When the shoe fits, smile.

I think a song can be like a shoe and good ones that really fit can be hard to find. We all have distinct things going on with our feet. Some are wide, some with bone spurs, some too flat, some too arched. But we walk and stand a lot and so it's important to be comfortable in our shoes.

It's the same way with a song. Finding one that really fits our voice--and I don't just mean our physical voice but I mean our style, our way of expressing ourselves. A song that  we can really sing with true conviction and emotion. The song, "Smile" by Charlie Chaplin is a song that fits me well.
I got to sing it for a friend's father's memorial service yesterday. Consider the lyrics:

Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it's breaking.
When there are clouds in the sky
you'll get by.

If you smile through your pain and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through, for you.

Light up your face with gladness,
Hide every trace of sadness.
Although a tear may be ever so near

That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying.
You'll find that life is still worthwhile-
If you just smile
~~
This is a feeling I know very well. As a child it was not really ok to cry or truly express sadness openly. My family didn't really talk about things that happened and I often felt I had to work out the world of family dynamics on my own. As a young girl, I was given a record player and also a transistor radio I carried with me everywhere. And music was my everything (still is), a friend who understood, validated, gave me wings to soar above the confusion of growing up.

I knew how to pretend and "smile" even though my heart was breaking. So this song is such a beautiful one that expresses that for all of us. We've had had times when tears surfaced but it was "not the right time" to allow them to come out. But I've never heard a song that expresses this feeling so eloquently.

It turned out to be the perfect song for the memorial service too because the man it was sung to was one who valued humor and always smiled. It's a good quality to have and not easy to do.

"Smile" was written back in 1936 and was originally an instrumental piece by Charlie Chaplin. It's gone on to be a classic recorded by many singers including, Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis and me someday. :)