Dientes, dientes: the smile as a weapon against envy

The expression is one of the most castizo in the Spanish gossip press, and half of Spain has adopted it as a mantra: people who have it in for you get answered with your teeth, with a smile. I took that idea and turned it into a chorus, because I think it's the most elegant and most wickedly smug response there is.

Dientes, dientes (Teeth, Teeth) is about envy, about that person who watches your every step, who follows you in silence and can't stand seeing you doing well. The lyrics don't beat about the bush. From the first verse it's clear who's who: «Yo soy el oro y tú no llegas ni a plata» (I'm the gold and you don't even make silver). And if anyone still had doubts, along comes the comparison of the phoenix with the rat, which still makes me laugh every time I hear it.

What I like most is the tone. There's no drama or crying, there's swagger. The second verse almost seems like a medical consultation: so much envy must hurt, that person ought to be put on treatment. And in the middle of the diagnosis an English «¡Don't Worry!» slips in, giving it the air of a flight attendant explaining the safety procedure. Everything under control, darling, this is the protocol.

The chorus works like a spell. It repeats the word until it loses its meaning and becomes rhythm: what pisses them off, what hurts them, that's how their rage dies, that's how their hatred loses its bite. It's a kind of vaccine. The more you smile, the less effect the other person's poison has.

For me it's a self-defence song with glitter. I'd dedicate it to anyone putting up with a toxic co-worker, a sister-in-law who always has a comment ready or that ex who still watches your stories. There's no need to answer with insults. Just make yourself gorgeous, walk out the door and treat them to your very best smile.

Put it on before a difficult family dinner, in the car on the way to a meeting you can't be bothered with or when you open your phone and see a message you don't feel like reading. And then, you know: dientes, dientes.

The full lyrics are below. Listen on Spotify