Lily Allen - Smile - Lyrics Meaning

This was the first single released by singer-songwriter Lily Allen, becoming an instant hit in 2006. The lyrics tell a classic tale of bitter-sweet revenge and are therefore destined to be sung by many a heartbroken female as they dry their eyes and realize they're finally getting over it.

At the start of the story, the lyrics tell us of betrayal and heartache. The line, `Just slept by myself all day,' really let us in on the mood and many listeners will identify with the hurt being felt. The story soon changes to one of picking up the pieces and moving on but the "smile" in the title is the clue to the feeling of revenge. The tale takes a twist when the heart-breaker becomes the one with the heartache as he tries to win her back. It becomes clear that she's well and truly over him when the sight of his tears just makes her smile.

Allen wrote the lyrics about an ex-boyfriend after a particularly hurtful break-up that saw her turn to drugs and become hospitalized.

In a newspaper interview, she told reporters she'd performed the song on stage at an event she knew her `ex' to be at with his new girlfriend. "He had no option but to sit and watch me perform to a couple of thousand people singing `Smile' back to me," she grinned. "Oh, it's the little things eh!"