"Smile" Songs that Make You Frown

You would assume that any song with a form of the word smile in its title would be an uplifting song. Actually, though, smile songs that make you happy are the minority. Several are depressing. Some are sadly nostalgic. Some are even starkly strange.

The song that prompted me to make this observation is found on the Stage Names album from the indie band Okkervil River. Before buying the CD I read the song titles as usual, trying to predict what each might be about. When I came to song four, "Savannah Smiles," I assumed it would be a loving ode to a girlfriend.

I probably should have given that prediction a little more consideration. I knew that the band's latest album, The Stand Ins, had about as much joy as a recording by The Smiths. Also, vocalist Will Shreff sings in a baritone similar to Morrissey, making it even more unlikely that the smile song would be a happy one.

"Savannah Smiles" turns out to be a good song, but just not a happy one. It's about a father who accidentally reads the first page of his daughter's open diary, only to become extremely depressed. The words she has written makes the father realize that she has grown up. When he goes to bed that night, he realizes "all I'm seeing is her face, age eight."

The song made me consider other titles that contained the word smile. Were they all happy ones? Could the smile in the title be misleading? The list I accumulated leaves me with no definitive answers.

10. (tie) "Can't Smile without You" by Barry Manilow: It's a typical Manilow number, featuring his clear voice backed with piano and a comfortable amount of orchestration. The music inspires a happy contentment, though the lyrics seem a bit drastic.

10. (tie) "Uncertain Smile" by The The: The 80s new wave band was really just Matt Johnson, who played every instrument and provided the lead vocals. Even after twenty five years I am still uncertain if I should feel happy or sad after hearing lyrics such as "I've got you under my skin, where the rain can't get in, But if the sweat pours out just shout, I'll try to swim and pull you out." Being protected from the rain would make me happy. Relying someone who can't swim came save me from drowning would depress me.

9. "Smile Like You Mean It" by The Killers: One of the many electric pop tunes from the band's debut album Hot Fuss, the song depresses me. The guy is trying to convince himself to act happy, though he is aching with memories of times and people who are gone.

8. "Smile a Little Smile for Me" by The Flying Machine: The mellow tune has a touch of 1969 psychadelia. The message is a happy one, since all the guy's looking for is a little smile.

7. "Secret Smile" by Semisonic: This track comes from the late 90s pop band's Feeling Strangely Fine album. The song provides an uplifting, smoother contrast to the album's other hit, "Closing Time."

6. "Painted Smile" by The Moody Blues: This song from Long Distance Voyager is really just a poem recited by percussionist Ray Thomas. It's a scary oration about the unknown terror behind the painted smile of a clown.

5. "Your Smiling Face" by James Taylor: This song is nearly as deceptive as that painted smile of a psychotic clown. The music is refreshingly upbeat, as is Taylor's vocal delivery. Demented lyrics lurk beneath that happy surface, as the guy stalks an underage girl. He determinedly repeats at the closing that "no one can tell me that I'm doing wrong today." The repetition of the line makes him sound a little unbalanced, leaving us fearing for the girl.

4. "Smiling Faces" by The Undisputed Truths: This song by the 70s Motown group warns us against the smiling faces that hide evil. The harmonies, similar to groups like the O' Jays and Temptations, appropriately disguise the foreboding in the lyrics.

3. "Make Me Smile" by Chicago: The song starts off as a downer, as the poor guy sits alone watching the children play in the park. By the chorus, though, he sees her smile and he is happy. The band's excellent blend of brass and electric has a timeless appeal.

2. "Sara Smile" by Hall and Oates: This soft ballad is one of the duo's earliest hits, and Daryl Hall delivers it with more emotion than he ever put into his later recordings. It seems uplifting at first because she warms him when he's cold. In the last verse however, he says, "If you feel like leaving, You know you can go" and "If you want to be free, all you have to do is say so." Obviously her efforts to warm him were futile; he's still cold.

1."Illegal Smile" by John Prine: This is the opener on Prine's influential self-titled debut album, and it sets the comically insightful tone for the rest of the disc. Prine the folk singer is smiling not as a result of love or nostalgia or family or wealth or success. His smile stems from the high he derives after the injecting needle in his arm.