Songfacts®:

• Sabrina Carpenter wraps up Short n' Sweet with this slow-burning, bittersweet track that turns the old saying "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened" on its head and gives it a good shake. In "Don't Smile," Carpenter isn't in the mood for silver linings after a breakup; she's raw, she's real, and she's mumbling lyrics like, "I want you to miss me."
  
  Talking to Apple Music's Zane Lowe, Carpenter explained her rebellious twist on the classic idiom: "That title is on every Pinterest board, on every sewn pillow, but the opposite; don't cry because it's over, but smile because it happened. And I was like, 'f--k that.'"
• Intriguingly, the opening track on Short n' Sweet, "Taste," is all about an ex who, despite moving on to someone new, is still haunted by little ghosts of Carpenter herself - memories, habits, maybe even a stray hair on a jacket.
  
  This makes for a neat little loop as Carpenter ends the album with "Don't Smile," a track wishing her ex would feel the sting of regret, and begins the record with a song that has her ex already doing just that.
• Carpenter revealed to Zane Lowe that Short n' Sweet is inspired by her shortest, yet most impactful, romances. Every track on the album is drawn from her own experiences, except for "Don't Smile," which grew from a friend's tale of heartbreak. She wrote the lyrics in a mere 30 minutes while touring in France.
• France must have been a fertile ground for creativity, as it was also where Carpenter wrote the album's lead single, "Espresso." She teamed up for both songs with her regular co-writer Amy Allen, along with Steph Jones, with whom she penned "Nonsense," and Short n' Sweet producer Julian Bunetta.
• Bunetta co-produced the song with John Ryan. The pair, who were Carpenter's go-to team for many of the Short n' Sweet tracks, are no strangers to crafting hits, having worked on One Direction's last four albums. For "Don't Smile," they conjured an '80s-inspired vibe, layering dreamy rock guitars, smooth drums, and vocals soaked in reverb.