Jeremy Bender

Will I answer to an 11 years old question? yes I will, probably nobody will see this anyway.

The Emerson, Lake, & Palmer song "Jeremy Bender", off of their 1971 album Tarkus, is a very deep, meaningful song, despite clocking in at only 1 minute and 52 seconds. In this short, ragtime-inspired track, Greg Lake, through his lyrics, touches on a powerful narrative of love, heartbreak, and everything in between.

The first line of the song introduces the titular character of Jeremy Bender, who Greg explains, "was a man of leisure". But what kind of leisure? one might ask. Leisure can have many different connotations, after all. Leisure can be very innocent, or it can refer to activities that are more risqué. To elucidate what kind of leisure this Bender partook in, Greg Lake continues: "Took his pleasure in the evening sun". As can be seen, Jeremy Bender's idea of leisure is at this point fairly tame, enjoying the simplicity of life and of nature. Notice the playfulness in how Greg Lake uses internal rhyme with "leisure" and "pleasure", which emphasizes the bliss of this moment in Jeremy Bender's life. This time, however, is shown to be nearing its end, with the symbolism of the setting evening sun. The next two lines, "Laid him down in a bed of roses / Finally decided to become a nun" show that this time is now at its end. Jeremy Bender has, to put it in terms of the hero's journey, stepped through the first threshold into the world of the unfamiliar. This is compounded by the fact that, in Catholic tradition, the position of nun is typically held only by women. How, then , does Jeremy become a nun? One might believe that he is transgender, but due to the fact that he is continuously referred to as "he", one might think it unlikely, although because it was the 70s, and there wasn't as good an understanding of lgbt issues, I'd wager that this is most likely Greg Lake's intent. Additionally, "Jeremy Bender" sounds a good deal like "gender bender", so it is probably a double entendre.

So our protagonist has become a nun, now what is in store for them? Greg Lake continues with his narration: "Talked with his sister and spoke in a whisper / Threatened to fist her if she didn't come clean". Even when handling a subject matter like this, Lake keeps the mood light with his use of internal rhyme. Now a casual listener might believe that Bender is talking to their sister, as in a relative, a sibling. However, due to the fact that they are now a nun, and the sexual subtext, it can be assumed that this is a sister at the nunnery. Two questions still remain: what kind of fisting does this refer to, and what is she coming clean about? Considering it is a threat, this fist could be seen as a double entendre, in that Bender is hitting her, but may also be having sexual relations with the nun as well. Now onto what she is coming clean about. Lake doesn't make it clear in the lyrics, but one can still ponder this, for it is among one of the greatest questions mankind has ever been confronted with. Perhaps the nuns are already in some sort of relationship, and one has been cheating? At the end of the day, however, this will forever be nothing but speculation, now that the great Greg Lake has passed away. Now to the next two lines: "Jumped on the mother, just like a brother / Asked one another if the other's a queen". Again, the mother part does not have any oedipal subtext, but is simply referring to nuns. The "brother" part, however, may simply refer to the fact that Bender is roughhousing, like one would be with one's brother. This is also a double entendre, showing that Bender's idea of leisure has changed. Now to the queen part. This reinforces the idea that Bender is some sort of lgbt character, and that even the other nun isn't sure of whether Bender is a woman or not.

With the third verse, Jeremy Bender continues with their sexual escapades within the nunnery. Greg begins with "Digging the sister, she was a mister." Lake creates more sexual confusion for Bender with this revelation: this nun Bender loves is a man. What happens next? Greg sings: "Shouldn't have kissed her but he couldn't say no". Nuns having relations with others is frowned upon, because they are, according to Catholic tradition, married to God. These two nuns of ambiguous gender and sexuality, however, could not refuse this kiss. But this love does not work out, Greg Lake continues: "Wanted to leave her, couldn't believe her". Bender wants to break up with this nun, perhaps because they're not attracted to men. What Bender couldn't believe may be the fact that this nun is a mister. Lake ends his magnum opus with "So he picked up his suitcase and decided to go." This tragic love story to rival Shakespeare ends with Bender leaving the nunnery to move on with his life.

"Jeremy Bender", as I believe all can agree, is a true work of art. It is a story which touches on themes of religion, sexuality, and gender, topics that weren't exactly commonly written about in popular music at the time. God willing this song will bless and enlighten future generations as much as it has ours.

To all: The poetry and consideration you have given this song is surely thoughtful and thought provoking. Much applause.

My view is a little different, only because I see a different conceit at work.

Greg Lake often allowed lyrics live their own lives. He would invest in a line a concept, then find the poetry he felt would express it, and establish the tone of what was to follow. It's not just us who meets Jeremy Bender in the first couplet: Greg does too. So he follows him. He marries that first couplet to lyrics that have a relative feel in common as well as an aesthetic flow that jibes with Jeremy's (perhaps literal) devil-may-care attitude. And in doing so we get a plot more aimless than linear, that gives us scenes and pictures of Jeremy's dalliances but no clear story, just hints that are up to us to flesh out- and there are many tendrils to those lyrical bends. These have been well explored by the intrepid adventurers on this page and my personal take would add little. In the end, Jeremy ends this particular diversion (whatever the listener has decided that might have been) and gets on with his journey.

As far as I can tell, its about Transsexual SHENANIGANS.