Someone told me once
That there's a right and wrong,
And that punishment
Would come to those
Who dare to cross the line.
But it must not be true
For jerk-offs like you.
Maybe it takes longer to catch a total asshole.
But I'm tired of waiting.
Maybe it's just bullshit and I should play God,
And shoot you myself
Because I'm tired of waiting.
Consequences dictate
Our course of action
And it doesn't matter what's right.
It's only wrong if you get caught.
If consequences dictate
My course of action
I should play God
And shoot you myself
I'm very tired of waiting.
I should
Kick you,
Beat you,
Fuck you,
And then shoot you in your fucking head



Lyrics submitted by dank

"Jerk-Off [Live]" as written by Daniel Carey, Adam Jones, Paul D'amour, Maynard James Keenan

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

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Jerk-Off song meanings
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61 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:it is a song about governing your own moral compass. people expect society to judge and punish but this system does not work as it is imperfect. therefor it raises the question how do we deter people from doing wrong if society is reinforcing behavior by its own inability to catch and punish everyone. if we buy into the belief that society is judge and executioner then we are one step away from justifying our own bad deeds. we need to be at peace with ourselves and our own moral compass to not go down to others level to get justice. i know tool is not supposed to be pro god at all but this song comes close in that they acknowledge punishment is left to god not society and impatients leads the person to want to take it into his own hands. since impatients is a negative quality i can deduce that they are saying the natural order of things is that god punishes as he sees fit and its not for us or society to question it at least not if we want inner peace.
    Flag minty33on October 05, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:To me, it's about someone who keeps doing bad things and is never punished for it.

    "Punishment was cure to those who dare to cross the line but it must not be true for jerk-offs just like you. Maybe it takes longer to catch a total asshole but I'm tired of waiting."

    The singer's thinking that since this person, or this jerk-off more specifically, is doing bad things he or she will eventually get punished for his/her actions but never does.

    "Someone told me once that there's a right and wrong, punishment was cure for those who dare to cross the line. But it must not be true for jerk-offs just like you and maybe it's just bullshit. I should play god and shoot you myself. Tired of waiting."

    He starts thinking that this person is never going to get punished for the bad things they're doing unless he does something about it himself which is why he starts thinking that maybe "I should play God and shoot you myself" seeing that "god" is not doing anything to punish this "jerk-off".

    "Consequences dictate course of action and it doesn't matter what's right. It's only wrong if you get caught. If consequences dictate my course of action I should play god and just shoot you myself. Tired of waiting."

    He now thinks it's not about right or wrong it's just about getting caught. This jerk-off was never caught or punished for his actions so Maynard is thinking that by that logic, it's not wrong that he kills him, as long as he can get away with it. He's tired of waiting for this man to get his comeuppance. He thinks he should just play God and shoot the person himself, finally giving that person what he/she deserves.
    Flag bound4glroyon July 13, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I believe that a lot of this album is the retaliation of god.


    Someone told me once
    that there's a right and wrong,
    and that punishment
    would come to those
    who dare to cross the line.

    Your parents told you that there was a right, following god, and a wrong, sin. The punishment is hell when you choose to live a life of sin.


    But it must not be true
    for jerk-offs like you.
    Maybe it takes longer to catch a total asshole.
    but I'm tired of waiting.
    Maybe it's just bullshit and I should play GOD,
    and shoot you myself.
    Because I'm tired of waiting.

    These are Religious fanatics getting pissed off at people who don't live a life of religion, and feel that something is wrong because they are not getting punished like they were told that they would. Their God is not punishing the non-believer so they want to punish them.

    Consequences dictate
    our course of action
    and it doesn't matter what's right.
    It's only wrong if you get caught.
    If consequences dictate
    my course of action
    I should play GOD
    and shoot you myself.
    I'm very tired of waiting.

    This is saying that shooting the non-believer is not going to get them into hell.

    This is MY interpretation.
    Flag 0hYahon October 19, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I agree with SpunkySPunk347 and Iowa$even. There is no hidden meaning in the lyrics, there are quite clear. The song is simply is about morality: the definition of what's right and what's wrong. Should people do what's "right" solely because of fear of punishment? What if there is no punishment? If killing other people had no negative consequences to oneself, would that make murder any less wrong? These questions are the basis of the song.

    Basically, the song is saying we should do what is right for the sake of doing the right thing, and not simply because we fear punishment. Sometimes doing the right thing means getting punished. Punishment, or the lack thereof, should not be what determines our actions as punishment alone does not indicate what is right and what is wrong.
    Flag noshowon May 14, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song is about starting a rebellion. his friend told him that there is no right or wrong and don't let anybody tell you otherwise. so he says pretty much that if he says he doesn't believe in god, and you try to tell him that there is one, then he will be his own god and terminate those who oppose him. he's is pretty much a bad ass and does what he wants... get over it!!!
    Flag jswjswon April 29, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:A lot of your explanations of the song's meaning are straying away from what the song actually means.

    The song is just about morality in general - Tool is telling you their stance on it.

    The meaning is pretty much exactly what the words tell us - except for a few verses that are being said sarcastically.
    Flag SpunkySkunk347on February 16, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Maynard is a strange dude, so I am guessing he was teased as a child. And there was a certain bully who would always pick on him but would never get a taste of his own medicine. He thinks that "maybe it's harder to catch a total asshole" then it is to pick on a weaker person. Lil' Maynard just kept thinking about what it would be like to strike back on his own ("I should play God and shoot you myself"). With a big grin on his face, he day dreams about kicking and beating the shit out of that bully and then finally killing him. But that sounds more like a Jonathan Davis story. Haha!
    Flag FuriousRioton December 16, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The song is much more simple then you think, It's about people who don't get whats coming to them, because they never get caught.
    Flag IceKeyMasteron September 06, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:its obviously about the struggles between R2D2 and C3PO when Threepio want "shut the fuck up" and R2 just want to fuck all the time. Threepio doesnt like that because he is a fucking gay british butler-type who only takes it when his master luke permits him to. Damn i really didnt know how people couldn't hear that when they listen to the band. think about it
    Flag tittymcbigtits69on July 11, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song means shit to mean hens my name on the top
    Flag tigershitson February 23, 2008   Link

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