This week, I’ve had Madeleine Peyroux’s version of “Smile” #OnRepeat. The song is commonly associated with Charlie Chaplin (the musical composer), but John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons composed the lyrics and gave the song its name in the early 1950s.
Madeleine Peyroux is a Jazz singer, guitarist, and songwriter from the United States. Her singing style is compared to Billie Holiday, yet you can also hear influences of Patsy Cline, Bob Dylan, Edith Piaf, and even Bessie Smith in her performance style. Some of her most well-known songs are “Don’t Wait Too Long,” “You Can’t Do Me,” and “Dance Me to the End of Love.”
The song, “Smile,” was originally an instrumental theme song composed for the 1936 film, Modern Times, with Charlie Chaplin. Later, when the lyrics were added, the message behind the lyrics was centered around themes from the film–remain positive (or smile) through everything. One of the most heart-breaking parts of the song is when it says: “Light up your face with gladness/Hide every trace of sadness/Although a tear may be ever so near [ . . . ]” Madeleine Peyroux’s performance of the song captures the message of the lyrics perfectly. Her voice has all the tenderness and soul of Patsy Cline, yet still slips into melancholic moments like that of Billie Holiday. Take a listen below:
Do you have a new song or musician that you can’t stop listening to? Leave a comment below!