Behind the Song: She Smiles at the Future

"I wrote this one mostly myself on a little keyboard my wife had given me for my birthday one year. I picked out the opening riff first and played it for Mark, who learned it on guitar. I then sang out the melody as I heard it in my head, and Mark and Steve figured out what chords to play behind it. That’s pretty much the way I wrote all my songs back then. I couldn’t play guitar yet at that point so I was at the mercy of the guitarists in the band to interpret what I sang or hummed to them. It was an awkward and painstaking way to write songs. But it was the only way I had to communicate what I heard in my head. The instrumental bridge part in the middle was Terry’s Taylor’s idea. He helped us figure out what to do there. The riff like thing that resolves it back into the verse is a discarded riff from another song idea I had. I liked it though and was glad I found a place to use it. The lyrics are taken largely from Proverbs 31 about a godly wife. There is no godlier person I know than my wife. And the verse that said, “She smiles at the future” just leapt off the page. I thought that pretty much summed up my wife; confident that Jesus loves her and has an incredible life planned for her and our family. If I were to write a song about myself it would probably be 'He Stresses Out About Everything.' The drum part is straight Ringo, lifted right out of 'In My Life.' " -- Jerry Davison (from an interview with BackSpin Radio, 2011)


Big thanks to our friends at BackSpin Radio for all the support and encouragement! Check out their website and podcasts for more great vintage CCM!