LJ Idol: Smile (Topic 3)
It might seem quite odd, but one of the most significant moments of my youth took place as I sat in the living room on a summer afternoon, watching My Girl 2.
It was the first time I ever heard the song "Smile." I was thirteen. It was summer, insufferably hot outside as it so often is in Alabama, and as opposed to taking in the gentle beauty and searing heat of the Alabama countryside, I chose to park out on the couch and watch television. It was with great trepidation that I selected the movie channel playing My Girl 2. As a child, I had watched the first movie with my parents, which resulted in my dissolving into tears and throwing myself, face first, onto my bed. I was cognizant of death, at that age. Family members of varying importance and impact on my life had died. But, I had not yet reached the point in life where I fully comprehended the impact of death when it struck someone close to you.
Odd, I know, that I would come to this harsh realization while watching Anna Chlumsky and Macaulay Culkin battle stepmothers and bee hives. However, during the scene in which Vada finally comes downstairs to Thomas J.'s funeral and realizes that he is missing his glasses, I admit it - I lost it. I burst into hysterical tears and fled to the safety and familiarity of my bedroom, my mother trailing behind me, armed with a mother's wisdom and unfailing ability to comfort.
But, it was My Girl 2 that had a far more lasting impact in the form of song. It was there that my love affair with Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" began. As I watched with wavering interest, Angeline Ball sang a simple, but lovely a cappella rendition of the song, and instantaneously, I was in love. There was nothing much remarkable about it except for how unremarkable it was. The lyrics were no credit to the Queen's English. The melody was sweet and haunting, but certainly nothing of what most might consider worthy note. And yet, I was captivated by it. I am still captivated by it. It has become interwoven throughout my life, since the age of thirteen. I discovered that it had originally been written by Charlie Chaplin and recorded numerous times by various well-known and little-known artists like Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton* and countless other talents.
It became important to me. An integral part of my life. Whenever I felt bad, I listened to it, and generally it made me cry. But, somehow, it was always the sort of crying that leaves you exhausted and comfortable. It can be heartbreaking or it can be uplifting, and often it is both at the same time. It accomplishes something that few songs do, I think. It reminds us that hardships are commonplace. Life can be brutal, unpredictable and uncaring. The world can be a lascivious place. A smile is not the solution. But, so long as you are capable of smiling, so long as you can find it within yourself to remember that somewhere, sometime, things will get better, you'll be all right.
I suppose that sounds terribly prosaic. But, "Smile" has been dear to me for a very long time, and although it has trickled down through the hands and voices of history, has been reworked and re-imagined, I like to think that a little piece of the song is mine. Just mine.
Not long before my husband and I reunited, he was going through a very difficult period in his life. We weren't aware of each others' mutual affections, and he felt that his world was crumbling. Loving him as I did, I wanted to do something, however small, to make him smile. And so I sang it for him. I recorded it in my bedroom one afternoon, while at home alone, and sent it to him as a gift.** It wasn't fancy, there was no music, and it certainly didn't rival the voices of Nat King Cole or Judy Garland. But, I was willing to share my song with him, because I loved him. I suppose that in writing this, I am willing to share it with you.
When I saw the topic for this week's LJ Idol, the first thing that came to mind was the song. I didn't want to write about it. I knew that it would turn into a sludge of emotionality and gush. But, I couldn't come up with anything else that I felt passionate about and I like to write about something real. Besides, I've had the song stuck in my head now for three days straight.
I don't mean to be too severe. I feel like all of my LJ Idol entries have been quite serious which can be taxing and, until now, I haven't addressed you, the reader. However, at the risk of sounding like a particularly trite public service announcement, I hope that I might instill a little love for "Smile" in someone's heart and that maybe they can hum it to themselves or sing it in the shower, whether they're feeling bad or not.
* Each name is linked to a YouTube video and/or audio recording of the artist performing the song.
** My own rendition, recorded for my husband. I apologize in advance for poor quality and... my singing. Haha.
This entry was written for
therealljidol, Season 6, Topic 3.
It was the first time I ever heard the song "Smile." I was thirteen. It was summer, insufferably hot outside as it so often is in Alabama, and as opposed to taking in the gentle beauty and searing heat of the Alabama countryside, I chose to park out on the couch and watch television. It was with great trepidation that I selected the movie channel playing My Girl 2. As a child, I had watched the first movie with my parents, which resulted in my dissolving into tears and throwing myself, face first, onto my bed. I was cognizant of death, at that age. Family members of varying importance and impact on my life had died. But, I had not yet reached the point in life where I fully comprehended the impact of death when it struck someone close to you.
Odd, I know, that I would come to this harsh realization while watching Anna Chlumsky and Macaulay Culkin battle stepmothers and bee hives. However, during the scene in which Vada finally comes downstairs to Thomas J.'s funeral and realizes that he is missing his glasses, I admit it - I lost it. I burst into hysterical tears and fled to the safety and familiarity of my bedroom, my mother trailing behind me, armed with a mother's wisdom and unfailing ability to comfort.
But, it was My Girl 2 that had a far more lasting impact in the form of song. It was there that my love affair with Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" began. As I watched with wavering interest, Angeline Ball sang a simple, but lovely a cappella rendition of the song, and instantaneously, I was in love. There was nothing much remarkable about it except for how unremarkable it was. The lyrics were no credit to the Queen's English. The melody was sweet and haunting, but certainly nothing of what most might consider worthy note. And yet, I was captivated by it. I am still captivated by it. It has become interwoven throughout my life, since the age of thirteen. I discovered that it had originally been written by Charlie Chaplin and recorded numerous times by various well-known and little-known artists like Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton* and countless other talents.
It became important to me. An integral part of my life. Whenever I felt bad, I listened to it, and generally it made me cry. But, somehow, it was always the sort of crying that leaves you exhausted and comfortable. It can be heartbreaking or it can be uplifting, and often it is both at the same time. It accomplishes something that few songs do, I think. It reminds us that hardships are commonplace. Life can be brutal, unpredictable and uncaring. The world can be a lascivious place. A smile is not the solution. But, so long as you are capable of smiling, so long as you can find it within yourself to remember that somewhere, sometime, things will get better, you'll be all right.
I suppose that sounds terribly prosaic. But, "Smile" has been dear to me for a very long time, and although it has trickled down through the hands and voices of history, has been reworked and re-imagined, I like to think that a little piece of the song is mine. Just mine.
Not long before my husband and I reunited, he was going through a very difficult period in his life. We weren't aware of each others' mutual affections, and he felt that his world was crumbling. Loving him as I did, I wanted to do something, however small, to make him smile. And so I sang it for him. I recorded it in my bedroom one afternoon, while at home alone, and sent it to him as a gift.** It wasn't fancy, there was no music, and it certainly didn't rival the voices of Nat King Cole or Judy Garland. But, I was willing to share my song with him, because I loved him. I suppose that in writing this, I am willing to share it with you.
When I saw the topic for this week's LJ Idol, the first thing that came to mind was the song. I didn't want to write about it. I knew that it would turn into a sludge of emotionality and gush. But, I couldn't come up with anything else that I felt passionate about and I like to write about something real. Besides, I've had the song stuck in my head now for three days straight.
I don't mean to be too severe. I feel like all of my LJ Idol entries have been quite serious which can be taxing and, until now, I haven't addressed you, the reader. However, at the risk of sounding like a particularly trite public service announcement, I hope that I might instill a little love for "Smile" in someone's heart and that maybe they can hum it to themselves or sing it in the shower, whether they're feeling bad or not.
* Each name is linked to a YouTube video and/or audio recording of the artist performing the song.
** My own rendition, recorded for my husband. I apologize in advance for poor quality and... my singing. Haha.
This entry was written for
therealljidol, Season 6, Topic 3.