Smile and Wave

no one has commented this song yet.

ok, i'll interpret it the way i see it (or how i would like to see it). she's comparing herself to this one girl, who seems to be perfect for this man. and perhaps, she could never compare?

and for some reason,. i'm getting the vibe of infidelity, of some sort.

'she doesn't know i know about it', 'i could never do the same' 'i'll just smile back when she waves'

those lyrics kind of make me feel that way. hah, people smile like that when they're hiding a secret. .

yeah, i know i'm way off about this song.

Great song, I mostly agree with wtfyourface, it seems as though she was choosen over this seemingly perfect girl, and she almost doesn't understand why

I think this song is about a boyfriend who cheated on her for this "perfect" other girl. She does this and that... I dont.

She doesnt know i know about it.

I could never do the same..

I dont know, thats how I interpret it.

yeah, ok scratch the infidelity part.

I sensed the infidelity part earlier, but now i just think that the "I could never do the same" is how she wouldn't be a big enough person to wave at someone she'd 'lost' this man to.

I dont know, i also assumed there was a connotation of infidelity, although i agree with both what both wtfyourface and tied2amelody said, i feel like her not being a big enough person accounts for the "i could never do the same" part but still doesnt explain the "she doesn't know i know about it" part. i think there still is some hint of infidelity in that part or at least another angle to the situation

I agree with yellow*bird about the "plot" totally.

i agree with the above, it seems to be a love triangle. however, its possible the girl has done something entirely non-love related which the persona knows and the girl doesn't know she knows, a betrayal of some kind perhaps.

This girl is seemingly perfect, but if you think about the way it's worded, some things make it clear that she's not.

"She's got...a believable smile" portrays that, eventhough she may not be sincere, the smile seems it, and Maria/the speaker's smile isn't believable, which makes it interesting when she later says "I just smile when she waves"

Also, this other woman "paints colors on her eyes that cast a shadow of surprise"...eventhough she looks like she's surprised, she's not at all, and she's just painting on the facade.

Also, the line "She'll find out where you are" is a little creepy and almost stalker-esque. Clearly this girl isn't as perfect as she seems at initial glance.

Also, it seems as though this perfect girl has done something shameful with the line "she doesn't know I know about it" which is where any suggestions of infidelity come through for me, but really it could be anything.

Mostly, I think this song is about not being able to put up that facade and fake it for people. Maria/the speaker smiles back when she waves, but we already know Maria's smile isn't believable....

Maybe I'm interjecting too much of my own situation into the song, but to me, this song is about someone looking at their boyfriend's ex-girlfriend and wondering how she could possibly compare. The ex-girlfriend is beautiful and perfect (and NICE, to top it all off!) so she doesn't understand why her boyfriend would want to be with someone who is as flawed as she is. I think that it's all about how easy it is to perceive someone else as perfect when you don't really know them ("I just smile back when she waves.") I think the line "She doesn't know I know about it" refers to the fact that the ex-girlfriend doesn't seem to realize that she knows about the prior relationship. And the line "I could never do the same" means that she would not be a big enough person to be nice to the person she lost someone to (same interpretation as wtfyourface posted above). But again, maybe I'm just reading into this since I'm in a similar situation where I'm wondering why someone would leave their seemingly perfect ex and then choose to be with me.