Black Mascara (song)

* Single
* Live

**"Black Mascara"** (stylized with a full stop at the end) is the second single and fourth track on RAYE's debut studio album, My 21st Century Blues. The single was released on August 24, 2022, independently and distributed by Human Re Sources.

RAYE described the song as “the only upbeat dance track on the album”.

On October 16, 2023, the live version of this song was released as the sixteenth track on RAYE's live album, My 21st Century Symphony., performed with The Heritage Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall on September 26, 2023.

## Background

After being performed several times throughout her 2022 live shows and making a speech of being finally free from Polydor Records when the song ended, Keen put a part of the track at the end of the "Hard Out Here." music video, as a snippet of what was going to come, released back on July 1, 2022.

Then on the 11th of August, the artist posted a little teaser of the music video with the caption "Song 2: Black Mascara 🎱 coming soon". On the same day, she confirmed the release date for the single with another post.

The following day the audio was registered on TikTok allowing to hear the studio version if the then upcoming song. Later, on the 17th, it was confirmed through a YouTube Short that the release date would be changed to the 24th of the same month.

Upon it's release, RAYE talked about the meaning and story behind the track as well as her feelings about it and the role that it plays on her album.

“*Black Mascara’ is about another story that has contributed to my ‘blues’. I used the juxtaposition of an upbeat dance track to tell this awful story of being misled by someone I really loved and trusted. While it was a dark low moment, it was also cathartic for me. The lyric ‘once you see my black mascara run from me to my mother’s hands’ is me saying: ‘if only you could actually see the damage that’s been done’. But I don’t want the story to end there, it’s meant to be empowering, to lend a voice to women like me who may have experienced their own blues in this 21st century. That’s what my album is about really – tackling all of those blues that we experience as a generation. Ironically, this is the only upbeat dance track on the album, but I used my voice this time to tell a raw unfiltered story.*”
―via Celeb Mix

On the Spotify Storyline for the song, the British singer revealed which was the purpose of the track by saying:

“*Written about a very devastating time in my life during my darkest healing process. I was not myself when I created this song. The song was very intentionally me creating sonic medicine to ease my pain at this point. Hoping others may find the same medicine within the music.*”
―via Spotify Storyline
While breaking down the meaning of all of the tracks of the album for Apple Music, Keen reveal the background of what was she going through when making the record and how she didn't heard the song for three week, though she already had the master.

“*I’d just come back from where these assaults took place and was very much not good. It was just after “BED” [RAYE’s 2021 hit with Joel Corry and David Guetta] came out, so I was having to sell the pop-girl image. At that time, I had the green light to do an album before they changed their mind for the last time. I played some chords, and they were very vampire-y and medieval. I had the phrase ‘Once you see my black mascara/Run from you’ on the way there, and so I was just building the lyrics. We had a session the next day, but I cancelled it-I just wasn’t there-and didn’t listen to the song until maybe three weeks after I was sent it. I pressed play, and it sounds like what you hear now. I put it on repeat.*”
―via Apple Music

## Lyrics

Once you see my black mascara

Run from you into my mama's hands

You selfish man

You'd understand (understand what you)

Once you see my slick eyeliner

Blend into my black designer

Bags under my eyes

Oh, how'd you try to understand

What you done (to me)

What you done (to me)

What you

Done to me

You done to me

You done to me

You're done to me

You're done to me

You're done to me

You're done to me

You're done to me

You made your bed (made your bed)

Lied your lies (lied your lies)

And fucked my mind up

Try to understand just what you

Done to me

You done to me

You done to me

You're done to me

You're done to me

You're done to me

You're done to me

You're done to me

You made your bed (made your bed)

Lied your lies (lied your lies)

And fucked my mind up

Try to understand just what you

Now you see my black mascara

Run from you into my mama's hands

You selfish man

(Do you understand)

How it feels

And what you done?

Done to me

You done to me

You done to me

You're done to me

You're done to me

You're done to me

You're done to me

You're done to me

You made your bed (made your bed)

Lied your lies (lied your lies)

And fucked my mind up

Try to understand just what you

Try to understand just what you

(You fucked my mind up)

(You fucked my mind up)

Try to understand just what you

Try to understand just what you

Tripped on the throttle, sipped on bottle, serious

Tell them hoes to be minding they business

Heart broke but I'm still looking like millions

Six shots down so I can't feel this

Talking my ear off, cocaine

Got a bitch gassed up, propane

Now I can't come down or it pours

Oh, underneath my eyes how it rains

There's clouds up high

But there's stars on the ceiling of the Royce

I hear this pain drown every other noise

You talk to me dumb like you didn't have a choice

I'm here now, fucked up thinking this why

I'm out here sinking in these dark nights, nights, ah, yeah

Look what you've done to me

You've done to me, my baby

Look what you've done to me

You've done to me, my lover

Just what you've done to me

You've done to me

You've done to me

You've done to me

You've done

Try to understand just what you

Try to understand just what you

(Do you, oh, do you understand how it feels?)

Try to understand just what you

(Look what you've done to me)

(You've done to me, my baby)

Try to understand just what you

(Do you, oh, do you understand how it feels and what you've done?)

### Live at Royal Albert Hall recording

Mmm

Once you see my black mascara

Run from you into my mama's hands

You selfish man

You'd understand

What you done

Once you see my slick eyeliner

Blend into my black designer bags under my eyes

Oh, how'd you try to understand?

What you done to me

What you done to me

Royal Albert Hall

Done to me

You done to me?

You done to me?

You're done to me

You're done to me

I see, yes

You're done to me

You're done to me

You're done to me

You made your bed (Made your bed)

Lied your lies (Lied your lies)

And fucked my mind up

Try to understand just what you

Done to me

You done to me?

You done to me? Oh

You're done to me

You're done to me

You're done to me

You're done to me

You're done to me

You made your bed (Made your bed)

Lied your lies (Lied your lies)

And fucked my mind up

Try to understand just what you

Now you see my black mascara

Run from you into my mother's hands

You selfish man (Do you understand)

How it feels?

And what you've done to me?

Royal Albert Hall, I think I'm gonna need to see

Every human being on dancing

And their hands extended in the air

Are you ready?

Trying to understand just what you

(Try to understand just what you)

(Fucked my mind up, fucked my mind up, fucked my mind up, fucked my mind up)

So do you understand?

Do you understand?

How it feels what you

Tripped on the throttle

Sipped on the bottle, serious

Tell them hoes to be minding they business

Heart broke but I'm still looking like millions

Six shots down so I can't feel this

Talking my ear off, cocaine

Got a bitch gassed up, propane

Now I can't come down, or it pours

Oh, underneath my eyes, how it rains

There's clouds up high

But there's stars on the ceiling of the Royce

I hear this pain, drown every other noise

You talk to me dumb like you didn't have a choice

I'm here now fucked up, thinking this why

I'm out here sinking in these dark nights

Nights

Look what you've done to me

Royal Albert Hall

Look what you've done to me

Hey, hey, hands up

Try to understand just what you

I said

Try to understand just what you, yes

Do you, no, not down, I'm gonna need you to light me

Said do you understand how it feels?

What you've done to me

Try to understand just what you done to me

Thank you

### BTS

Behind the scenes of Black Mascara 🎱 -shorts
## Personnel and credits

Taken from the My 21st Century Blues CD booklet:

* Written By: Raye, Will Lansley and John Morgan
* Produced By: Punctual (Will Lansley and John Morgan)
* Vocals: Raye
* Vocal Engineer: Jenna Felsenthal

## Trivia

* "Black Mascara." is the only dance song from My 21st Century Blues.
* The song was originally going to be released on August 26, 2022.

## References

1. ↑ RAYE on *Twitter*. "Song 2: Black Mascara 🎱 coming soon". August 11, 2022.
2. ↑ RAYE on *Twitter*. "26.🎱.22". August 11, 2022.
3. ↑ Raye - Black Mascara. - TikTok
4. ↑ RAYE on *YouTube*. "A safe place to triumph your blues for 4:01 minutes. Black Mascara. Tmrw 11am PDT/7pm BST🥹🎱". August 17, 2022.
5. ↑ Philip Logan. "RAYE Drops Dramatic New Single, ‘Black Mascara’". *Celeb Mix*. August 24, 2022.
6. ↑ "Black Mascara." by RAYE on Spotify.
7. ↑ "My 21st Century Blues" by RAYE on Apple Music.