Shades Of Gray

The Monkees

When the world and I were young
Just yesterday
Live 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

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


Lyrics submitted by Dempyrean, edited by WrySatyr

Shades Of Gray Lyrics as written by Cynthia Weil Barry Mann

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Shades Of Gray song meanings
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9 Comments

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  • +4
    General Comment
    Pretty sure that's it's "It was easy then. . ." not "It was easier than. . ." i.e. "It was easy then to tell truth from lies,"
    pentalarcon September 13, 2009   Link
  • +4
    General Comment
    Yes, the lyric should be "easy then" rather than "easier than." This seems to me to be a statement on the experience of the Sixties, a time of massive upheaval and change, a time when people questioned authority, and "the old road rapidly faded." Ideas and mores that seemed so simple and so cut-and-dry about right and wrong and black and white in the Fifties quickly and stunningly were thrown to the wind in the Sixties. Only shades of gray remained.
    Bluewaveson April 13, 2011   Link
  • +2
    My Interpretation
    Agreed. Hadn't thought of the 60's angle. For me it's always been a more general message about growing older - the simple black and white views of youth become less clear with age. There never seems to be clear cut issues - the truth is always gray. I think maybe it's both. Whatever - it's a great song.
    wildandfreeon May 03, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    And "live" in the third line should actually be "life."
    WrySatyron September 12, 2014   Link
  • 0
    Lyric Correction
    "Easier than" should be "Easy then".
    wildandfreeon May 03, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation
    Sad song about not being a kid anymore. When life events hit they shake you to the core and you realize life's answers aren't so obvious anymore. I got in touch with this song again when my father passed away and suddenly the man with all the answers wasn't there anymore.
    Diogeneson October 01, 2014   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    I remember this song from something like 45 years ago. It's message about coming to terms with the dissolutionment of our reality as we become older and more aware still holds up. I would love to see a hard rock band like Disturbed do an updated cover this in the vein of what they did with Simon and Garfunkel's Hello Darkness.
    WrySatyron November 10, 2019   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    As we get older we learn to embrace the mystery of life and stop searching for meaning.
    OSBPoundcakeon April 10, 2023   Link
  • -2
    General Comment
    I don't think so, I think the lyrics are "easier" not "easy."
    PencilNeckedGeekon September 20, 2009   Link

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