!!! a small warning before you read: this post touches on grief, death, and bereavement. “Smile” is a song that quietly walks into your thoughts, and suddenly you’re feeling things you didn’t plan on unpacking today. It’s Michael Jackson, but stripped down to something softer, almost fragile, like he’s reminding you that even the most iconic voices still carry sadness underneath all the spectacle. And somehow, a song literally called Smile doesn’t feel happy in the obvious wa

For a song about a boy and his pet rat, for the 1972 film of the same name, it sure did make an impact on 5-year-old me. There’s something strangely devastating about “Ben” because, on paper, it’s a song about a rat! But emotionally, it feels like one of the loneliest songs ever written. Ben Album Art I Copyright: Motown Ben Artist: Michael Jackson Album: Ben Year: 1972 Beneath the softness of Michael Jackson’s voice is this deep longing to be understood and chosen despi