Music Friday: Roxette's 'Prettiest Jewel' Glows in Bittersweet Love Song

Welcome to Music Friday, when we feature songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, we revisit Roxette’s bittersweet 1999 ballad “Happy Together,” a song that shines with a tender jewelry reference — and a message about love, regret and missed opportunity.

In “Happy Together,” the Swedish pop duo’s Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle tell the story of a young man whose hesitation costs him the woman he loves — “the prettiest jewel.”

Gessle sings, “She carried his ring / Since she left school / He knew she was precious / The prettiest jewel / She wanted a baby / But he wasn’t sure / He couldn’t make up his mind anymore.”

The ring and “prettiest jewel” serve as powerful metaphors — symbols of devotion, promise and emotional worth. The young woman is ready to turn youthful love into lifelong commitment, but her boyfriend’s uncertainty drives them apart. Years later, he can only imagine what might have been: a life where they “could have run the Earth, the stars, the sun.”

Released as the B-side to “Wish I Could Fly,” a global hit that charted in 23 countries, “Happy Together” captures Roxette’s signature blend of shimmering pop melodies and melancholy storytelling. The song feels deeply human — simple on the surface but emotionally layered, like a gem cut to reveal its inner fire.

Roxette’s own story adds poignancy to the song’s theme of time and loss. The band — formed in 1986 by Fredriksson and Gessle in Halmstad, Sweden — sold more than 75 million records and released 56 singles, including four chart-toppers, including "The Look," "Listen to Your Heart," "It Must Have Been Love" and "Joyride." Their chemistry defined an era of pop music.

In 2002, the duo was forced to pause when Fredriksson was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After a long recovery, she triumphantly returned to the stage in 2009, and Roxette toured the world again through 2016. Sadly, Fredriksson passed away in 2019, closing one of pop’s most beloved chapters.

Yet Roxette’s music — and spirit — live on. In 2024, Gessle announced the revival of Roxette with Swedish singer Lena Philipsson stepping in as lead vocalist. The 2025 "Roxette In Concert" tour celebrates both the band’s enduring legacy and Fredriksson’s influence.

More than 25 years after its release, “Happy Together” still sparkles like the jewel at its center.

Please check out the audio track of Roxette performing “Happy Together.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Happy Together”
Written by Per Hakan Gessle. Performed by Roxette.

When she walked up
He walked down
Just like the seasons went round and round
She was in love
He wasn’t sure
She wrote some letters he tried to ignore
They could have been so happy together
They could have been so lucky in love
Sing la dee da
So happy together

They could have run the Earth, the sky, the sun

She carried his ring
Since she left school
He knew she was precious
The prettiest jewel
She wanted a baby
But he wasn’t sure
He couldn’t make up his mind anymore

They could have been so happy together
They could have been so lucky in love
Sing la dee da
So happy together

They could have run the Earth, the stars, the sun

I couldn’t ever hurt no one
If you feel shattered
I’m sorry for what I’ve done

We could have been so happy together
We could have been so lucky in love
Sing la dee da
So happy together

We could have run the Earth, the sky, the sun

Yeah we could have been so happy together
We could have been so lucky in love
So happy together

We could have run the universe
Could have run the universe
Could have run the universe
For fun

So happy together
So happy together
So happy together

Credit: Image by Dmitry Avdeev, CC BY-SA 3.0 GFDL 1.2, via Wikimedia Commons.