Lens Lyrics
My girl made him wait 'til the hours of the night
Then hit you with the, "You know it's mid, right?"
Can't be on time for the free rides
Can't be my type, I'm a low life
Crammed in some time, now I'm your whole life
Can't make those calls in the low light, I-
Are you ready to go? We gon' be waitin' in line
Yeah, you look good, would I fuck? Yeah
Did I? Almost
Back home with that, almost
Back home with that, next time
Bags with all that Rally's in 'em
Trades with all the valley
Top chopped down like blades came through the valley
Freeway
[Chorus]
Despite our history
Somewhere in your nights you're stuck when you think of me
Despite the life I lead
All this life in me
Spirits watch me, pants down
Can't be 'barrassed of it
I feel their smiles on me (Smiles on me)
I feel their smiles on me (Smile on me)
I feel their smiles on me (Lens on me right now)
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Throw team on back like I tatted the Mariah (Know I got some sins on me)
Then get the scream mask for the vert rides (Ridin')
Weed smoke in the sky, picture what I'm realizin' (Got some sins on me)
Ain't seen rainbows in the sky since college
This thing won't last unless we're both lyin' (Both lyin', yeah)
Fake flowers, no water needed
Real life drowned by the weekend
No "whens", call it timeless
No ends 'cause you're timeless (Timeless)
[Chorus]
Despite our history (yeah)
Somewhere in your nights you're stuck when you think of me
Despite the life I lead
All this life in me (All this life)
Spirits watch me, pants down
Can't be 'barrassed of it
I feel their smiles on me (On me, on me, on me)
I feel their smiles on me
I feel their smiles on me
[Outro]
Lionel got a lens, Janet got a lens
Matthew got a lens on me right now, yeah
Cleve got a lens, Kevin got a lens
Know I got some sins on me right now
On me
On me, on me
On me, on me
On me, on me
On me, on me
On me, on me
About
“Lens” is the third song to premiere on Frank Ocean’s Beats 1 “blonded RADIO” show, following the releases of “Chanel” and “Biking” on previous episodes.
Ocean also premiered a second version of the track during the show featuring his first collaboration with rapper Travis Scott. This continues the “I got two versions” narrative sparked by his 2015 Tumblr post, which has appeared many times since the release of his 2016 album Blonde.
The cover art seems to be inspired by a Kerry James Marshall painting titled “A Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of His Former Self.”
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Throughout the song’s chorus, Frank talks about feeling like his every move is being watched, and at the end he name drops a few people he looks up to, imagining that they are observing him through a “lens.”
