Salted Smile

[Intro – tight, artificial brightness, overly controlled cheer]
Mm-hm, I’m fine, I’m fine
Yeah, I’m fine, I’m fine tonight
Nothing wrong, nothing bites
Just a smile I keep in line

[Verse 1 – calm, performative, slightly forced positivity]
I wake up like it didn’t stick
Your words still there, but I brush it quick
I turn it soft, I make it slick
Like it never meant a thing

Sugar in my morning tone
But it sharpens when I’m alone
I laugh it off on my phone
Like it never hit my skin

[Pre-Chorus – tension under control]
Don’t look too close, don’t ask me why
It’s just a normal day, I swear
If something’s wrong, it’s in your mind
I’m perfectly aware

[Chorus – hook, bright but unstable]
I’ve got a salted smile, salted smile
On my face like it’s fine for a while
I say I’m good, I say I’m fine
But it stings every time

Salt on my tongue when I try to speak
Laugh it off but it cuts so deep
Don’t ask what it really means
It’s just a salted smile for me

[Verse 2 – cracks start showing]
You talk like nothing even changed
Like I’m still calm, still okay
But every word feels rearranged
Like it cuts a different way

I nod along, I play it right
But something’s louder in my mind
Like I’m polite on the outside
But I’m already not here

[Pre-Chorus – slightly more unstable repetition]
Don’t look too close, don’t ask me why
It’s just a normal day, I swear
If something’s wrong, it’s in your mind
I’m perfectly aware

[Chorus – fuller, slightly more chaotic]
I’ve got a salted smile, salted smile
On my face like it’s fine for a while
I say I’m good, I say I’m fine
But it stings every time

Salt on my tongue when I try to speak
Laugh it off but it cuts so deep
Don’t ask what it really means
It’s just a salted smile for me

[Bridge – brief emotional slip]
Okay, maybe I’m a little mad
Maybe it hit a little too bad
Maybe I don’t like what we had
But I’ll smile and take it back

(It’s nothing, it’s nothing, it’s nothing…)
But it sticks, it sticks, it sticks…

[Final Chorus – forced brightness]
I’ve got a salted smile, salted smile
On my face like it’s fine for a while
I say I’m good, I say I’m fine
But it stings every time

Salt on my tongue when I try to speak
Laugh it off but it cuts so deep
Don’t ask what it really means
It’s just a salted smile for me

[Outro – artificial cheer fading]
Mm-hm, I’m fine, I’m fine…
Yeah, I’m fine… I’m fine…
Just a smile… just a smile…

Alt pop, bright indie electro pop, female vocals, clean synths, tight percussion, light vocal distortion