Kemp

http://www.plyrics.com/lyrics/millencolin/kemp.html

In the song “Kemp” by Millencolin, the lead singer is comparing himself to someone whom he sees as better than himself. His sense of self comes from what the other person says and goes through. Lacan argues that “before language assigns us an “I”, we posses no sense of self” (393). By comparing himself to this person, the lead singer knows who he is and what he stands for.

Lacan also believes that “our identity is given to us from outside” (393). The lead singer from Millencolin says “I am indeed a flop if you say so” (plyrics.com). He doesn’t know who is unless this person tells him. The singer tries to be this other person by externalizing his feelings and giving them to the person he is talking about. All of the examples the singer gives in the song are negative and he believes that he is a lesser person. This changes when he says, “I feel a need to stop so I say no” (plyrics.com). At this point, the singer becomes his own person.

Rather than continuing to compare himself to this person, he realizes that he is a “thorn in his [your] side” (plyrics.com). The singer realizes that he needs to form his own identity if he wants to be happy. Instead of gaining his identity from this unnamed person, the singer has his own identity and realizes that he is a nuisance to the person he is singing about.