casey ruth little | smudge on the lens (NPR tiny desk contest 2024)

"smudge on the lens" by casey ruth little (for tiny desk contest 2024)

a tune for the ones who feel as though the world just moves a bit too fast, and they move a bit too slow. wrote this after someone told me to go read myth of sisyphus, because it's "very casey ruth coded" (not sure how i feel about that, post-read) but hence why it's in the frame here. also, i kept picturing those movie scenes where the main guy is in the center, and everyone around them is moving in time-lapse, which is kinda what i'm getting at with the whole "smudge on the lens" thing. if you can relate i am very sorry, but hopefully this made you feel a little less alone in that smudgy feeling.

i hope the rest of your day is great, and i hope to see you again soon.

lyrics:
you're not the first to tell me this
maybe i should work on it
i'm ashamed of my redundancy
but i truly love the normalcy

of waking up with nothing planned
a ticking clock, an empty hand
sweet, logical you
you don't have to solve me, too

tell me what am i even here for?
if i'm not shiny and new anymore
i'm afraid you tire of this day-to-day
of calling when you know i have nothing new to say

i'm standing in a rush of hearts and minds
a ~smudge on the lens~ in lapsed time
and you can ask
but i'm gonna lie

and i apologize for my dead-eyed disposition
you can blame the insomnia on nostalgia streaked with desperation
can't look in the mirror, can't look on the floor
both draped in the clothes of a corpse
so keep all the cards and take care of the flowers
'cause they're just reminders of how
easy it is
for everyone else

you're not the first to tell me this
maybe i should work on it