SMILES
During the days of the Great Depression of the 1929 and into the “30's - we used to sing a song which had a theme designed which cataloged all kinds of smiles.
All was not gloom and despair with many people during those years of economic downturn, We had occasion to smile. Some may not remember it exactly that way, but one of the main avenues of recovery for many of us was an ability to smile ...to witness to the lighter side of living.
Looking back we tend to picture the Great Depression and other times of set-back in our national history as lifeless blobs of darkness. It is remarkable how such a simple thing as a popular song could encourage people to endure hardships they might, otherwise, find to be overwhelming.
An important factor about that song of ours was that it was now new to that specific time. It had been written in 1917 during the harsh days of World War I. It was a love song in its day, too. The two verse show that very plainly, but the chorus took on broader meanings. The writer were a J. Will Callahan , who did the words and Lee S. Roberts, who wrote the tune. It has been re-used in Broadway musicals on other occasions, too.
Smiles can be important in many aspects of our lives and especially when we
we realize the variety of smiles which are available. Today, of course, we have thousands of those little “smiley” cartoon stickers to affix to our mail, schoolbooks, notes, and refrigerators. Smiles, you see can be constructed to meet the needs of the moment.
That's good. The song lyrics met our needs in a special way years ago.
Yes, there are “smiles that make us happy. There are also “smiles that make us blue” - because there are times we don't get what we want - “that steal away the tear drops ...and the sunbeams steal away the dew”.
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We found that some smiles has “a tender meaning” meaning, to establish close associations among us. We learn to gain courage and eagerness from an exchange of smiles with those we respect and often come to love.
A.L.M. June 23, 2004 [c 484wds]
