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Rose Colored Glasses (Original)

by Tim Stiles

/

about

My dad used to constantly remind me, "Tim, you shouldn't compare yourself to others."

'Rose Colored Glasses' is a new collaboration with Seattle producer, Mack Formway (Ricky Pharoe/Art Vandelay - 'Eye 8 The Crow', 'Face Tattoo') and features instrumentation by singer & songwriter, George Galvez (www.georgegalvezmusic.com).

Tim Stiles: "RCG focuses on the plight of the 'underdog' and our society's tendency to compare ourselves with others more often than we should. I struggled with this as a youth. In this song I reveal resulting personal insecurities I had and provide a window into my experiences with the hope that others can relate.

In my opinion, seeing only the surface and turning a blind eye to media-influenced definitions of others' "flaws" can be detrimental to one's confidence and sense of self worth. We're going to have our prejudices and assumptions as we meet people through life--That's normal. However, I disagree with anyone who says it's dog-eat-dog world. It's about time we stopped peeking over our neighbors' fence to see what they are/have, and quit weighing ourselves on a scale that simply doesn't exist.

I hope this song reminds listeners that the beauty in others and themselves is located far below the surface... below the visible tip of a grass' blade... within its roots per se. We shouldn't live life so pessimistically and comparatively. Walking through life with a rose-shaded point of view is not the way to overcome this either. That in itself perpetuates denial and depression. There's far more that can be witnessed and loved about yourself and those around you if you keep a, clear, open mind."

lyrics

(Verse One)
The tall, dark, and handsome
Always gets the girl
Thinking out loud,
Smiling, looking pretty

His lack of substance
Quenches her thirst
As a down-poured smirk
Is all that’s necessary

To converse with her
With his immersive worst
She's putty in his hands
Though he's just a jerk with flirts

It’s not intelligence which
Captures her attention
More-so how far his fence spans
Once first observed

Forget intellectual challenge
Nor respectable talent
His face value balances
To fit her curves

Too often we settle
For the greenest of grass
No matter how its roots
Actually hit the curb

It’s so damn easy to lie to yourself
When you only take the time
To mind meld with Millennials

Obstinance is the most selfish
Way to turn yourself
From a human into a sentinel

Put a pug upon a pedestal
And he’ll resemble
The greatest of danes
Gaining the same medal

The middle class is
Separated by ages
Dog-tagged and rated
By systematic ways we assemble

...All books by their covers
Judgement laid on one another
Until their bindings crumble

No matter how how you look at
Us underdogs are asunder
Too often trumped,
Despite our strength in numbers

A partner, pardoning apartheid
Outlined by pages clipped from
A calendar of the Far Side

Don’t take my pessimism wrong, my friend
We’ve walked long enough to know
Where the sidewalk ends
And I’m horrified…

(CHORUS)
They say the grass is always greener
It’s not about their shades of blades
Nor height in centimeters

Their grass is *always* greener...
Take a peek over their fence
To find jealousy’s demeanor…

Their grass is *always* greener
And after gazing long enough
Our longing to graze makes us upset

We’re unable to stare halfway, unless
We peer through pairs
Of Rose Colored Glasses...

They say the glass is half full...
It’s not about the vacated space
Nor its volume in centiliters

Their glass is *always* half full...
We subtract the full half
And let the vacancy be the handful

It’s just the way we look at it...
Once the empty half is cracked
Would you even fully recognize the half of it?

Oh, how our perception is damaged...
We’d be better off smashing
These Rose Colored Glasses...

(Verse Two)
This freckled, smart kid
Never got the girl
A skinny piece of parchment
With an average build

I might as well’ve been a carcass
Covered in filth
Cuddling darkness
Due to the way that I felt

When I turned 21
I still looked like I was 12
This made it hard to date
Anyone within my age bracket

Approaching girls during
College days failed
Their rejection only tightened
The bindings of my straight jacket

I felt evicted, socially restricted
A woeful victim
Sunken deep into his shell

Never being elected
Rarely taken seriously
Always conflicted me
Letting this constriction prevail

Nose all runny
Feeling ugly and filled
With an anger and angst
All encompassing guilt

A no show, stumbling
Away to the hills
With no wind for his sails...

I often wondered
Will my confidence ever re-build?
What amount of compliments
Could render a shield?

Defense mechanisms
Resembled arson
Brushed under the carpet
With the dust bunnies and silt

Should I focus on accomplishments
Or settle with chills?
Try to win as the tortoise
At a slower pace than they had it?

I raced for years
Clutching the feet of rabbits
With a fogged-up lens of tears,
Adhered to these Rose Colored Glasses…

(Verse Three)
Let the designs of greed
Play into detractors
Of finding peace

Watch these builders of the fence
Pilfer the expense from
The fight that blind mice lead

Draw conclusions
Until these awful delusions
Have you shut your eyes to see
How others’ lives might be

Better than yours
Settling scores by
Calling the kettle black,
With a suicide, type speech

Walk the coals when cold
Until the balls of our feet
Blister and scream
From the cauterizing

Once the grass’ roots recede
The glass’ll crack in half
Spreading shards over lawns, authorizing

...Gloom to stand half as tall
Thank we tried to believe
And our previous slander
Will find its retreat

Once comparing’s no longer a standard
I bet the bloom of roses planted
Will be one hell of a sight to see...

(CHORUS)
They say the grass is always greener
It’s not about their shades of blades
Nor height in centimeters

Their grass is *always* greener...
Take a peek over their fence
To find jealousy’s demeanor…

Their grass is *always* greener
And after gazing long enough
Our longing to graze makes us upset

We’re unable to stare halfway, unless
We peer through pairs
Of Rose Colored Glasses...

They say the glass is half full...
It’s not about the vacated space
Nor its volume in centiliters

Their glass is *always* half full...
We subtract the full half
And let the vacancy be the handful

It’s just the way we look at it...
Once the empty half is cracked
Would you even fully recognize the half of it?

Oh, how our perception is damaged...
We’d be better off smashing
These Rose Colored Glasses...

credits

released December 6, 2016
Written by Tim Stiles
Prod. by Mack Formway
Feat. Guitar & Bass by George Galvez
Recorded, Mixed, & Mastered by Kevin Bressler @ Whiney Cat Audio
Seattle, WA

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Tim Stiles Santa Cruz, California

Tim Stiles is an independent hip-hop artist historically known as the lead vocalist/rapper of the satirical hip hop band, Passion Party. Tim is no one trick pony. He’s a clever, crafty wordsmith in his own right with an ability to adapt to just about any concept or genre. ... more

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