Nemesis

I had to write an in-class essay on this song and these are my notes:

David Gray’s song “Nemesis” can also be read as poetry because, like poetry, it uses imagery and rhythm to convey its themes and evoke emotions. This poem/song characterizes the nature of life; it explores the dichotomies of life in that life is described as “sweet” and with limitless possibilities, yet nevertheless necessarily includes loss, regrets, and shame. Gray uses the poetic techniques of metaphors, personification, and rhythm to convey meaning.

This poem is a series of metaphors and almost every line carries a different image. Even though the reader does not yet understand the meaning of the poem, the effect of so many metaphors moves the poem forward quickly and creates a tone of unyielding momentum. The term “I am. . .” is used consistently. For example, “I’m a creeping and intangible sense of loss” (3-4), “I am ecstacy,” and “I am the thoughts you’re too ashamed to share.” The overall effect of these metaphors is to create an atmosphere of both loss and hope and to show that these two opposing feelings are inseparable. For example, “I am the photograph/They found in your burned out house” creates an image of devastation with the burned out house, and yet the photograph retrieved from the ruins gives back happy memories. Some images are strictly dark, such as “I am the thoughts that you’re too ashamed to ever share”. Another metaphor seems to be positive but then takes a cruel turn: “I am your one true love/Who sleeps with someone else.” However, one metaphor does suggest peace: “I’m the babe that sleeps/Through the Blitz.” Here Gray juxtaposes the image of a baby (a symbol of life) with the Blitz (a war image, suggesting destruction and death). Hope is promised because the baby actually sleeps through and survives the destruction.

These metaphors may seem almost random and unrelated, and the reader is left to wonder, who is the speaker, who is this “I”? Like a classical sonnet, the key to understanding this rich and complex poem is found in the last two lines: I am your nemesis/Baby I’m life sweet life itself.” The reader now realizes that the speaker is the personification of life. Life is talking to someone and characterizing itself in various ways. The loaded title “Nemesis” further explains meaning. A nemesis is commonly used to describe a force that cannot be overcome or defeated. In popular culture, a nemesis is an arch enemy that cannot be overcome. In Greek mythology, Nemesis is the goddess of retributive justice. In Classical works, Nemesis was there to punish those who were guilty of hubris, meaning they thought they were like gods. In this poem, life the speaker serves to remind the reader that happiness is always accompanied by suffering. The two together make life.

It is important to note, however, that stanzas 3 and 5, which are also the song’s refrains, deviate from the established “I am” form. The music and the rhythm of the words in these stanzas stands out as markedly different from that used in the other stanzas containing the “I am” metaphors. For example, in stanzas 1, 2, 4, and 6, Gray uses triplets to create a sense of quick movement in the music. In Stanzas 3 and 5, the music falls back to a more conventional rhythm. As well, instead of stating “I am. . .”, Gray begins each refrain with “Gates of heaven are open wide”, and there is no longer personification used. These changes suggest there is a second speaker in stanzas 3 and 5, who is replying to and questioning life. This speaker calls out to life, saying although “the possibilties are limitless,” he or she feels “trapped” or “buried alive” and asks life to “Just give me something that’s more than this”.

Life responds in the final stanza by asserting that good can never be completely separated from evil; the two always co-exist and one can even arise from the other. Life presents itself as “a sudden and quite unexpected twist” and demonstrates this characteristic in the last two metaphors of the poem. Both metaphors begin with peaceful, positive images (a sleeping baby and one’s true love), but conclude ironically with sad or disturbing images (the Blitzkreig, suggesting death and the lover with someone else, suggesting abandonment and loss).