If you were anywhere near a radio or a dance floor in 2012, you heard it. That pulsing, electro-house beat building up until Anton Zaslavski—better known as Zedd—lets the floor drop out. Then comes that voice. Foxes (Louisa Rose Allen) delivers a line that has since become a permanent fixture in the lexicon of "sad bops": our love is a tragedy why are you my remedy.
It’s a contradiction. It’s a mess. Honestly, it’s exactly why the song "Clarity" won a Grammy and why we still can't stop screaming the lyrics in our cars over a decade later.
Songs about heartbreak are a dime a dozen. Usually, they follow a script. Someone leaves, someone cries, or someone gets revenge. But "Clarity" tapped into something much more annoying and human: the "push-pull" dynamic. It’s that specific brand of emotional masochism where you know, for a fact, that the person you’re with is a disaster for your mental health, yet they’re the only thing that makes the world feel quiet for five minutes.
The Anatomy of a High-Stakes Disaster
When we look at the phrase our love is a tragedy why are you my remedy, we’re seeing a classic rhetorical device called an oxymoron, but applied to a messy kitchen-table argument. A tragedy is an ending. A remedy is a cure. You can’t usually have both at the same time.
Zedd didn't actually write the lyrics alone. This is a common misconception. The song was a massive collaborative effort involving Matthew Koma, Porter Robinson, and Holly Hafermann (Skylar Grey). Koma, in particular, is a wizard at writing these kinds of "beautiful pain" lyrics. He has this knack for identifying the friction in relationships.
Think about the physics of the song. The production is soaring and bright. It feels like flying. But the lyrics are grounded in heavy, sinking realization. That contrast is intentional. It mimics the dopamine hit of a toxic relationship. You get the "high" of the melody while the "low" of the lyrics tells the real story.
Most pop songs try to be relatable by being vague. "Clarity" is relatable because it's specific about a very certain kind of dysfunction. It’s not about a "bad" person; it’s about two people who are "bad" for each other.
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Why Your Brain Craves the "Tragedy"
Why do we do this? Why is the person causing the tragedy also the remedy?
Psychology has a few names for this. One is intermittent reinforcement. It’s the same mechanism that keeps people hooked on slot machines. If a partner was mean or "tragic" 100% of the time, you’d leave. If they were a "remedy" 100% of the time, it would be a healthy relationship. But when they oscillate between the two? Your brain goes into overdrive.
When the "tragedy" hits—the fighting, the distance, the incompatibility—your stress levels spike. Then, when that person offers a moment of affection or "remedy," your brain releases a massive flood of dopamine and oxytocin. It feels better than a normal hug because it’s a relief from the pain they just caused.
It’s a loop.
- The "Tragedy": The baseline state of the relationship.
- The "Remedy": The fleeting moments of connection that keep you from leaving.
- The Result: Confusion that feels like passion.
Dr. Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist who has spent decades studying the brain in love, often points out that "rejection attachment" is a real thing. When we are rejected or in a tumultuous state with someone, the brain regions associated with craving and addiction actually light up more intensely. We literally want them more because they are hurting us.
The Foxes Factor
We have to talk about Louisa Rose Allen. She goes by Foxes. Before "Clarity," she was an indie artist from Southampton. Her voice has this specific, breathy desperation that makes the line our love is a tragedy why are you my remedy work.
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If a powerhouse diva with perfect, clean vocals sang this, it might sound too "theatrical." Foxes sounds like she’s exhausted. She sounds like she’s been up until 4:00 AM arguing in a parking lot. That vocal texture is the "E" in E-E-A-T for this song—it provides the emotional authority.
Interestingly, Zedd originally had other singers in mind. There are rumors and demo versions floating around the internet, but once he heard Foxes' demo, he knew. He needed that vulnerability to cut through the heavy synthesizers. It’s the human element in a machine-made track.
The Cultural Longevity of "Clarity"
"Clarity" peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, but its impact lasted way longer than its chart run. It became the anthem for the EDM-pop crossover era. It paved the way for songs that weren't just about "putting your hands up" but were actually about feeling like your life was falling apart while you danced.
We see this theme everywhere now. From Olivia Rodrigo’s "bad idea right?" to Taylor Swift’s "Blank Space," the idea of being self-aware about a bad romance is a trope. But Zedd and Foxes did it with a certain earnestness that’s hard to replicate. They weren't being wink-wink-nudge-nudge about it. They were right in the thick of the "red leather" and "black heart" imagery.
Common Misinterpretations
People often think the song is a love song. It’s not.
If you play "Clarity" at a wedding, you’re basically celebrating a cycle of emotional instability. The lyrics "If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy? / If our love is insanity, why are you my clarity?" are questions, not statements of fact. The singer is asking why. She doesn't have the answer. She’s stuck in the "insanity."
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Another misconception is that the song is purely about a romantic partner. Over the years, fans have reinterpreted the lyrics to talk about everything from addiction to their relationship with social media. That’s the hallmark of a great lyric; it’s elastic. It stretches to fit the listener's specific pain.
Real-World Takeaways: Breaking the Remedy Cycle
If you find yourself relating a little too much to the idea of a partner being your only remedy for the tragedy they created, it’s probably time for some actual clarity.
- Identify the Baseline: Is the "tragedy" the exception or the rule? If you spend 80% of your time stressed and 20% "remedied," the math doesn't add up.
- External Remedies: Find a "remedy" that doesn't also cause the wound. Friends, hobbies, or just a really good therapist can provide the dopamine hit without the collateral damage.
- The "Silence" Test: In the song, Foxes sings about "diving into the frozen waves where the past comes back to life." Usually, we go back to "tragic" loves because we’re afraid of the silence of being alone. Practice being in that silence. It’s boring, but it isn't tragic.
The Reality of the "Remedy"
Ultimately, our love is a tragedy why are you my remedy serves as a warning wrapped in a melody. It’s a snapshot of a moment where we value intensity over stability. It’s okay to love the song. It’s okay to scream the lyrics. But in the real world, a remedy shouldn't make you sick first.
To move forward, start by tracking your "emotional highs" for a week. Note what triggers them. If your greatest moments of joy only happen immediately after a period of intense fighting or anxiety caused by the same person, you aren't in a "remedy" situation—you're in a cycle. True clarity isn't found in the heat of a strobe light or a soaring chorus; it's found in the quiet moments when you realize you no longer need the chaos to feel alive.