Blending the sound of the orchestra with modern elements and ethnic instrumentation, there is a definite intensity in his music. He is perhaps most renowned for his signature sound as the composer / lyricist in the hip-hop collective Nine Leaves.
After releasing two albums under Nine Leaves, his first solo work, entitled "Empty Room," releases May 2010.
Musically, "Empty Room" is a mix of film score, world instrumentation, and hip-hop; while lyrically a blend of storytelling and self-reflection; the album carves for itself a sonically unique identity. Exposing the listener to tragedy and the artist’s own vulnerabilities, this is by far the most emotional album yet from Zack Hemsey.
At War With Me
Zack Hemsey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Visions that confer only sorrow that time's caught
A ghost upon a body so shoddy and scared soft
A mind so terrified it's resigned and it's shut off
But that's to be expected when a boy has been selected
In his hands is placed a weapon as a soldier then directs him
Shoot upon your father
To refuse you'll burn in horror
He just stands immersed in sweat
Family eyes connect
He holds his rifle to his chest
His heart is heavy with regret as he unloads with his offence
And "in the name of freedom" is chanted to loud applause
While planted in his brain is an image of Hell crossed
Sobbing in his spirit and fearing the holocaust
He must compose himself or risk being the next lost
Now every shadow hides a face he's shot or blown to dust
With every day he's dying and getting more out of touch
And every night he dreams he ends the death machine
And finds a way to run from his stranger and this regime
As morning leaves him choking and full of grief
He's hoping today will be the day that brings him a reprieve
If only we could find the fortune
Instead of misfortune
Would be see it's out of proportion
Or have we cut off our feet
No way to retreat
In nothing but defeat
But if we can get us lost
And try to take it off
Could we clean up this distortion
Try to make it soften
Are we all orphans now
Have we exhausted now
And I never loathed a life
But now I lead this war with me
I suspect my calm's Manchurian in nature
Just a matter of some time before she makes me waste ‘em
Yet I possess no fury toward this stranger
No I just feel allured by coming danger
Change her I wouldn't
I want to ride the current of her storm
Nourish on her sword
And let my soul absorb
And he of pure mind, let him to me accord
Benevolence to ward off temptation that I have stored
Cuz lord knows the craving in me grows
With every step I took I knew the devil in me rose
Waiting on a precipice so delicately posed
A long and lovely fall no will or fire can oppose
But the beauty of her form brings violence
And I succumb to dancing with this Siren
And I can feel the weight of this unload
Perception has been altered now I see what she's bestowed
The wrath in me explodes and the sins of men are found
The power of her sound reveals malevolence abound
To he who sees no heaven amongst the clouds
The reckoning is coming, get ready for buried ground
Yet I can feel such impurity within
I must expel the fiend and let its hole cave in
And so to singe this evil now I pull the pin
But clutch it to my heart to end the journey of my twin
The lyrics of Zack Hemsey's song At War With Me details the inner turmoil and struggles of a soldier who has been forced to commit heinous acts in the name of "freedom." The soldier is haunted by the ghosts of those he has killed, and the weight of his actions has left him broken and traumatized. He is torn between his desire to end the violence and his duty to follow orders. The lyrics explore themes of regret, war, trauma, despair, and finding redemption.
The song begins with the soldier describing his state of mind. He is consumed by hollowed and lost thoughts, and he can only see visions that bring sorrow. He describes himself as a "ghost upon a body so shoddy and scared soft." The soldier admits that he is terrified, and he has resigned himself to shutting off his mind to cope with his trauma. The soldier was once just a boy, but he was selected to be a soldier and was given a weapon. He was told to shoot his father, and if he refused, he would face horror. The soldier is not fighting for pride and honor; instead, he is immersed in fear and regret. He is hoping that today will be the day when he finds reprieve.
The soldier is haunted by the reality of war and the atrocities he has committed. He dreams of a way to escape the death machine and the regime that has consumed him. He is dying more and more every day, and every shadow reminds him of the faces he has shot or blown to dust. The soldier is trapped in a cycle of grief and despair, and he wishes to find a way out. He questions whether we could find fortune instead of misfortune and see that the distortion in the world can be made to soften. He wonders if we are all orphans now, and if we have exhausted ourselves with nothing but defeat. The song ends with the soldier acknowledging the impurity within him and his desire to expel it and end the journey of his twin.
Line by Line Meaning
Only notions he considers are hollowed and lost thoughts
He only thinks about empty ideas and forgotten memories
Visions that confer only sorrow that time's caught
The things he sees only bring him sadness that time has trapped him in
A ghost upon a body so shoddy and scared soft
He feels like a spirit inhabiting a weak and frightened body
A mind so terrified it's resigned and it's shut off
His mind is so afraid that it has given up and shut down
But that's to be expected when a boy has been selected
This is what happens when a young man is chosen
In his hands is placed a weapon as a soldier then directs him
He is given a weapon and commanded as a soldier
Shoot upon your father
He is told to shoot his own father
To refuse you'll burn in horror
If he doesn't obey, he will face severe consequences
No pursuit of pride and honor
His actions have nothing to do with pride or honor
He just stands immersed in sweat
He stands there, sweating and nervous
Family eyes connect
He looks into his family's eyes
He holds his rifle to his chest
He raises his rifle to his chest
His heart is heavy with regret as he unloads with his offence
He feels immense regret as he fires his weapon
And "in the name of freedom" is chanted to loud applause
People cheer and chant about freedom
While planted in his brain is an image of Hell crossed
He has a mental image of a hellish scene
Sobbing in his spirit and fearing the holocaust
He is crying inside and afraid of what might happen
He must compose himself or risk being the next lost
He must keep himself together or he could be lost
Now every shadow hides a face he's shot or blown to dust
Every shadow reminds him of someone he killed
With every day he's dying and getting more out of touch
Each day he feels more disconnected from the world and himself
And every night he dreams he ends the death machine
He dreams of stopping the cycle of death and destruction
And finds a way to run from his stranger and this regime
He wants to escape from the person he has become and the system he serves
As morning leaves him choking and full of grief
Every morning he wakes up feeling choked and overwhelmed with sadness
He's hoping today will be the day that brings him a reprieve
He hopes today will be the day that he finds relief
If only we could find the fortune
If only we could be lucky
Instead of misfortune
Instead of facing bad luck
Would be see it's out of proportion
Would we realize it's not fair
Or have we cut off our feet
Or have we sabotaged ourselves
No way to retreat
No way to escape
In nothing but defeat
Feeling nothing but defeated
But if we can get us lost
But if we can lose ourselves
And try to take it off
And try to remove our burden
Could we clean up this distortion
Could we fix this problem
Try to make it soften
Try to make it less hard
Are we all orphans now
Do we all feel like we have no family
Have we exhausted now
Are we tired and worn out
And I never loathed a life
And I never hated life
But now I lead this war with me
But now I am fighting an internal battle
I suspect my calm's Manchurian in nature
I feel like my peaceful demeanor is artificial
Just a matter of some time before she makes me waste ‘em
It's just a matter of time before I become violent
Yet I possess no fury toward this stranger
But I don't feel anger towards this person
No I just feel allured by coming danger
In fact, I am attracted to the danger
Change her I wouldn't
I wouldn't want to change her
I want to ride the current of her storm
I want to experience the intensity of her emotions
Nourish on her sword
I want to feed off of her strength
And let my soul absorb
And let myself be influenced
And he of pure mind, let him to me accord
And may those who are pure of mind agree with me
Benevolence to ward off temptation that I have stored
May good intentions keep me from giving in to temptation
Cuz lord knows the craving in me grows
God knows that my desire is getting stronger
With every step I took I knew the devil in me rose
With every move I made, I felt the evil inside me getting stronger
Waiting on a precipice so delicately posed
Waiting on the edge of a dangerous situation
A long and lovely fall no will or fire can oppose
A tragic and beautiful descent that nobody can stop
But the beauty of her form brings violence
But her beauty makes me want to act violently
And I succumb to dancing with this Siren
And I give in to the seduction of this dangerous woman
And I can feel the weight of this unload
And I feel the burden of my actions being lifted
Perception has been altered now I see what she's bestowed
My perspective has changed and I see what she has given me
The wrath in me explodes and the sins of men are found
My anger erupts and the wrongdoing of humanity is revealed
The power of her sound reveals malevolence abound
The impact of her voice shows the presence of evil around me
To he who sees no heaven amongst the clouds
To those who don't believe in heaven
The reckoning is coming, get ready for buried ground
The punishment is coming, be prepared for death
Yet I can feel such impurity within
But I feel tainted inside
I must expel the fiend and let its hole cave in
I need to get rid of the demon inside me
And so to singe this evil now I pull the pin
So I pull the trigger to destroy this evil
But clutch it to my heart to end the journey of my twin
But I hold the weapon close to my chest to end my own life
Contributed by Sarah E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@seeking_the_sun
Only notions he considers are hollowed and lost thoughts
Visions that confer only sorrow that time's caught
A ghost upon a body so shoddy and scared soft
A mind so terrified it's resigned and it's shut off
But that's to be expected when a boy has been selected
In his hands is placed a weapon as a soldier then directs him
Shoot upon your father
To refuse you'll burn in horror
No pursuit of pride and honor
He just stands immersed in sweat
Family eyes connect
He holds his rifle to his chest
His heart is heavy with regret as he unloads with his offense
And "in the name of freedom" is chanted to loud applause
While planted in his brain is an image of Hell crossed
Sobbing in his spirit and fearing the holocaust
He must compose himself or risk being the next lost
Now every shadow hides a face he's shot or blown to dust
With every day he's dying and getting more out of touch
And every night he dreams he ends the death machine
And finds a way to run from his stranger and this regime
As morning leaves him choking and full of grief
He's hoping today will be the day that brings him a reprieve
If only we could find the fortune
Instead of misfortune
Would be see it's out of proportion
Or have we cut off our feet
No way to retreat
In nothing but defeat
But if we can get us lost
And try to take it off
Could we clean up this distortion
Try to make it soften
Are we all orphans now
Have we exhausted now
And I never loathed a life
But now I lead this war with me
I suspect my calm's Manchurian in nature
Just a matter of some time before she makes me waste 'em
Yet I possess no fury toward this stranger
No I just feel allured by coming danger
Change her I wouldn't
I want to ride the current of her storm
Nourish on her sword
And let my soul absorb
And he of pure mind, let him to me accord
Benevolence to ward off temptation that I have stored
'Cause lord knows the craving in me grows
With every step I took I knew the devil in me rose
Waiting on a precipice so delicately posed
A long and lovely fall no will or fire can oppose
But the beauty of her form brings violence
And I succumb to dancing with this siren
And I can feel the weight of this unload
Perception has been altered now I see what she's bestowed
The wrath in me explodes and the sins of men are found
The power of her sound reveals malevolence abound
To he who sees no heaven amongst the clouds
The reckoning is coming, get ready for buried ground
Yet I can feel such impurity within
I must expel the fiend and let its hole cave in
And so to singe this evil now I pull the pin
But clutch it to my heart to end the journey of my twin
If only we could find the fortune
Instead of misfortune
Would be see it's out of proportion
Or have we cut off our feet
No way to retreat
In nothing but defeat
But if we can get us lost
And try to take it off
Could we clean up this distortion
Try to make it soften
Are we all orphans now
Have we exhausted now
And I never loathed a life
But now I lead this war with me
@taramaforhaikido7272
Heard from this one guy about gangs in south Afrika shooting up a place his daughter was at. Kid's fine though
We got to talking. Why wouldn't they? What to do they have left to lose? What's in it for them?
Then I ran a concept by them. How I'd make a place of pain and despair. Yet a place where those with nothing left to lose could find reason and purpose. He agreed with it. The person that almost lost his kid to a shootout agreed with the concept.
Puts things into perspective. Where do the monsters go if they have nowhere else to go? If all they are is pushed away what is left for them? Who creates them though. The "good" and "nice" people that push them away. That's who.
Some of Zack's songs touch on hypocrisy. I want it dragged out for all to see without room for doubt though. The paladin that slaughters kobolds with families and homes. The cowards that murder those that can't fight back when unarmed. I want people exposed for what they really are.
@ZackHemsey
Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/ER-Spotify
Apple Music: https://tinyurl.com/ER-Apple
Bandcamp: https://tinyurl.com/ER-Bandcamp
Deezer: https://tinyurl.com/ER-Deezer
TIDAL: https://tidal.com/browse/album/249977917
Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/ER-Amazon
@Mace2.0
There is no greater boss fight than fighting yourself.
@allandevil1337
As there is no greater ennemy than ourselves. Equal in all, but always in our way to be surpassed day after day.
@lazarus4759
@Dust Devil Rage 😂😂 😂😂
@mytho3286
So this mean i am a BOSS?Im cool with that)
@firstnamelastname-uz2ng
Fighting with yourself makes you stronger so that you are ready for the hell to come, so that you may not falter, so that you can protect the one's you hold close to your heart, the struggle is what makes us live without it we will die, only fools shall avoid their life.
@David-qv9yy
word
@Dust2653
I hope you all understand the gravity of this song. I especially hope you understand the first minute or two. Tragic what goes on in the world, the things the average person does nothing about.
@jobby1517
7 Years ago now
@anasazijames3809
Still my fav., whether it's lyrics or instrumental.