OXFORD
TOGETHER
STORIES
Rawz
Rawz was assigned the story It's A Two-Way Street.
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I started by reading the story several times, and making notes. I was also sent an audio recording which I listened to a lot while trying to boil the story down and find the essence of it. I felt that although it isn't romantic in the traditional sense, at it's core this is a story about love. I decided that it would be nice to present the narrative almost as a children's fairy tale or fable as I felt that there is a strong moral in the story that everyone should be able to listen to.
The windows in the story are a metaphor for the invisible barriers that prevent people from connecting spiritually; be they prejudice, social media, fear, disease or anything else. They pick up the dust and dirt thrown up by our environments and cloud our view of the world if we don't pay attention to keeping them clean. The road and the traffic represent our busy lives and the constant streams of information that distract us from the human connections that are often right in front of us waiting to be made. This piece is about overcoming those obstacles by having the courage to reach out to give and receive love.
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Credits
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Written and Performed by Rawz
Recorded at In-Spire Sounds Studios, Oxford
Instrumental composed by King Boyden & Rawz
Mixed by King Boyden & Rawz
Video Directed by Samuel Mansell & Rawz
Shot by Samuel Mansell
Edited by Samuel Mansell & Rawz
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WHEN SHE WAVED THROUGH THE WINDOW by RAWZ
The traffic flowed between them
He was alone
On his side of the road
Between walls of stone
He watched the empty space
That cast a pale light on his face
Though he only felt its shadow
On the other side of the road
Rows of windows
Blinds closed
Each one a home
From one
She watched the world
Through the glow
From her screen
As it gave her, her mornings news feed
And she hoped she would feel less lonely.
On the other side of the road
He too had the same hope
A scar still gaped where his heart once broke
Until the last door closed
And he was alone
He never looked at the window
On the other side of the road
The road where the traffic flowed between
Two people
With the same need
On the other side of the street
She was alone
Each window in sight unique
But Shut tight
The people behind sheltering
From dark skies
Hiding from a harsh climate
When a friend’s hard to find
But one can be found
In these times
By deciding to be kind
A little ray of sunshine
She reached out
Towards a space between the clouds
And felt sun
He reached out the same and their stories became one
He saw that inside
Behind the closed blinds
They were the same
Behind the invisible barrier
She saw they had the same heart
When she waved through the window
That kept them apart
Highlighting the dust and the scuff marks
He waved back from a two way street
Where the traffic no longer flowed between them
It flowed back and forth
And they both gave gifts
And walked together
One day
In the sunshine
When the windows were open wide
When she waved through the window
That kept them apart
He gave her a gift direct from his heart
And it started to heal
And he started to feel
Part of the planet
Not parted by traffic
And the tension relaxed
And he got love back
When he gave love
And he got love back
When he gave love
And he got love back
When he gave love
Then the world changed from the ground up
From the pavement
To the nation
To the whole of creation
He gave love
And he got love back
When he gave love
And he got love back
It’s a two way street