People who know me know I love a good isolation exercise. Piano finger independence, hypertrophy pumps at the gym, Estill figures, spider drills on guitar, toe splay in my running warmups. Recently I’ve been obsessed with the right corner of my mouth as I noticed it doesn’t respond or express as much as the left side when I’m singing. So this song title isn’t just a metaphor. It’s a fixation, straight from the mirror and my diary.
Returning home from a songwriters retreat and festival in Nashville, I’m thinking a lot about genre and how I can define myself. I think I will embrace the term “chamber pop”. I imagine this arrangement with a swelling string orchestra that opens up the bridge before shrinking back down to bedroom piano. For now it’s just an idea I needed to get out, to stop obsessing and get back to the present. KM
Practice My Smile
I practice my smile
Soften my eyes
Tilt my head to the side and finally sigh
Yes, I said I wouldn’t hold my breath
But for eight years there’s been a weight on my chest
So I practice my smile
Ten thousand hours
When I master it
Surely that’s when I’ll see you again
Sunset scene in my mind
You and me leaning on the driver’s side
With your hands in my back pockets
I never felt so alive
Blinding stars shot by
Ricocheted, ripped apart that timeline
And that same deserted parking lot
Is where we said goodbye
And of course I’m fine
Still I practice my smile
Soften my eyes
Tilt my head to the side and finally sigh
Yes, I said I wouldn’t hold my breath
But for eight years there’s been a weight on my chest
So I practice my smile
Ten thousand hours
When I master it
Surely that’s when I’ll see you again
I travelled the world
Took a rocket ship straight to the moon
Just to howl back at you
And you wander around
Somehow our paths never cross
Are we lucky or lost?
Guess our dreams came true
Now what else can I do?
I’ll practice my smile
Soften my eyes
Tilt my head to the side and finally sigh
Yes, I said I wouldn’t hold my breath
But for eight years there’s been a weight on my chest
So I practice my smile
Ten thousand hours
When I master it
Surely that’s when I’ll see you again