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No Grey Lyrics

(Highlane, I'm matter)

Money, money, money

First things first
I don't wanna be forgotten
Even worse
I don't wanna be alone

But if it all stops today
I'll probably say
I didn't waste my minutes
When I'm finished

Brand new faith
And I'm ready for the camera's mention
And all I pay
And my money and my damn attention

Didn't get me the deal
It got me to feel
How you would hear my sentence
When I'm finished

You could do it for the money, money, money
But the money makes them all the same
Everything's sunny
But the sunshine fades away

Everything's black
And white
No grey.

Pitch-black frames
You can't see me when I wear my lenses
And all they say
Is I'm fake and I don't get offended

And when push comes to shove
I'll show enough
I didn't need to listen
When I'm finished

You're insane
What you said when I'd explain the game plan
Nothing's changed
Except a little more change in my hand

Hey
Now I don't mean to brag
Life was a drag
Now I'm with the shows and women
And it's not finished

You can do it for the money, money, money
But the money makes them all the same
Everything's sunny
But the sunshine fades away

Everything's black
And white
No grey.

It ended up a goal
But it started as a dream
If I get cold
Put some honey in my tea
I used to be broke, now there's money in my jeans
I was broke now there's money in my jeans

Mmhmmm
I was broke now there's money in my, ha
Mmhmmm
I was broke now there's money in my jeans

You can do it for the money, money, money
But the money makes them all the same
Everything's sunny
But the sunshine fades away

Everything's black
And white
No grey.

Yeah, everything's black
And white
No grey.
Song Info
Submitted by
mycroftjr On Apr 10, 2014
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1 Meaning

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Cover art for No Grey lyrics by Neighbourhood, The

Essentially, this song is about the corruption that comes with getting too much fame and money too fast.

Let’s look at the first stanza:

“First things first, I don't wanna be forgotten Even worse, I don't wanna be alone But if it all stops today, I'll probably say I didn't waste a minute when I'm finished”

The first line introduces the dilemma: his desire for the spotlight that comes from some deep-seated longing for appreciation. However, he also knows that in order for him to reach that level, he will have to face it alone, as people tend to become divided into the 2 categories of fans and haters when a person rises to fame. He then says that if his life or his success were to stop abruptly, then he would reflect upon his past actions as necessary and satisfactory because he would still have met his dream of making a ton of cash and becoming an icon. He tells himself that being alone is worth the recognition.

“Brand new faith and I'm ready for the camera's mention And all I pay and my money and my damn attention Didn't get me the deal, got me to feel How you would hear my sentence when I'm finished”

These lines elaborate on the idea that the narrator is willing to do whatever it takes to receive praise and fortune, describing his dedication to the goal as a “new faith”. However, the pursuit of these things doesn’t let him get the “deal” - obtain fame/money permanently, and now he is stuck in the loop for the next ‘hit’ of fame/money. This idea is expressed in the last line when he says that it makes him feel like how hearing the end of a spoken sentence feels: you don’t know what the next sentence is, or even if there is a next sentence, but you are waiting for it nonetheless.

“You could do it for the money, money, money But the money makes them all the same Everything's sunny but the sunshine fades away Everything's black and white, no grey.”

The chorus really sums up the whole song. He says that you can do unique things for money, but once you get into it you turn into every other slave of wealth: going to extremes to get more money and fame. The narrator compares the highs of being rich to sunshine that “fades away”. “No grey” means that there is no happy place in the middle. Once you’ve got a taste of fame, you can’t come out of it without an addiction to it. In his mind, either he is euphoric in the limelight or he is nothing without it.

“Pitch black frames, you can see me when I wear my lenses And all they say is I'm fake and I don't get offended And when push comes to shove I'll show enough I didn't need to listen when I'm finished”

Here the narrator says that he doesn’t hide his shallowness and the front he portrays in order to be popular. Sunglasses are mentioned here because they are the stereotypical symbol of being “cool”. He admits he is fake and that people think he has thick skin, but he also says that when “push comes to shove” he’ll react in a very emotional way. This shows that the narrator is still a person, however he’s very fragile because of his addiction. The last line can be interpreted as the narrator trying to comfort himself by saying that he doesn’t have to listen to criticism because eventually he will reach a level of fame and fortune that it won’t matter.

“You're insane, what you said when I explain the game plan Nothing's changed, except a little more change in my hand Now I don't mean to brag, life was in fact Non-witness shows of women, it's not finished”

The first part of this stanza describes a part of an exchange between the narrator and someone he told his future plans to. This person thinks he is in over his head, but he insists that his plans to get more famous/rich are, essentially a continuation of what he had been doing before, except now he has more money to invest in his future success. He then says that it will be worth it because his current life consisted of lots ‘one on one’ time with multiple women (non-witness shows are when a person convicted of a crime gets the option of having a hearing without witness to affirm or deny your story), which is something he can afford with all of his fame/fortune. This shows that the narrator is thirsty for any kind of affection to fill his deep-seated need for appreciation. “It’s not finished” is where he declares that he doesn’t want this high life to stop, which is why he must do crazy things to continue his pursuit of it.

(Chorus again)

“You ended up with gold but it started as a dream If I get cold put some honey in my tea I used to be broke, now there's money in my jeans I was broke now there's money in my jeans I was broke now there's money in my... hmph I was broke now there's money in my jeans”

In this bridge, we really start to hear the regret in the narrator’s voice. He starts by saying that he originally rose to fame because of his dream, but now he is a wreck for money. In the second line he says that if he becomes bitter or feels lonely, he just needs another sweetly sickening shot of being in the spotlight. His situation is so dire that he relies on the spotlight to keep him from feeling “cold”. He reflects bitterly that he should be content because he is making a lot more than he used to. He repeats that last line three times to emphasize the idea that his addiction to fame/money has made him irrational, since logic says he should be happier now, but he’s not.

The chorus repeats again in a sad temper, leaving the narrator without a solution to his destructive desires.

That’s my interpretation :)

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