| Tool – Lateralus Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Black then white are all I see in my infancy. Red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me, lets me see. -- In the beginning of a human life, the child is unaware of its own existence, past, future of death. The baby exists in 'black and white', it is what it is. At about aged 4 - 6 the child gradually begins to become aware of itself as being a form, and begins the (unnecessary) process of layering itself up with ideas, concepts, beliefs and self-image, hence the 'red and yellow'. When the narrator says 'lets me see' I interpret this as him seeing with his eyes in order to interpret the external as reality, rather than the internal 'true' reality. As below so above and beyond I imagine, drawn beyond the lines of reason. Push the envelope. Watch it bend. -- The narrator seems to be conveying the common misconception that what is real on Earth must therefore apply also to what we cannot see 'above and beyond', drawn beyond the lines of reason, of what we can understand using reason and logic. The last line may refer to cause and effect. Over thinking, over analyzing, separates the body from the mind. Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must feed my will to feel my moment drawing way outside the lines. -- The 'existence' within all of us doesn't require thought or analysis to be present. Thought and analysis take over intuition. We spend too much time and effort in thinking. Thought is simply a remembered past or an imagined future, hence the only true reality is this second, now. In over thinking and analysing we often miss what is right in front of us, so the narrator realises he has to will himself to let his 'moment' (the present) take him where it goes, without the distraction of thought. Feed my will to feel this moment, urging me to cross the line. Reaching out to embrace the random. Reaching out to embrace whatever may come. -- Again, this refers to the narrator's attempts to become enlightened and to 'stay present' in the moment. Embracing the random and embracing whatever may come is the way in which to remain present, because what IS, simply IS. I embrace my desire to... I embrace my desire to... feel the rhythm, to feel connected enough to step aside and weep like a widow, to feel inspired, to fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral, to swing on the spiral, to swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be a human. -- The lines in this verse all seem to refer to the feelings and experiences of becoming enlightened - 'feeling' the rhythm, feeling connected enough to allow feelings to 'be', witnessing true beauty is only possible when one has become enlightened. 'Swing on the spiral' is an interesting lyric alone as it may refer to numerous things. My thought is that a spiral could represent physical phenomena such as DNA and galaxies, or it could represent a singular path that we all must travel - one that has a beginning without, and ends at a point within. With my feet upon the ground, I lose myself between the sounds and open wide to suck it in. I feel it move across my skin. I'm reaching up and reaching out. I'm reaching for the random or whatever will bewilder me, whatever will bewilder me. -- Feet upon the ground possibly means that the narrator is aware that he is still human and that he still exists as a physical form, however he is able to 'lose himself' to the moment of simply 'being'. Some people who have experienced enlightenment or moments of enlightened awareness describe the feeling of tingling across the body, as though energy has permeated the physical body. Reaching up and reaching out could mean that the narrator is experiencing a spiritual transformation and is able to 'reach out' and understand more to his existence. Lateralus Lyrics Artist(Band):Tool Review The Song (88) Print the Lyrics Black then white are all I see in my infancy. Red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me, lets me see. As below so above and beyond I imagine, drawn beyond the lines of reason. Push the envelope. Watch it bend. Over thinking, over analyzing, separates the body from the mind. Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must feed my will to feel my moment drawing way outside the lines. Black then white are all I see in my infancy. Red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me, lets me see. There is so much more and it beckons me to look though to these, infinite possibilities. As below so above and beyond I imagine, drawn outside the lines of reason. Push the envelope. Watch it bend. Over thinking, over analyzing, separates the body from the mind. Withering my intuition, leaving opportunities behind. Feed my will to feel this moment, urging me to cross the line. Reaching out to embrace the random. Reaching out to embrace whatever may come. I embrace my desire to... I embrace my desire to... feel the rhythm, to feel connected enough to step aside and weep like a widow, to feel inspired, to fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral, to swing on the spiral, to swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be a human. With my feet upon the ground, I lose myself between the sounds and open wide to suck it in. I feel it move across my skin. I'm reaching up and reaching out. I'm reaching for the random or whatever will bewilder me, whatever will bewilder me. And following our will and wind, we may just go where no one's been. We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been -- Once more people awaken from the dream of form and 'follow the wind', others may also feel a strong force pulling them towards enlightenment and true freedom. We'll 'ride the spiral', meaning to accept the current moment and allow the next point on the spiral to simply exist. We may go where no-one has been in the sense that we may all become conscious to the nature of existence and become enlightened. Sorry for the long post but I highly recommend anyone who loves Tool (all of you, no doubt), to read the book 'The Power of Now' by Eckhart Tolle. Many themes from Tool's lyrics are discussed and described in this book and once you have read it, it becomes very difficult to ignore the fact that as humans, we simply haven't woken up yet. Cheers. |
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| Tool – Aenema Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I think this song follows a similar theme to that of many Tool songs - enlightenment. It seems it can be taken at face value and that the 'narrator' is just sick of everything that is wrong with L.A. Taken to a deeper level of meaning, however, and I think the song is about hope for better rather than worse. Here is what the song translates to, in my opinion of course; Most of the song is written from a negative perspective and in such a way that it really resonates with the disillusionment in many people. I think many people would derive a sick pleasure from watching the world collapse and to feel that their own misery is near an end, but i think the narrator sums it up perfectly when he says 'Don't just call me pessimist, try and read between the lines. I can't imagine why you wouldn't welcome any change, my friend.' To me this part implies that, although the narrator is speaking from a negative point of view, the desire is a positive one. As with many of Tool's songs, Keenan suggests that by simply living in the here and now and by accepting each moment as the only thing that truly exists, one can be freed from the bonds of human existence and from a position in time (Parabola, perhaps?)in order to feel truly connected with the 'oneness' of consciousness. For most people, enlightenment is an esoteric concept rather than a freedom achievable with anyone who so strongly desires it. For those who do become enlightened, a large proportion had to suffer greatly in order for the transmutation to commence. Some became enlightened due to the death of a loved one, or through severe illness. In my case, I experienced a sudden flash of enlightened awareness after years of suffering from severe depression and anxiety. I am still practicing in order to get to that peaceful place again. To me, the song seems to imply that the narrator hopes for a cataclysmic event to wake up those whose eyes are closed to the true and beautiful nature of existence. Cheers. |
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