Smile

I heard a new song on the radio today. I don’t usually listen to KS95, but I hate commercials, so I was station surfing. Have you ever noticed that radio stations tend to play the same 5-10 songs over and over again? It’s kind of refreshing to listen to different stations now and then, just to hear something different. What did surprise me was that in this case the lyrics jumped out at me, which doesn’t happen that often. I usually have to hear a song several times before I actually pay attention to the lyrics, but for some reason this one was different.

I googled the song and found out that it’s official title is “Smile” and the artist is Uncle Kracker (watch the music video here). Turns out it’s not just the song I’ve never heard of before. Uncle Kracker? I admit, I’m definitely not always on top of things when it comes to popular music, but I almost always at least recognize the artist’s name. So, either I’m really out of touch right now, or Uncle Kracker hasn’t reached the “big time” yet.

After doing some preliminary research, it looks like I can relax a bit. While Uncle Kracker has released several albums, he started out as a rapper, which I don’t listen to at all. His last two albums were all country, but they haven’t reached the top of the charts yet. “Smile” was released as a single July 13, 2009 and appears to have done pretty well, but clearly he’s not in the same league as, say, Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley. That’s okay. It takes time to work your way up, and I liked “Smile” a lot. The lyrics are sweet and the melody is catchy.

Here’s the refrain that caught my attention:

You make me smile like the sun
Fall out of bed, sing like bird
Dizzy in my head, spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night
You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold, buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Ohh, you make me smile

That’s one of my favorite phrases – “You make me smile.” I’m glad somebody used it in a song. I just love the images here: fall out of bed, dizzy in my head, dance like a fool, buzz like a bee. It’s just a happy song.

Keep smilin’

~J