Shades of Gray
By
Barry Mann and
Cyntha Weil
Preformed by the
Monkees
When the
world and I were young,
Just
yesterday.
Life was such a simple
game,
A child could play.
It was easy then to tell
right from wrong.
Easy then to tell weak from strong.
When a man should stand and fight,
Or just go along.
But today there is no
day or
night
Today there is no dark or light.
Today there is no
black or white,
Only shades of gray.
I remember when the
answers seemed so clear
We had never lived with
doubt or
tasted fear.
It was easy then to tell
truth from
lies
Selling out from
compromise
Who to love and who to hate,
The foolish from the wise.
But today there is no day or night
Today there is no dark or light.
Today there is no
black or white,
Only shades of gray.
(Instrumental interlude)
It was easy then to know what was
fair
When to keep and when to
share.
How much to protect your heart
And how much to care.
But today there is no day or night
Today there is no
dark or light.
Today there is no
black or white,
Only shades of
gray.
Only shades of
gray.
Often, we see the world as a dichotomy - this or that, A or B, black or white. This is no the case, the world is full of endless shades of gray.
- Self/Other
- Is there a difference between how we treat others, and how we wish to be treated?
- Man/Nature
- Man is part of nature. Do we not treat nature as we treat our
own bodies?
- Intellect/Intuition
- One means of thought must not preclude the other. Each compliments
the other. Both are needed to see clearly.
- Good/Evil
- There is some good in all evils, and some evils are brought about
by every good action.
- Life/Death
- Life and death are two parts to the existence of all things, part
of the same universe, each flowing into the other