The The’s Soul Mining has been one of my favorite albums for years. I still remember listening to it for the first time, on a beat up Panasonic cassette player in my freshman dorm room on the sixth floor of Bingham Tower. I love several songs on the album, “Uncertain Smile,” above all. (I also prefer the album version of the song, with the extended piano solo, to the alternative versions available on other discs.) Here’s the second verse, from which the title of the song is taken:
A howling wind that blows the litter
As the rain flows
As street lamps pour orange coloured shapes
Through your windows
A broken soul stares from a pair of watering eyes
Uncertain emotions force an uncertain smile
The full lyrics are available on the band’s website here, and there’s an interesting write-up about making the song here. [Note: If you go to The The’s home page, you’ll be treated to Matt Johnson’s take on Israeli-Palestinian conflict.] Live versions of the song can be found online here and here.