Under the Smile

Look alive, and look cautious, you see often Stares are piercing like daggers bury you in a coffin Spent all of my day outside seeing Japan Being immersed in the culture doing all that I can Locals quite nice, they quite polite, smiles bright Do they have reservations or something kept out of sight You start to cast doubts, it's been aroused People are withholding something they don't want to say out loud With tatemae they have a face, it isn't real That's the part they show to the world, not what they really feel Leads to a toxic culture of lies, lacking honesty Just to look good or be a pacifist no hostility Tension between what they expect and what's their true desire And they struggle to keep the balance but it's required They have to stay agreeable when at work They love you on the outside but inside you are the worst They love you who's the tourist but they want you to leave They like you cause you're precious but they're grinding their teeth So tell me visitor do you trust their smile Is their friendliness sincere or hiding something more vile So tell me visitor do you trust their smile Is their friendliness sincere or hiding something more vile And don't mistake politeness as real kindness Some of them will keep you oblivious and real blinded Cause niceness, politeness, and kindness Three different things in this culture it be so heinous Facial expressions they pick and choose, non-verbal cues Subtle change in tone or averted gaze, leave you confused Am I being approved or disapproved by what I've done But I'll never know they'll never tell me am I being shunned A real facade, a tragic fraud, is no one real Keeping appearances fake emotions are the shady deal How do people here make genuine connections When harmony's important there's no room for contentions Emphasis on the collective experience Is it strength or weakness well it's kind of precarious Keeping me on edge with all the masks that you wear I have shown myself this vulnerable so give me your stare Our interaction ends with mutual respect But I'm curious what's under your kindness I can't detect So tell me visitor do you trust their smile Is their friendliness sincere or hiding something more vile So tell me visitor do you trust their smile Is their friendliness sincere or hiding something more vile They'll say "oh, sumimasen", like, "scuse me", like, very politely like Make sure I have space on the train, but, they stare a lot They could be judging, they could be just like saying oh wow, she looks nice They're not gonna overstep their boundaries, you know what I mean They're being polite, but you don't know what they really think of you Yeah, exactly, it's hard to tell what they really think Being a foreigner here, you're gonna get stared at, good looks or bad looks You never really know, but you just know that, they're just all gonna be nice no matter what