A Perfect Circle – Pet

• -1
  General Comment:This is not a song about addiction, this song IS addiction. It is from his addiction's point of view. He is saying that he will keep you in your stupor, away from reality and a will of his own. This song is amazing, and if you look it as addiction speaking to you, the depths of the song become more apparent.

  Flag psycicfoxon April 25, 2013   Link

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• -1
  My Interpretation:I personally think this song has to do with an addiction to alcohol or drugs. The addict may not want to be addicted, but the addicted part of his mind is telling him to "go back to sleep" or take the drug to soothe the part of him that wants the drug.

  Flag ncd46on December 11, 2012   Link

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• +5
  Song Meaning:This song is about the role of American mega-organizations like government and corporations in shaping American worldviews.
  
  Don't fret precious I'm here
  Step away from the window
  Go back to sleep
  
  *The public is the 'precious,' as government and corporations derive their power from the collective consent of the individual constituents. The 'window' is a view of another perspective which elucidates the ignorance of the common American to the effect their country has on the rest of the world.
  
  Lay your head down child
  I won't let the boogeyman come
  Counting bodies like sheep
  To the rhythm of the war drums
  Pay no mind to the rabble
  Pay no mind to the rabble
  Head down, go to sleep
  To the rhythm of the war drums
  
  *The 'bogeyman' is an imagined, hyped-up enemy that comes when you are sleeping. In this case, it is radical muslim terrorists. We see them as a threat to our country's well-being and we base our fear in our misunderstanding of their motives. They don't oppose Christians or Americans on principle, but rather how we impose our belief systems on the rest of the world, to our own benefit.
  
  Pay no mind what other voices say
  They don't care about you
  Like I do
  Like I do
  Safe from pain and truth and choice and other poison devils
  See they don't give a fuck about you
  Like I do
  
  'Truth' and 'choice' represent real freedom, but we sacrifice these for national security. The 'pain' is what we might feel if we were actually aware of and empathetic to all the people who are thrown under the American bus. The word 'devil' is an example of how we label what opposes us as a devil, which carries with it the assumption that we are pristine.
  
  Just stay with me
  Safe and ignorant
  Go back to sleep
  Go back to sleep
  
  Lay your head down child
  I won't let the boogeyman come
  Count the bodies like sheep
  To the rhythm of the war drums
  Pay no mind to the rabble
  Pay no mind to the rabble
  Head down, go to sleep
  To the rhythm of the war drums
  
  'Pay no mind to the rabble' is like our government and media telling us that the growing number of people who oppose American policies are somehow wrong or insignificant.
  
  I'll be the one to protect you from
  Your enemies and all your demons
  I'll be the one to protect you from
  A will to survive and a voice of reason
  I'll be the one to protect you from
  Your enemies and your choices son
  One and the same I must isolate you
  Isolate and save you from yourself
  
  Swaying to the rhythm of the new world order and
  Count the bodies like sheep
  To the rhythm of the war drum
  The boogeymen are coming
  The boogeymen are coming
  Keep your head down go to sleep
  To the rhythm of the war drums
  
  Honestly I think the 'new world order' mention of a reversal of the traditional power structure. The old order is where we see all humans as having rights, and protecting those rights is the purpose of the top organizations. The new order is where the top organizations have rights and the people get rights in so much as they can serve the purposes of the top organizations. Economically, this is already true; workers in developing nations get paid often 1/100 of what Americans get. This means, in economic terms, an hour of their work is worth 1/100 of ours.
  
  Stay with me
  Safe and ignorant
  Just stay with me
  Hold you and protect you from the other ones
  The evil ones
  Don't love you son
  Go back to sleep

  Flag ajstephon October 09, 2012   Link

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• 0
  Song Meaning:Don't fret precious I'm here
  Step away from the window
  Go back to sleep
  
  * Maynard's kid scared of a bad dream, comes to comfort him.
  
  Lay your head down child
  I won't let the boogeyman come
  Counting bodies like sheep
  To the rhythm of the war drums
  Pay no mind to the rabble
  Pay no mind to the rabble
  Head down, go to sleep
  To the rhythm of the war drums
  
  * Maynard's thoughts, an adult answer and response to something on the minds of many at the time (war) with a kid too young to understand. This is what he's thinking.
  
  Pay no mind what other voices say
  They don't care about you
  Like I do
  Like I do
  Safe from pain and truth and choice and other poison devils
  See they don't give a fuck about you
  Like I do
  
  Just stay with me
  Safe and ignorant
  Go back to sleep
  Go back to sleep
  
  * Maynard, encouraging his son to let him be the bearer the burden of the realities of life, just be a safe, happy, ignorant kid and enjoy innocence while it lasts.
  
  Lay your head down child
  I won't let the boogeyman come
  Count the bodies like sheep
  To the rhythm of the war drums
  Pay no mind to the rabble
  Pay no mind to the rabble
  Head down, go to sleep
  To the rhythm of the war drums
  
  * Maynard to son
  
  I'll be the one to protect you from
  Your enemies and all your demons
  I'll be the one to protect you from
  A will to survive and a voice of reason
  I'll be the one to protect you from
  Your enemies and your choices son
  One and the same I must isolate you
  Isolate and save you from yourself
  
  * The boogeymen
  
  Swaying to the rhythm of the new world order and
  Count the bodies like sheep
  To the rhythm of the war drum
  The boogeymen are coming
  The boogeymen are coming
  Keep your head down go to sleep
  To the rhythm of the war drums
  
  Stay with me
  Safe and ignorant
  Just stay with me
  Hold you and protect you from the other ones
  The evil ones
  Don't love you son
  Go back to sleep
  
  * Maynard to son (in the spirit of the "go the F to sleep" book)

  Flag knownutzinon September 30, 2012   Link

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• +1
  General Comment:This song is about smothering parenthood.

  Flag Tunes24on September 21, 2012   Link

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    0

    Spot on!

    Flag Not1Ideaon June 06, 2013  
• 0
  General Comment:I thought it was like how someone would treat their pet. It doesn't really have that much freedom, we still control what other pets it comes in contact with, or fights (like war) and usually have a tight leash, if for example it was a dog. So governments or politicians and so on control us and pretend to be helping and friendly, but in reality - they really aren't. Not just America, other countries, too, so "swaying to the rhythm of the new world order" is obvious as to what Maynard might be saying.

  Flag aFiendon March 08, 2012   Link

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• 0
  My Interpretation:I thought this song was about an abusive/possessive relationsihp, because I had misheard the lyrics
  I heard:
  "'Cause your body's like sheep to the rythm of the war drums"
  Meaning that said person is weak and submissive
  and
  "Pay no mind to the rebel, pay no mind to the rebel"
  Meaning someone was trying to help the submissive person out of the abusive relationship, but was shut out by the abusive/possessive partner.
  
  I still can't help but hear it with those lyrics
  Even though NOW I know that it's much more likely about politics, it's still a powerful song.

  Flag CondemnedMemoiron February 28, 2012   Link

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• 0
  My Interpretation:Guys, I hate to break it to you. But its about D/s. Its about coaxing someone into submission and obliterating their own world (the new world order, if you will)to serve your own, in exchange offering absolute protection.
  
  Pet is even a term used for some submissives.
  
  Perhaps the Dom in question is 'protecting' his pet from their past lovers and traumas(the boogiemen-- someting scary on the surface, but not able to stand up to true protection) who did not treat per well. Or perhaps said pet didn't fit in well (pay no mind to the rabble).

  Flag Arin Wolfeon February 13, 2012   Link

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• -1
  My Interpretation:This song is the seductive song the ego sings constantly to almost all humans. The only way to hit stop is to liberate your spirit and destroy the ego.
  
  Don't fret precious I'm here -
  
  Don't worry the ego is always there for you. Also if you think about the word precious, it's something you won't let go of. You need it. You think you can't live without it. (Think of the character Gollum from Lord of the Rings.)
  
  Step away from the window -
  
  The ego doesn't even want you to look out of the window. It doesn't want you to see how beautiful it is outside in the light. If you saw how nice it is out there you might start to develop crazy thoughts of GOING outside and leaving it. The subject being lulled in this song is at the window. They have somehow
  started down a spiritual path towards liberation from the ego. This is rare. The ego WILL respond with...
  
  Go back to sleep -
  
  If you start down a spiritual path which is going to expose the ego and it's lies and tricks, be ready for war. The ego WILL try as hard as it can to keep you seduced. It has millions of different combinations of arguments, rationalizations, tricks, and distractions to keep you busy. Of course it's
  favorite is for you to never wake up. It's the least amount of work.
  
  Lay your head down child
  I won't let the boogeyman come-
  
  Your ego is protecting you from your true self, 'the boogeyman'. It's protecting you from the undistorted truth of how you actually behave (or don't) through a series of meticulous lies, denials and half-truths. It has many other tricks at it's disposal as well. In fact, as many as you can think of!
  
  Counting bodies like sheep
  To the rhythm of the war drums-
  
  Unfortunately, the ego claims many souls or 'bodies'as humans are corrupted by fleshly EGOtistical pursuits or are just so distracted by them they never 'wake up' and pursue a spiritual path. The war drums are from the war spoken about at Revelations 12:7-9. The war Satan and his demons wage against those who remain faithful. (Revelations 12:17)
  
  Pay no mind to the rabble
  Pay no mind to the rabble-
  
  I came to the conclusion that he means one or, more than likely with Maynard, both (he also sings the verse twice) of the following:
  
  Ignore other people and worry about yourself. (Define EGOcentric anyone?) Be an ego driven me me I I gimmie gimmie person. As a side note, the song Count Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums (a shortened remix of Pet) appears on eMOTIVe along with songs like Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie, Freedom of
  Choice and Let's Have a War. I think this fact helps support the interpretation here.
  
  Ignore spiritual paths. It's all a bunch of made-up, hocus pocus, superstitious nonsensical bullcrap. You've never seen God. There is no proof. Creation? Are you kidding? You ARE kidding... right? Dismiss it. Ignore it. This is 2012. We have science and facts now. Oh, look. It's time to interpret the next verse...
  
  Head down, go to sleep-
  
  This verse is about how humans focus on earthly pursuits and the desires of the flesh such as wealth, fame, sex and drugs. Instead of 'lifting our heads' as it were to follow spiritual pursuits, our ego wants us to keep our head down and focused on the distractions of this world. It's kind of like the window. Remember the song 10,000 Days? Maynard sings "High is the way, but all eyes are upon the ground." It means the same thing in that song too. Remain ignorant. Go to sleep. Keep that head down.
  
  To the rhythm of the war drums-
  
  Aside from the interpretation above, here is a secondary one. No guarantees, but we know Maynard is fond of double meanings. It could be that poor Maynard is referring to his own personal war against those enslaved by the ego. He could be using the beating of his own heart as a metaphor. He does wear a T-shirt in the documentary Blood Into Wine which says on it, "My heart is a drum machine." In this capacity, the line "counting bodies like sheep" would make a little more sense because he would be referring to the crowds of fans who follow him, but are still asleep and will NEVER awaken. They are
  walking corpses, dead in the spirit.
  
  Pay no mind what other voices say-
  
  My guess is that by now a lot of people reading this are thinking to themself, "Wow, this guy is so far off. He has no clue!" That little voice telling you that is your ego. By telling you that I'm wrong right now, it is going to validate my next argument. This verse is about the ego's ability to suppress/ignore/invalidate/distract from any belief system that would not support it having total control of it's vessel and/or expose it. The ego likes to stay nice and hidden. In fact, you should stop reading this because it's probably wrong anyway. The ego is something I'm making up. It's not really even there. Shhh...
  
  They don't care about you
  Like I do
  Like I do-
  
  Who cares the most about you? ...
  
  Who did you think of first? Was it your mother? Your father maybe? You probably thought of Jesus. God? You thought of yourself first, right? Exactly. The ego is trying to entice the subject back into lulled submission with more lies. It doesn't care about you. It cares about preserving the facade.
  
  Safe from pain and truth and choice...
  
  The ego keeps you safe from PAIN constantly by distorting your perception of the reality of yourself to a tolerable level through the use of misdirection/lies/deceit/projection/etc.
  (see verse above "I won't let the boogeyman come")
  
  The ego keeps you safe from TRUTH. What truth? The truth that it's actually an imposter masquerading around as you! Thank ego!Guess what? If you remain safe from the truth about the ego, then you will
  never have to make the painful CHOICE of whether to remain enslaved by it or not. You can just stay asleep. (notice in the opening verse he says "Go BACK to sleep") Stuck on default. Stuck on ego. This is most humans. You're welcome!
  
  and other poison devils- because truth and choice are other devils. Other ones. Other.
  
  See they don't give a fuck about you
  Like I do-
  
  Same as above, but a bit more forceful. Now instead of not caring as much about you as the ego does, they don't "give a fuck" at all. Ouch. Well, with no friends, now that they don't "give a fuck" about you, who do you have left? Good old ego! Sleepover?
  
  Just stay with me
  Safe and ignorant
  Go back to sleep
  Go back to sleep
  Lay your head down child
  I won't let the boogeyman come
  Count the bodies like sheep
  To the rhythm of the war drums
  Pay no mind to the rabble
  Pay no mind to the rabble
  Head down, go to sleep
  To the rhythm of the war drums-
  
  These are all repeated verses. Please see above.
  
  
  I'll be the one to protect you from
  Your enemies and all your demons-
  
  What enemies? What Demons!? It's protecting you from the unknown. The unknown 'boogeyman' that is actually you, but you can't see because of the distorted spin your ego places on your reality. It's protecting you from seeing most of your shortcomings! Yay!
  
  I'll be the one to protect you from
  A will to survive and a voice of reason-
  
  What would you be left with if you did somehow manage to expel your ego? What would you be if you could somehow peel back the sugar-coated layers of your ego and see yourself without the distortion? You would be a will to survive with a voice of reason. Thank goodness your ego protects you from that! ... ?!
  
  Your enemies and your choices son
  One and the same I must isolate you
  Isolate and save you from yourself-
  
  Our enemies are our choices. Our choices are our enemies. They are one and the same. We routinely make bad choices. When we make a bad choice, luckily, our ego is there make it all better. How does it do this? It isolates us from our decisions. In other words, it finds a way to rationalize our bad decision. It will put that bad decision in the best possible light, or it will forget it completely, or it will blame it on someone else. Your ego hides from you to protect you from knowing about it protecting you. You're welcome!
  
  Swaying to the rhythm of the new world order and
  Count the bodies like sheep
  To the rhythm of the war drum-
  
  Another double meaning possibly. Yes. There is a nefarious rich group of elitist people who want to kill all the dumb people and start over with a better gene pool and clear some space (Let's Have a War). I don't think this is the primary meaning though. Rather, Maynard is referencing the new world order under the rule of Jesus Christ after the battle of Armageddon.
  
  The boogeymen are coming
  The boogeymen are coming-
  
  This is no longer your ego teasing your inner self. Notice he moves to the plural. Unfortunately, this is another reference to Armageddon. Before God's kingdom arrives, he will destroy the present wicked system of things through the use of his angels, or 'boogeymen'.
  
  Keep your head down go to sleep
  To the rhythm of the war drums
  Stay with me
  Safe and ignorant
  Just stay with me
  Hold you and protect you from the other ones
  The evil ones-
  
  Again, the ego wishes the subject to remain ignorant of it's designs. It's going to protect you from the 'evil ones' or, namely, anyone who seeks to expose it or put you on a path that will lead to it being exposed.
  
  Don't love you son
  Go back to sleep-
  
  Finally! It admits it! It does not love you. It has just been telling you that the whole time to try to get you to go back to sleep.
  
  Side note -- The album this song is off of is named Thirteen Step. If I were to add a step to the original Twelve Steps program (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…), it would be as follows:
  
  13. Having entrusted our souls to God, as we understood him, we abolished our imposter self, the Ego.
  
  Disclaimer: I only read the first page of other interpretations. If someone had this already, I apologize.
  
  @Dsalmiitetn - You wrote "anything in which the "I" is the dominating piece, and the "you" is the weaker part."
  
  Maynard, I am certain that I speak for all of us awake today in part or in whole because of your music and your message. Thank you.
  
  Honor and glory to Jehovah.
  He is a Revealer of secrets.
  
  
  
  
  I used to write witty signatures. Then I took an arrow to the knee.

  Flagged 3eyedJWon January 31, 2012   Link

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    That's good stuff, man. Really dig it.

    Flag MesmerLabon June 10, 2013  
• 0
  General Comment:Well I don't disagree with obsessive's theory. However what if this song (If of course this is a song about politics) was about the Taliban or Jihadist's. I belive the pieces fit well in the sense that they declared a "Holy War" on westernized civilizations. When the song says 'The boogy men are coming' maybe he is refering to the involvement of coalition forces in the middle east. It also makes sense when he says 'I won't let the boogymen come' may be reffering to the terrorist attacks on Coallition Nations such as the 9/11 attack (First one that came to mind) Another thing perhaps 'swaying to the rythem of the new world order' is talking about the fall of westernized countries. Just a thought.

  Flag Roland9559on January 23, 2012   Link

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