Smiling (song)
Smiling is a song by Canadian-American singer Alanis Morissette, co-written with Michael Farrell. It was written for the Broadway adaptation of Jagged Little Pill and later released as the second single from Morissette’s 2020 album Such Pretty Forks in the Road on February 21, 2020. The album title comes from a lyric in this song. A duet version featuring Elizabeth Stanley and the cast followed.
In Jagged Little Pill, Smiling is sung in the first act by Mary Jane Healy, the matriarch of a suburban family. The song shows her struggle to keep up appearances while dealing with motherhood and an addiction to painkillers after a car accident. After a pharmacist refuses more medication, she buys opioids from a street dealer, and the scene portrays her day in reverse order—from unpacking groceries to the street deal to morning.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 04:51 (CET).