Enemy (Days of The New Song) - Overview

Overview

"Enemy" is a prime example of Travis Meeks' shift into new musical scape on "Green"; whereas the first album established a moderately stripped down acoustic rock style, "Enemy" incorporates classical strings as well as electronic effects and percussion comparable to that heard in dance club music. Regarding this decision, Meeks said, "It was an experiment. It was something that I wanted to try - just like putting red in a painting instead of using more blue, just trying something different." Acoustic guitar remains well implemented, however, and an echoed horn is also heard during the chorus. Vocal layering occurs throughout "Enemy" as well with clean singing in the foreground and a distant, hollower voice providing backup vocals. The song fades to silence as it nears the end. A moody acoustic guitar then enters which is soon accompanied by a lead guitar solo before slowly fading out together.

Meeks described the song composition process in an interview with LAUNCHcast, stating that he wrote the guitar and vocal pattern first before demoing in the studio. While there, he created the bass line and composed samples around that. Meeks also expressed hope that fans wouldn't get the impression that "Enemy" stylistically represents the entire album.

Lyrically, "Enemy" appears to focus on a vague dispute between a young man and his authority figure. The first lyric in the song proclaims, "Listen down you little man/I'm not the one who's trying to change you," yet perhaps ironically, also declares later, "you need to change now." Amidst these claims, the narrator also tries to maintain respect between the two and cite that he or she is not an enemy despite the aforementioned demands.