Enemy

Enemy, which on first listening seems a pretty ballad about a break-up, is really about a man who publicly accused Johnson of conspiring to burn down his home. “I started having hateful feelings about this person I didn’t even know, and I had to work it out. One line sums it up: ‘Just because you think I’m your enemy, that doesn’t make you mine.’

wow, thanks itisshaggy. I would never have guessed that's what it was about. man, jack's had some hard times lately.

I love this picture - "I put hatred in a box then I locked it The strongest one I made I buried it all grew a tree without thorns And sat beneath its shade"

It is such a good feeling to rise above something like this and be at peace.

lol fragin i'm affraid you are the noob for such a display of hypocrisy. Your version of the lyrics is ridiculous, and really the "la las" don't need to be included. Thankyou bad sun. I love the line "I burried it all grew a tree without thorns and sat beneath it's shade." To me this refers to the strength that comes with self affirmation; you don't need to feel upset about attacks anyone makes, because your own conscience is clear. This song is about pacifism. Clearly that's not something fragin picked up on....

i love this song!! (L).. i think the song is about how you are an enemy to urself.. (L) thanks aman (y)

How about both of y'all have the incorrect lyrics.

These are the lyrics FROM THE BOOKLET:

After we spoke I had a dream that I broke The teeth from a mouth of a snake Then I choked on the teeth they were mine all along I picked up the pieces when I woke I put them in a boat made of things that I don’t want to see I blew on the sail watched it drift out to sea The further it drifted the closer it came to me I can’t explain So I took it apart built a billion boxes But there was only one key

You might think I’m your enemy But that don’t make you mine And all I have now is empathy I wish that you’d stop trying Please stop lying

I put hatred in a box then I locked it The strongest one I made I buried it all grew a tree without thorns And sat beneath its shade

You might think I’m your enemy But that don’t make you mine And all I have now is empathy I wish that you’d stop trying Please stop lying

But this is a great song and thanks itisshaggy for giving me info on what it's really about.

Yeah, it's about how a man's worse enemy can be himself. The things the character said and the hate he contained chased him around like a boomerang, but when he locked it away... his mistakes turned to good. (He planted bad seeds, but they grew into a thornless tree and he sat beneath it's shade). I love the line "you might think I'm your enemy, but that don't make you mine."

fragin you stupid arsehole your a fuken arsehole. what does "all i have now is above the" even mean? do you have any idea how stupid that sounds. i can just imagine a stupid dumb ass singing it. what a fuken stupid fuken arsehole.

I think this song is about the more and more you try to further yourself from hatred and fighting of all kinds, the more it is going to antagonize you, and There’s no way to escape it, because some people just want to start shit.

Jack is saying in the line, “You might think I’m your enemy, But that don’t make you mine.” That some people would just prefer to hassle you, and Jack just wants to chill, so he says, “I put hatred to a box then I locked it. The strongest one I made. I buried it all grew a tree without thorns, And I sat beneath its shade.” He chooses to ignore it and just goes with the flow, not letting the haters get to him. It’s a powerful message about living your life for yourself and nobody else.

hmmm what came to my mind is that jack is talking about hatred in general. "You might think im your enemy but that don't make you mine" refers to how he doesn't want to hate anything/anyone if he doesn't have to. Even if someone is not on good terms with him, he still likes them, he doesn't hate them.

I think this is strongly showed through the first several lines,

"After we spoke I had a dream that I broke The teeth from a mouth of a snake"

these lines kind of relate to that time after an argument or fight you have with a person and you feel like destroying something/acting in rage (ex: punching a wall, screaming in a pillow, etc.) because you are so angry. Jack had a "dream" of him breaking the teeth of a snake because of his anger at that moment.

But he later chokes on his own teeth (the moment when you realize how you reacted was wrong, like swallowing your own words). He becomes disgusted with himself for that spurt of anger he committed and those terrible images he imagined:

"Then I choked on the teeth they were mine all along I picked up the pieces when I woke I put them in a boat made of things that I don't want to see"

^ similar to the moment when you say things or do things you dont really mean but you say/do them because you are so pissed. however, after all of it, you regret reacting to the situation so negatively. sometimes when we are angry we hurt the ones we love even thought we don't mean it. Jack picks up all the "pieces" (in this case the teeth, but this could also mean the things like debri from the wall, feathers from the pillow, pieces from the damage you may have caused, etc.) and he locks them away ("put them in a boat made of things I don't want to see") so he won't ever have to look at them/be reminded of them.

But unfortunately anger and hatred are things that can't be avoided. its part of human nature as jack describes with these lines:

"I blew on the sail watched it drift out to sea The further it drifted the closer it came to me I can't explain."

So although he tries to forget about his times of anger and his acts of hatred, as he watches them "drift" away they still "drifted" "closer" to him.

Clearly his idea of trying to go at life without anger is also obviously stated with "I put hatred in a box then I locked it, the strongest one I made." And even though anger/hatred is something you cannot control, you can ease it. you can grow strong from your wrong-doings and learn to be less angry with the world/people. And by doing that, you can enjoy life happily: "I buried it all grew a tree without thorns And sat beneath its shade"

(Shade meaning comfort, happiness, peacefulness. He turned away from his anger and something good came out of it ((the tree with shade and no thorns))).

idk that was just my take on it

After we spoke I had a dream that I broke The teeth FROM A MOUTH OF A SNAKE THAT I choked on the teeth They were mine all along

I picked up the pieces when I woke Put them in a boat made of things that I don’t want to see I blew on the sail Watched it drift out to sea The further it drifted the closer it came to me I can’t explain

So I took it apart in a billion boxes There was only one thing You might think I’m your and only But that don’t make you mine And all I have now is ABOVE THE I wish that you’d stop trying Oh, please stop lying Stop la la la la la la la La la la la la… The hatred in the box that I locked The strongest one I knew I buried it all, grew a tree without thorns Sat beneath IT'S SHADE You might think I’m your EMEMY But that don’t make you mine And all I have now is ABOVE THE I wish that you’d stop trying Oh please stop lying Please stop la la la la la la La la la la la… La la la la la…