A recurring motif in “Warm Enough” is the sun. In the chorus of the song Noname Gypsy sings, “Who are you to tell me/ I’m not warm enough for summertime?/ I know that I can decide myself./ But you don’t know me like the sun you’ve never seen my horizon.” Noname feels misunderstood and compares herself to the sun. When she says “...you don’t know me like the sun...” she is referring to the fact that the sun disappears from view for half of the day, leaving the world in darkness. Like the sun is never seen after it falls behind the horizon, Gypsy feels like certain aspects of herself as a lover and person are not seen and are left in darkness, like the world is left after the exit of the sun. This darkness, leads to misunderstanding of character which can be deadly in love.
Another reference to the sun motif appears at the end of Noname’s rap as she says “I’m sunny, I’m sunny, just like you.” This verse relates to the chorus where Noname states she feels misunderstood as a lover and person and feels as if people only really see one side of her. She uses the adjective sunny to replace “misunderstood” and she continues to allude to the chorus. Here, she seems to be pleading to a lover trying to explain to him that she is misunderstood just like him, and is willing to work in the relationship so that both sides can understand each other. The adjective sunny also describes warmth and positivity, which seems odd in relation to misunderstood. But Noname uses this strange comparison to again show the complications of love and to show that sometimes love can make you feel warm and happy but at the same time confused and misunderstood.
In Chance the Rapper’s verse, he compares love to the development of a friendship, rapping, “You don’t know me and love got a secret handshake/ and mad inside jokes.” Here Chance alludes to a metaphor that the development of love is like a friendship. Friendships don’t always come naturally and often take time to develop and strengthen. Handshakes with friends and inside jokes with friends take time and experience to expand, just like love and the understanding of love can take various relationships and time to further develop and analyze.
On the contrary, this verse is also an example of personification. By giving love the life like quality of giving a handshake or telling an inside joke, Chance shows that his idea of love is not exclusive to lovers and family. Chance also believes that one can love his or her friends just as much as a boyfriend, girlfriend, family member, husband or wife.
In J. Cole’s verse he uses a simile to compare a female lover to a flower. “You’re like the flower that I won’t let die./ Right before your petals start to wilt/I choose to give you one last try./Fill your vase up with water, refusin’ to neglect you/like your father, so I promise that it won’t run dry.” Cole compares his relationship with a female to taking care of a flower. The love with the female is like the flower’s petals, fragile and the first thing to go when a flower begins to die. The female is the stem, the strong base that holds on to the petals, but without the water from the other side of the relationship, the flower will wilt and die. Here, Cole elaborates on how a true relationship depends on both parties, without the water the flower would die, and without the flower the water would have nothing to nourish. Cole also suggests that he feels a responsibility to water the flower, or in other words, take care of the female because her father let her run dry and did not love and nourish her.
“Warm Enough” is an example of poetic genius. The three artists, Noname, J. Cole, and Chance all use their poetic talents to further elaborate on the complicated emotion of love. They open up about their experiences with love, and tell them in creative, multi-dimensional ways that make listeners think deeply about their own understandings of love. These poetic collaborations create a layered song that can impact minds differently with every listen, something a simple tune could never accomplish.
You did a really great job of presenting your argument. It's really interesting how you said it can impact minds differently with every listen-- to me that's one of the most powerful things about poetry, that each person interprets it differently. Great job!!
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