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All righty then
Picture this if you will
10 to 2 am, X, yogi DMT, and a box of krispy kreme's in my "need to know" pose just outside of area 51, contemplating the whole chosen people thingy when just then a flaming stealth banana split the sky like one would hope but never really expect to see in a place like this. Cutting right angle donuts on a dime and stopping right at my birkinstocks, and me yelping "holy fuckin' shit!"
Then the X file being, looking like some kinda blue green Jackie chan, with Isabella Rossellini lips, and breath that reeked of vanilla chig champa, did a slow mo matrix decent outta the butt end of the banana vessel, and hovered above my bug eyes, my gaping jaw, and my sweaty L. Ron Hubbard upper lip and all I could think was, "I hope uncle martin here doesn't notice that I pissed my fuckin pants!!"
So light in his way, like an apparition, he'd had me crying out...
"Fuck me!
It's gotta be
The dead head
Chemistry
The blotter got right on top o' me
Got me seeing E mutha fuckin T!"
And after calming me down with some orange slices and some fetal spooning, E.T. revealed to me his singular purpose. He said. "you are the chosen one. The one who will deliver the message. A message of hope for those who choose to hear it, and a warning for those who do not." Me! The chosen one. They chose me!!!! And I didn't even graduate from fuckin' high school!!
(You'd better listen)
Then he looked right through me with somniferous almond eyes
Don't even know what that means
Must remember to write it down
This is so real
Like the time Dave floated away
See, my heart is pounding. cuz this shit never happens to me.
Can't breathe right now.
It was so real
Like I woke up in Wonderland
All sorta terrifying
I don't wanna be alone
While I tell this story
And can anyone tell me why y'all sound like peanuts parents?
Will I ever be coming down?
This is so real
Finally it's my lucky day
See, my heart is racing cuz this shit never happens to me
Can't breathe right now.
You believe me don't you?
Please believe what I've just said
See, the dead ain't touring and this wasn't all in my head
See they took me by the hand
And invited me right in
Then they showed me something
I don't even know where to begin
Strapped down to my bed
Feet cold and eyes red
I'm out of my head
Am I alive? Am I dead?
Can't remember what they said
God damn, shit the bed
Overwhelmed as one would be placed in my position
Such a heavy burden now to be the one
Born to bear and bring to all the details of our ending
To write it down for all the world to see
But I forgot my pen
Shit the bed again
Typical
Strapped down to my bed
Feet cold and eyes red
I'm out of my head
Am I alive? Am I dead.
Sun kissed and Sudafed
Gyroscopes and infrared
Won't help. I'm brain dead
Can't remember what they said
God damn, shit the bed
Can't remember what they said to me
Can't remember what they said to make me out to be the hero
Can't remember what they said
Bob help me
Can't remember what they said
We don't know and we won't know
God damn shit the bed
Picture this if you will
10 to 2 am, X, yogi DMT, and a box of krispy kreme's in my "need to know" pose just outside of area 51, contemplating the whole chosen people thingy when just then a flaming stealth banana split the sky like one would hope but never really expect to see in a place like this. Cutting right angle donuts on a dime and stopping right at my birkinstocks, and me yelping "holy fuckin' shit!"
Then the X file being, looking like some kinda blue green Jackie chan, with Isabella Rossellini lips, and breath that reeked of vanilla chig champa, did a slow mo matrix decent outta the butt end of the banana vessel, and hovered above my bug eyes, my gaping jaw, and my sweaty L. Ron Hubbard upper lip and all I could think was, "I hope uncle martin here doesn't notice that I pissed my fuckin pants!!"
So light in his way, like an apparition, he'd had me crying out...
"Fuck me!
It's gotta be
The dead head
Chemistry
The blotter got right on top o' me
Got me seeing E mutha fuckin T!"
And after calming me down with some orange slices and some fetal spooning, E.T. revealed to me his singular purpose. He said. "you are the chosen one. The one who will deliver the message. A message of hope for those who choose to hear it, and a warning for those who do not." Me! The chosen one. They chose me!!!! And I didn't even graduate from fuckin' high school!!
(You'd better listen)
Then he looked right through me with somniferous almond eyes
Don't even know what that means
Must remember to write it down
This is so real
Like the time Dave floated away
See, my heart is pounding. cuz this shit never happens to me.
Can't breathe right now.
It was so real
Like I woke up in Wonderland
All sorta terrifying
I don't wanna be alone
While I tell this story
And can anyone tell me why y'all sound like peanuts parents?
Will I ever be coming down?
This is so real
Finally it's my lucky day
See, my heart is racing cuz this shit never happens to me
Can't breathe right now.
You believe me don't you?
Please believe what I've just said
See, the dead ain't touring and this wasn't all in my head
See they took me by the hand
And invited me right in
Then they showed me something
I don't even know where to begin
Strapped down to my bed
Feet cold and eyes red
I'm out of my head
Am I alive? Am I dead?
Can't remember what they said
God damn, shit the bed
Overwhelmed as one would be placed in my position
Such a heavy burden now to be the one
Born to bear and bring to all the details of our ending
To write it down for all the world to see
But I forgot my pen
Shit the bed again
Typical
Strapped down to my bed
Feet cold and eyes red
I'm out of my head
Am I alive? Am I dead.
Sun kissed and Sudafed
Gyroscopes and infrared
Won't help. I'm brain dead
Can't remember what they said
God damn, shit the bed
Can't remember what they said to me
Can't remember what they said to make me out to be the hero
Can't remember what they said
Bob help me
Can't remember what they said
We don't know and we won't know
God damn shit the bed
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Talking about L. Ron Hubbard, just like Eulogy, his name is in the lyrics right up there. Implying that his words were all pointless fluff or a bunch of stupid bullshit with minimal effort to sound credible (to the point of seeming like he must have been on something); look what it caused, but where is he now?
Just look up information on Tool and you can figure this out easily, as well as why Maynard likes to make "baa" sounds.
The prologue to this song has doctor's asking the patient with typical tone and sense or care, what it is he is experiencing or talking about. This sounds like every Therapist, including my Aunt who is a psychologist, or any doctor at a mental hospital, which I have a ton of experience with because of my ex-wife being schizophrenic. Mental health practitioners always approach patients with an inquisitive and sympathetic tone in order to make a patient feel comfortable with revealing their inner thoughts. After the thoughts are revealed, mental health doctors often recommend a treatment involving psycho active drugs. Thus, Rosetta Stoned (language stone - explain your thoughts, or communicate with me, while you are stoned on the medication I recommend.)
My ex-wife was prescribed three different medications, all of which caused her both mental and physical problems. She was always constipated while on these medications, and when she had bowel movements they were uncontrollable. She also hallucinated aliens and demons while taking these medications.
My experience with this leads me to believe, that 10,000 days is an album about the controlled health care system in America. Diagnosis, Treatment, Medication. My ex-wife while on medication often had trouble understanding authority figures, IE "you all sound like peanuts parents" wah wah wah wahh wahhh wah wahh wahh wahhh. She didn't want to listen to them because she was so doped up she only wanted to listen to the drugs. She shit the bed a couple of times. Her IQ is above genius level, but while she was on the drugs she always said she felt brain dead and that her brain didn't work right.
This song is not about an LSD trip or an alien abduction, but about a mentally ill patient doped up on psychologically active medications that are supposed to help the disease but only worsen it. After starting medication my wife's suicidal thoughts turned into suicidal actions. She attempted suicide three different times. She had trouble communicating and when trying to explain to me her hallucinations she would often say things like "Please believe me" or "You do believe me right?" She even wrote in her journal "I often enter a crazy place that my husband can not follow. A place where my demons manifest themselves into beings while I am fully awake and around others."
To me, there is no other interpretation for this song.
"It's gotta be
The dead head
Chemistry
The blotter got right on top o' me"
"Lost Keys (Blame Hoffman)" is the name of the track prior to this on the album which is an obvious intro in a blatant narrative fashion. Albert Hoffman is the scientist credited with creating LSD.
Conspiracy theorists can argue all day about whether or not this chronicles an actual alien abduction Regardless of that, this is definitely a story of a recreational hallucinogenic drug trip. Anyone who has had much experience with these kinds of drugs will just laugh at the whole premise of being given all the answers by some alien creature. "I forgot my pen. Typical." It's essentially a joke. As me and my friends used to say "I got real high and figured out the answers to life the universe and everything, then I forgot."
There is no other interpretation for this song. ;)
So all in all i think this is about a song where a man is abducted by aliens and is given a message to warn the humans of their immanent doom, but he forgot the damn pen..
so my guess is that this person has been hospitalised and has 'lost' his shit due to a psychedelic experience... the doctor is saying 'what's happened, tell me everything'...then rosetta stoned begins, and the young man gives the doctor his explanation...
the rosetta stone was discovered and assumed to be a translation of 3 ancient languages as i recall. so the track's title is a twist on being fucked up on psychedelics and trying to translate what you've experienced and failing because, if you've ever had a dmt trip you will know, that once it's over you have trouble remembering what you were told or what you learnt.
an interesting part is the beginning how he sees the spacecraft coming down and it is quite matter-of-fact and specific. i'd like to think that this guy actually was approached by extra-dimensional beings - maybe the song is showing how similar the experience of this contact is with imagining it on drugs. funny song anyway
Can anyone honestly not figure out this is about an X and DMT overdose, he is seeing wild images, can't remember what they said because he used too much, and then he ends up end the hospital not even knowing if he is alive or dead.
The part where he says "Me, the chosen one. They chose me, and I didn't even graduate from fucking high school...."
It's a sort of slap in the face to all the psychonauts and self appointed mystics and shaman who walk around acting as if, or believing, that they have been granted special access to the mysteries of life. That they have tapped into some fount of knowledge about all the Big Questions that have eluded mankind since day one. Never mind the fact that many, more powerful, minds have been unable to give us definitive answers to these questions... they have been granted special access to the answers because...why? Because they took acid and believe in ufo's?
No, because they are special, they have been chosen. It's a sort of narcissism, to think that you are so important that you get to know the mysteries of life that nobody else gets to know, and that you should simply be granted this knowledge and responsibility because you were wise enough to ingest a chemical that has been experimented with for most of the last century, by millions of people, some of them likely much more talented and intelligent than you.
The "Rosetta Stoned" feeling is a common occurance on lsd. I had it happen a few times when I used to take it as a teenager. You get this overwhelming feeling of having discovered some deeper, hidden meaning about life, a major revelation of some kind. But somehow, by the time you are sober again, the feeling is gone. Some faint echo of it nags at you, because it felt so real, what was it? Should have written it down...shit the bed...
Ok, so next time you take acid, and it happens again, but this time you are prepared, you brought your pen!
So you write down the essence of your revelation, this refinement of knowledge that has eluded mankind, but now you, the chosen one, can tell everyone, because you wrote it down! Good thinking!
You come down, and later feel that tug in your mind...what was it... oh yeah, the piece of paper! You pull it out of your pocket and read:
" A circle and a square are really the same thing!!!!"
" "Pink should be cherished and respected, it s here to mitigate aggression."
" If I try hard to honor you, you will try harder to honor me."
" The important number is 3!"
Huh?
Is this some gibberish, and some paraphasing of ancient and well know pieces of advice like the golden rule masquerading itself to you as something you invented on your own? What happened, it doesn't feel as overwhelming to read it sober, does it?
Hell, none of these ideas are new, and all of them have been descibed and debated in much clearer and understandable language than this psychedelic obscuritan drivel anyhow...
Maybe someone with more experience in natural psychedelics can correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I know psychedelics are all about the death of the ego. I can agree that some people would be more susceptible to becoming narcissists, but for the majority the exact opposite effect is much more common. Selfish desires are dropped, bad habits are seen and easily fixed, and one feels sort of compelled to do good, live simple and try to set a good example for the rest of society.
As far as gibberish or strange thoughts while tripping. Well, it's very similar to dreaming. We all have dreams sometimes where we think of something that just seems so important or mind blowing, then when we wake up we realize it either was a metaphor for something else or was just a random memory concoction. However, this does not mean that all dreams are meaningless. Same principle for psychedelics. Sometimes you might have a strange thought "The banana peel is THE BANANA ARMOR!" But you might also think "Wow, I just realized I've been being an asshole to everyone I come in contact with, because I had this bad experience in my childhood. Hmm, I shouldn't let this weigh me down, I know I can fix this. I can be better!" These sorts of "revelations" can be carried over to sober states.
As far as ideas being genuine or new, no ideas are really genuine. You can say nothing that has not been said before. I don't think this makes our words meaningless. Everything you say and do has an effect, and that effect has an effect, and so on.
Also, I do not believe LSD to be as beneficial as psilocybin. Who knows if the acid you are getting is pure? For most it is almost impossible to know for sure, and this to me seems dangerous. That being said, it could be possible more of the irresponsible type could be attracted to acid. Irresponsible people could be more likely to become narcissists. That's just my opinion. DMT is a whole other territory than either of these.
All of that being said, everyone is different, so it's impossible to tell what kind of reaction or trip one would experience. I do agree there is ignorance in the psychedelic community, just as there is ignorance in every place on this earth. No group is perfect. You should always expect to see the bad side of any sort of people. Religion has shown this very well.
I didn't mean to attempt to negate your comment, I actually believe you interpreted this song very well. I just happened to see it, and would like to give my input concerning psychedelics and narcissism, since I know many people will be reading these sorts of comments and could develop a false sense of how psychedelics work. Go read a hundred psychedelic trip reports, and tell me if you think natural psychedelics breed narcissism. You might find the opposite is true.
Ignorance is a lack of knowledge... a lack of knowledge that you displayed when you made this comment. Alex Grey does the artwork for Tool and was also featured in the film "DMT The Spirit Molecule". Similar artwork from the bands music video "Parabola" was featured on the cover. The film is filled with what you call "psychedelic enthusiasts" including Alex Grey himself, and explores the experience of DMT. It even hypothesis's its experience to be spiritual in nature and has connections to sacred artwork.
So why would Tool make multiple songs (Parabola, Lateralus, Reflection, Rosetta Stoned, etc.) that made fun of the very person who does all the brilliant artwork for the band? Do you know how retarded that sounds? But of course when you lack knowledge and you can't help but express your opinions, you're bound to show the world how stupid you are.
Nature is wise and some humans are and some aren't. Nature offers some plants or natural substances that may enhance or may not our perception and even our consciousness if they're used correctly (sometimes even without the will of use them as they should they can cause some positive effect on anyone).
The key word is IGNORANCE. Ignorance of the people that don't know and don't use any of those substances (natural or sinthetic), just as ignorance of the people that use them.
I think (this is not related to the song or maybe a little) that there's an unespecific path to reach a deeper level of awareness that may help to purify our lifestyles and our minds. This may be achieved with or without the use of any of these substances but they may turn this path a little easier for those who are willing to pay attention instead of using them only for recreation.
Just and opinion:) By the way L. Ron Hubbard is also mentioned in the song, guess it has a meaning to it!
Id say the focus of the song is simply about failure. The whole song tends to build up to the "overwhelmed as one may be..." part, which I think is like the crux of the song. All of this weight and pressure boiling down on one guy to accomplish this huge task and be a hero, whether it's real or not, and in the end he forgets his pen. Damn... Shit the bed, again.
It kind seems to happen to all of us, and I think that this whole trip was just a story to tell the message. And I suppose it isn't much of a message I guess, it's just a relation to life. Disappointment comes and goes, but perhaps you could always eat some more acid and get another shot.