19 November 2017
Newsdesk
Seal included Charlie Chaplin’s classic song Smile on his new album in the hope it will help people get through tough times.
The British singer released his 10th studio album, Standards, earlier this month (Nov17), with some of his favourite ever songs making up the track list, including I’ve Got You Under My Skin and Luck Be a Lady.
But it’s Smile, first released as an instrumental version by Chaplin in 1936 before John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons added the lyrics and title in 1954, that most resonates with the singer.
“I can’t listen to Smile without tearing up,” he admitted to Fault magazine. “I like it because it doesn’t matter who you, what age, your culture, gender or outlook on life, the sentiment will relate to you. At some point in your life, we have all gone through an experience where you’ve had to force a smile through a situation. Smiling even though your heart is aching and all you want to do at that point is break down in tears, and you’ve got to smile through it.
“We are living in a very turbulent time and hearing a song like Smile; it just holds a message that I most want to communicate. It’s chaotic, and it’s turbulent, but for me, the critical thing is to find balance and always remember to smile.”
He adds it’s the “happiest and saddest song” for him personally.
The 54-year-old, who shares four children with his ex-wife Heidi Klum, also opened up about his biggest fault to the publication.
“Relationships,” he said. “They’re hard for me, but I’m learning. And that goes for relationships of all kinds. Even with my children, when I’m trying to get through to one of then, and my method is not working, I’m learning that sometimes the best solution is to try something new, as opposed to keeping to the same old routine.”
