"Smile," as with most Katy Perry songs, is upbeat and catchy, but there is a deeper meaning behind her lyrics. "Yeah I'm thankful/Scratch that, baby, I'm grateful/Gotta say it's really been a while/But now I got back that smile," it starts out (via Genius).
The song talks about her journey from a dark place and "Goin' through motions felt so fake/Not myself, not my best/Felt like I failed the test" and how through it all, she learned a valuable lesson — and was able to truly smile again. As Perry wrote on Twitter, "I wrote the title track from the album when I was coming through one of the darkest periods of my life and had lost my smile. This whole album is my journey towards the light — with stories of resilience, hope, and love."
As she told Power, "Gratitude is probably the thing that saved my life, because if I didn't find that I would have wallowed in my own sadness and probably just jumped but I found the ways to be grateful."
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
