care about it anyway?
How can this happen, how come?
You can still pull the trigger
Though you got no gun
[Bridge]
Fuel for the engine
A tonic for the troops
Deploy the soldier boys
Shine your boots
Check your parachutes
[Final Chorus]
How can this happen, hey hey
Does anybody care about it anyway?
How can this happen, how come?
You can still pull the trigger
Though you got no gun
How can this happen, hey hey
Does anybody care about it anyway?
How can this happen, how come?
You can still pull the trigger
Though you got no gun
Gallery[]
External Links[]
References[]
|
fantastict’s Lostwave Songs | |
|---|---|
| Rendezvous | |
| How Can This Happen • I Walk Through Hell And Back • Paranoia | |
| All For The One I Love • Who You Thinking Now? | |