Tool – Ticks and Leeches

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Suck and suck.
Suckin' up all you can suckin' up all you can suck.
Workin' up under my patience like a little tick.
Fat little parasite.
Suck me dry.
My blood is bruised and borrowed.
You thieving bastards.
You have turned my blood cold and bitter,
Beat my compassion black and blue.

Hope this is what you wanted.
Hope this is what you had in mind.
Cuz this is what you're getting.
I hope you're choking.
hope you choke on this.
I hope you're choking.
I hope you choke on this.

Taken all I can taken all I can, we can take.
Taken all you can taken you can, we can take.
Got nothing left to give to you.
Blood suckin' parasitic little blood suckin parasitic little
Blood suckin' parasitic little tick
Take what you want and then go.

Suck me dry.

Is this what you wanted?
Is this what you had in mind?
Is this what you wanted?
Cuz this this is what you're getting.
I hope, I hope, I hope you choke.

Send "Ticks and Leeches" Ringtone to Cell


Lyrics submitted by gasmask, edited by Mellow_Harsher

Track duration: 04:48

"Ticks & Leeches" as written by Justin Chancellor, Maynard James Keenan, Adam Jones, Daniel Carey

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Ticks and Leeches song meanings
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125 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:To be short and to the point, I think it's about starfuckers...
    Flag TwoVirgoson April 30, 2013   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I thought earlier today of the possibility that Maynard was writing this song to his record label, or other authority figure. Suppose that they told him that they were looking for Tool to have a more metal, hardcore sound, so they responded with this song. It doesn't sound much like their style (vocals wise that is). Maynard is usually not as harsh and scream-o sounding. Then these lyrics make sense:

    "Hope this is what you wanted.
    Hope this is what you had in mind.
    Cuz this is what you're getting.
    I hope you're choking.
    hope you choke on this."

    The song is obviously still good, but it doesn't sound like a song Maynard would typically sing.

    Thoughts?
    Flag craftsmanon April 29, 2013   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:I think that from parabola to lateralus, (life is a gift- higher self conscience) you have ticks and leaches which represent all the things that you now see as atrocities after you first realization.
    Flag gibby754on November 22, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I thought Ticks and Leeches was a basic people suck and will drag you down kind of song for a while. It seemed out of place in the album.. Stuck between Parabola (realizing the gift that is life) and Lateralus (evolving to a higher conscience). Then, I read Bob Frissell’s book ‘Nothing In This Book Is True, But It’s Exactly How Things Are’. I had just listened to this song when I got to Frissell’s concept of “victim consciousness”. It resonated.

    “In victim consciousness, the ultimate victim is one who doesn’t know that he or she is creating reality, and believes that things just happen”. (pg. 224)

    “If you buy into the illusion of separation and “good vs. evil,” you are stepping into victim consciousness. You will then be confronted by a very powerful universal principle, one that works unerringly. It is: Resistance leads to persistence. This means that you will keep re-creating what (on a conscious level) you don’t want; and it will only increase in intensity.” (pg. 227)

    Ticks & Leeches could be a representation of the reality you create holding you back. Anger, self loathing, depression, despondency, tribulation, pain... You GET out of life what you GIVE out. What you give is a manifestation of your sub(un)conscious that is projected outward and onto others; but you don’t perceive reality in that way. It’s just how things are, after all... You create what you don’t want and it will intensify with time. We endure the cycle to move to the next step. Is that what YOU want? Is it what YOU have in mind? Well, that is what you are getting. The only way out of the cycle is to acknowledge that you are actually creating it. You can’t go from Parabola to Lateralus without Ticks & Leeches. Stop choking and move on…
    Flag Reflectson October 29, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:epic concepts for song meanings is natural. But I like to simplify things. Ticks and leeches. PEOPLE.... and Maynard is expressing his bad taste in what interactions over time, do to him. Have you even caught yourself being manipulated, corrupted? or just things You'd never ever do... The evil is in our blood. Time to catch up to it and kick it's ass out.
    Flag Ahourstoryon October 14, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think he is sending a messege to his ego. He is fighting his cynical and negative self. But for anyone who has done this, it's not the easiest thing.
    Flag hurshletson December 26, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:There are a lot of meanings in the song, but one of them is talking about all the ticks and leeches that suck his dick, suck it dry. He hopes they choke on his dick.

    These ticks and leeches are the music industry and fans that suck up to him, and suck his voice out.

    I think he is probably also referring to many different ticks and leeches everywhere, in life we're always sucking from someone or sucking up to someone. Life sucks.
    Flag hugeTooL69on December 12, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Jerk-Off 2.0
    Flag Pitpiton April 01, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I feel like this is a sarcastic way to compare civilization with parasites. Sucking our resources dry. It's written this way to show you how would you feel if a tick were sucking your blood dry so you can see what we're doing to the earth.
    Flag rhiqnon March 29, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:From what I've heard on other accounts, this is about the band manager that they fired and who later sued them for breech of contract for doing so. Ted Gardner was "dismissed" by the band in 2000, and this album was released in 2001 which coincides rather well with that.

    A few months, the band was sued by the their label for looking at offers from other labels. The band counter-sued and the cases were later settled out of court.

    I'd say that this is a not-so-subtle fuck you to both the label and the manager.
    Flag reffeeon November 22, 2010   Link

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