Desert Rose
from Abyss of Time by James Paddock
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Full Digital Discography
Get all 40 James Paddock releases available on Bandcamp.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of SIGIL II - The MIDI Soundtrack, Abyss of Time, Abyss of Time (Instrumentals), Swallow [ft. The Final Event & Keagan Dunn] - SINGLE, Impossible - SINGLE, The Penalty [ft. Marian Paddock] - SINGLE, Destroyer of Worlds - SINGLE, Invasive EP, and 32 more.
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about
This song focuses on the social othering of the neurodivergent, especially via "unspoken" social norms, along with the overzealous labelling and pigeon-holing of them via disorder diagnosis (erroneous or not). This can be an insurmountable obstacle for them to overcome.
Certain expected human behaviours, at least in the Western world, appear to be unspoken, unwritten, or otherwise withheld from those who aren't able to pick up on certain signals, and desperately desire clarity in these situations. The anxious and the awkward amongst us are constantly on edge, for fear of the next social faux pas they'll unwittingly stumble in. Rather than affording them time to breathe, or an explanation they can comprehend, we go to pains to attach labels of disability to them – as if to say this person is "broken", rather than "different". An incomplete jigsaw.
The puzzle piece symbol, previously used to represent Autistic Spectrum Disorder-adjacent organisations, has now been largely superseded by the "rainbow infinity" symbol – certainly a kinder way to represent those who are neurologically wired different. To say (or at least imply) that a person is "missing a piece" is disrespectful. Perhaps the favoured term should be "neurodiverse" instead of "neurodivergent".
For all the research that goes into unveiling our thinking and behaviour patterns, I do believe there is beauty in the human mind's inscrutability, and those who possess differences in their ways of thinking or of approaching problems carry an enormous potential for creativity, one that should not be ignored or forced into the mold of a mundane working world. Many neurodivergent individuals are expected to cave to normalcy, but truthfully, normalcy isn't applicable to everyone.
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Certain expected human behaviours, at least in the Western world, appear to be unspoken, unwritten, or otherwise withheld from those who aren't able to pick up on certain signals, and desperately desire clarity in these situations. The anxious and the awkward amongst us are constantly on edge, for fear of the next social faux pas they'll unwittingly stumble in. Rather than affording them time to breathe, or an explanation they can comprehend, we go to pains to attach labels of disability to them – as if to say this person is "broken", rather than "different". An incomplete jigsaw.
The puzzle piece symbol, previously used to represent Autistic Spectrum Disorder-adjacent organisations, has now been largely superseded by the "rainbow infinity" symbol – certainly a kinder way to represent those who are neurologically wired different. To say (or at least imply) that a person is "missing a piece" is disrespectful. Perhaps the favoured term should be "neurodiverse" instead of "neurodivergent".
For all the research that goes into unveiling our thinking and behaviour patterns, I do believe there is beauty in the human mind's inscrutability, and those who possess differences in their ways of thinking or of approaching problems carry an enormous potential for creativity, one that should not be ignored or forced into the mold of a mundane working world. Many neurodivergent individuals are expected to cave to normalcy, but truthfully, normalcy isn't applicable to everyone.
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lyrics
Just wanted to test the waters' acidity
Before you turned around and let me drown
I've got a policy of not engaging with the enemy
I've stood my ground only to be pulled down
Sorry if I'm wasting your time
By not conforming to your paradigm
I deal in yin and yang – black and white
And throw your "meanings" aside
You think we're some puzzle to solve
But we're refusing to buckle or unfold
We endure this fiery crucible – the usual
Encased within the concrete – so obsolete
We break right through the mold and only grow
Like desert rose
We, tectonic errors on your seismograph
We, the worst outliers, drive your silence mad
Yeah, you seethe, despair
"The status quo is all messed up"
Yeah, we won't be repaired
By your scattershot guesswork
Yeah
Any length to other us
Never could integrate us
Any length to tether us
Exorcise the invaders!
Sorry if I'm wasting your time
By not conforming to your paradigm
I deal in yin and yang – black and white
And throw your "meanings" aside
You think we're some puzzle to solve
But we're refusing to buckle or unfold
We endure this fiery crucible – the usual
Encased within the concrete – so obsolete
We break right through the mold and only grow
Like desert rose
Yeah, yeah, yeah
(You think we're some puzzle to solve
But we break right through the mold)
Useless as a head with a hole
It's all confusing – these fucking laws untold
We endure this fiery crucible – the usual
Encased within the concrete – so obsolete
We break right through the mold and only grow
Like desert rose
Before you turned around and let me drown
I've got a policy of not engaging with the enemy
I've stood my ground only to be pulled down
Sorry if I'm wasting your time
By not conforming to your paradigm
I deal in yin and yang – black and white
And throw your "meanings" aside
You think we're some puzzle to solve
But we're refusing to buckle or unfold
We endure this fiery crucible – the usual
Encased within the concrete – so obsolete
We break right through the mold and only grow
Like desert rose
We, tectonic errors on your seismograph
We, the worst outliers, drive your silence mad
Yeah, you seethe, despair
"The status quo is all messed up"
Yeah, we won't be repaired
By your scattershot guesswork
Yeah
Any length to other us
Never could integrate us
Any length to tether us
Exorcise the invaders!
Sorry if I'm wasting your time
By not conforming to your paradigm
I deal in yin and yang – black and white
And throw your "meanings" aside
You think we're some puzzle to solve
But we're refusing to buckle or unfold
We endure this fiery crucible – the usual
Encased within the concrete – so obsolete
We break right through the mold and only grow
Like desert rose
Yeah, yeah, yeah
(You think we're some puzzle to solve
But we break right through the mold)
Useless as a head with a hole
It's all confusing – these fucking laws untold
We endure this fiery crucible – the usual
Encased within the concrete – so obsolete
We break right through the mold and only grow
Like desert rose
credits
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all rights reserved
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about
James Paddock England, UK
Composer, singer, artist, and video game developer.
discography
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Nov 2023 -
Dec 2023 -
Aug 2023 -
Nov 2023
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