Songs Lyrics and YT- Youtube Music Videos

Tool - The Grudge

Tool - The Grudge Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Lateralus
Released: 2001

The Grudge Lyrics

Wear The Grudge like a crown of negativity.
Calculate what we will or will not tolerate.
Desperate to control all and everything.
Unable to forgive your scarlet lettermen.

Clutch it like a cornerstone. Otherwise it all comes down.
Justify denials and grip 'em to the lonesome end.
Clutch it like a cornerstone. Otherwise it all comes down.
Terrified of being wrong. Ultimatum prison cell.

Saturn ascends, choose one or ten. Hang on or be humbled again.

Clutch it like a cornerstone. Otherwise it all comes down.
Justify denials and grip 'em to the lonesome end.
Saturn ascends, comes round again.
Saturn ascends, the one, the ten. Ignorant to the damage done.

Wear the grudge like a crown of negativity.
Calculate what we will or will not tolerate.
Desperate to control all and everything.
Unable to forgive your scarlet lettermen.

Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control.
Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper.

Defining, confining, controlling, and we're sinking deeper.

Saturn comes back around to show you everything
Let's you choose what you will not see and then
Drags you down like a stone or lifts you up again
Spits you out like a child, light and innocent.

Saturn comes back around. Lifts you up like a child or
Drags you down like a stone
To consume you till you choose to let this go.

Give away the stone.
Let the oceans take and trans mutate this cold and fated anchor.
Give away the stone.
Let the waters kiss and trans mutate these leaden grudges into gold.
Let go.

Writer/s: M.J. KEENAN, A. JONES, D. CAREY, J. CHANCELLOR, DANIEL CAREY, ADAM JONES, MAYNARD KEENAN, JUSTIN CHANCELLOR
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Grudge

This is about a battle with Saturn ascending and teaching us lessons over and over again until we get it right. "Saturn ascends, choose one or ten. Hang on or be humbled again" means get it right or Saturn will come around again teaching the same lesson until you do it. "The one the ten" could be the Aries and Capricorn houses in the zodiac (Capricorn is ruled by Saturn). A lot of what Maynard Keenan is saying relates to characteristics of a Capricorn. They are known to hold grudges and be control freaks. Maynard is an Aries, the true pioneer of the zodiac. It could be a message for all the caps and people out there who hold grudges.

The line, "Unable To Forgive Your Scarlet Lettermen" presumably refers to the classic novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. One of the main characters in the book is a female adulteress who is forced to wear a scarlet letter 'A' on her breast as punishment.

Tool - Pushit

Tool - Pushit Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Aenima
Released: 1996

Pushit Lyrics

I will choke until I swallow
Choke this infant here before me.
What is this but my reflection?
Who am I to judge and strike you down?
But you're
Pushing and shoving me.
You still love me and you Pushit on me.
Rest your trigger on my finger,
Bang my head upon the fault line.
Take care not to make me enter.
Cause if I do we both may disappear.
But you're pushing me,
Shoving me. Pushit on me.
Slipping back into the gap again.
I'm alive when you're touching me,
Alive when you're shoving me down.
But I'd trade it all
For just a little bit of
Piece of mind.
Put me somewhere I don't wanna be.
Seeing someplace I don't wanna see.
Never wanna see that place again.
Saw that gap again today
As you were begging me to stay.
Managed to push myself away,
And you, as well.
If, when I say I may fade like a sigh if I stay,
You minimize my movement anyway,
I must persuade you another way.
There's no love in fear.
Staring down the hole again.
Hands upon my back again.
Survival is my only friend.
Terrified of what may come.
Just remember I will always love you,
Even as I tear your fucking throat away.
But it will end no other way.

Writer/s: MAYNARD KEENAN, PAUL D'AMOUR, DANIEL CAREY, ADAM JONES
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Pushit

This song talks about his experiences with being abused as a child and how his parents claimed to love him yet abused him. Hence the last phrase in the song, "Remember I will always love you, as I claw your f--king throat away. It will end no other way, it will end no other way." In the first verse he says, "Choke this infant here before me" - here he is referring to himself as the infant and suffering from neglect and abuse. Throughout the song, he describes how he would like to take revenge on his parents and strike back, but was afraid for fear of continued abuse. This song is one of Tool's most violent stories of Maynard's childhood. (thanks, Alex - Salina, KS)

Tool - Parabola

Tool - Parabola Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Lateralus
Released: 2001

Parabola Lyrics

We barely remember who or what came before this precious moment,
We are choosing to be here right now. Hold on, stay inside
This holy reality, this holy experience.
Choosing to be here in

This body. This body holding me. Be my reminder here that I am not alone in
This body, this body holding me, feeling eternal
All this pain is an illusion.

Alive, I

In this holy reality, in this holy experience. Choosing to be here in

This body. This body holding me. Be my reminder here that I am not alone in
This body, this body holding me, feeling eternal
All this pain is an illusion.

Twirling round with this familiar parable.
Spinning, weaving round each new experience.
Recognize this as a holy gift and celebrate this chance to be alive and breathing.

This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality.
Embrace this moment. Remember. We are eternal.
All this pain is an illusion.

Writer/s: M.J. KEENAN, A. JONES, D. CAREY, J. CHANCELLOR
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Parabola

Because of the mathematical nature of a lot of the songs on Lateralus, they are speaking of the number Phi, which is considered The "divine proportion" -1.618. This proportion is found all over nature: In bee hives, snail shells... even the human body. Phi was derived from the Fibonacci sequence - a progression famous not only because the sum of adjacent terms = the next term, but because the quotients of adjacent terms possessed the property of approaching 1.618.
A few examples:
In a honey bee community the female bees always outnumber the male bees. No matter what, in any beehive in the world if you divide the number of female bees by the male bees you always get 1.618... Phi.
Sea shells... the ratio of each spiral's diameter to the next = Phi.
Pine cone petals, leaf arrangement on plant stalks, insect segmentation... the human body.
Da Vinci was known for his love of the divine proportion - "The Vitruvian Man" was one of many. It has been proven that the human body itself is made of building blocks whose proportional ratios = Phi. If you take and measure the distance from the tip of your head to the floor, then divide that by the distance from your belly button to floor, you get Phi. Shoulder to finger tip then elbow to finger tip... Phi.
It is found in architectural dimensions of the Greek Parthenon, the pyramids of Egypt. Mozart's sonatas, Beethoven's 5th Symphony, etc, etc, etc.
This is one of the main reasons Pagans worship mother earth - this proportion was used in everything at the beginning of time. One of the perfect examples of Phi is the 5 pointed star, pentagram - or pentacle. This symbol is thought to be magical and divine by many cultures, the ratios of line segments in a pentacle = PHI. (thanks, Tara - San Diego, CA)

Trip-Hop artist Tricky is the main subject of the video. (thanks, James - Dartmouth, Canada)

Tool - Jimmy

Tool - Jimmy Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Aenima
Released: 1996

Jimmy Lyrics

What was it like to see
The face of your own stability
Suddenly look away
Leaving you with the dead and hopeless?
Eleven and she was gone.
Eleven is when we waved good-bye.
Eleven is standing still,
Waiting for me to free him
By coming home.
Moving me with a sound.
Opening me within a gesture.
Drawing me down and in,
Showing me where it all began,
Eleven.
It took so long to realize that
You hold the light that's been leading me back home.
Under a dead Ohio sky,
Eleven has been and will be waiting,
Defending his light,
And wondering
Where the hell have I been?
Sleeping, lost, and numb.
So glad that I have found you.
I am wide awake and heading home.
Hold your light,
Eleven.
Lead me through each gentle step by step
By inch by loaded memory.
I'll move to heal
As soon as pain allows so we can
Reunite and both move on together.
Hold your light,
Eleven. Lead me through each gentle step by step
By inch by loaded memory
'Til one and one are one, eleven,
So glow, child, glow.
I'm heading back home.

Writer/s: JUSTIN CHANCELLOR, DANIEL CAREY, MAYNARD KEENAN, ADAM JONES
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Jimmy

"Jimmy" is a reference to James Maynard Keenan, lead singer of Tool. It is a song about his childhood "Under a dead Ohio sky," and some traumatic event happening when he was 11, presumably, his mother leaving in some way: "Eleven and she was gone, Eleven is when we waved goodbye." (thanks, Glenn - Mildenhall, England)

Tool - Die Eier Von Satan (The Balls of Satan)

Tool - Die Eier Von Satan (The Balls of Satan) Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Aenima
Released: 1996

Die Eier Von Satan (The Balls of Satan) Lyrics

Die Eier Von Satan (The Balls of Satan)

Lead singer Maynard Keenan wrote this. It sounds kind of ridiculous because it is in German, but once you understand what he wrote it's quite funny and meaningful. The majority of people listening to this song are going to hear a passionate German speaker and an enraptured, cheering crowed, which they will automatically associate to Hitler his many public speeches. The lyrics, however, are nothing but a recipe for a dessert called "The Balls (Eggs) of Satan." Throughout the speech Maynard is heard saying the phrase, "Und kine Eier." Which means " And no eggs." This is where it gets confusing. Eggs actually DO represent the Jewish people. Eggs are an essential baking ingredient because they give the food it's fullness and texture. Historically, the Jews are known to do the same for any culture they integrated themselves into. Without eggs, a recipe is flat, and without Jews, a culture is flat. In the end it is a political statement, knocking Nazism (comparing Hitler's Jewless nation to the Balls of Satan - a recipe which fails without eggs), and a thumb at Americans, who will immediately associate a German speaker to Hitler, even without knowing the text. (thanks, Doran - Toronto, Canada)

This song is just a recipe for hash sugar cookies without eggs. The whole thing about it being in German and the chanting is just to screw with you. Most people only recognize 2 words in the title: die and satan. Just another one of Manyard's little tricks to screw with society. (thanks, Jacob - Boise, ID)

"Die Eier Von Satan" is pronounced "dee i-er von Satan." (thanks, lauren - dallas, TX)

The reason this appears on Aenima is so Tool could prove they weren't "Selling out, laying down, sucking up, to the man." They had to put some outlandish material on the album, and what is more outlandish than a German recipe for Hash Cookies? (thanks, Jonathan - Burton, MI)

Tool - Sober

Tool - Sober Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Undertow
Released: 1993

Sober Lyrics

There's a shadow just behind me,
Shrouding every step I take,
Making every promise empty,
Pointing every finger at me.
Waiting like a stalking butler
Who upon the finger rests.
Murder now the path called "must we"
Just before the son has come.
Jesus, won't you fucking whistle
Something but the past and done?
Why can't we not be Sober?
I just want to start this over.
Why can't we drink forever.
I just want to start things over.
I am just a worthless liar.
I am just an imbecile.
I will only complicate you.
Trust in me and fall as well.
I will find a center in you.
I will chew it up and leave,
I will work to elevate you
Just enough to bring you down.
Trust me.
Mother Mary won't you whisper
Something but what's past and done.
Trust me.
I want what I want.

Writer/s: D. CAREY, P. D'AMOUR, A. JONES, J. KEENAN
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Sober

This was written about a guy the band knows who can only do great, inspired, stuff when he's high. The words "Jesus won't you F--king whistle, something but the past and gone" is actually referring to how this guy kept talking about the same old stuff over and over again, as in, "Christ almighty, can't we talk about something new???"
Tool guitarist Adam Jones explained in an interview wtih Guitar School: "The song and video are based on a guy we know who is at his artistic best when he's loaded. A lot of people give him s--t for that. I don't tell people to do or not do drugs. You can do what you want, but you have to take responsibility for what happens. If you become addicted and a junkie, well, that's your fault." (thanks, Richard - Hamilton, New Zealand and Jorge - Pittsburgh, PA)

For radio play, the line, "Jesus, won't f--king whistle" was changed to, "Jesus, won't you try and whistle." (thanks, Nick - Paramus, NJ)

On August 18, 2006, Kirk Hammett from Metallica played this with Tool at a show in Hawaii. Hammett said it was "One of the most profound jamming experiences I have ever encountered."

Tool - Lateralus

Tool - Lateralus Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Lateralus
Released: 2001

Lateralus 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 beckons me to look through 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 all these 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
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
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 what ever 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.

Spiral out. Keep going, going

Writer/s: M.J. KEENAN, A. JONES, D. CAREY, J. CHANCELLOR, DANIEL CAREY, JUSTIN CHANCELLOR, MAYNARD KEENAN, ADAM JONES
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Lateralus

There are many interpretations of this song, but it was written to examine life in general. The album projects a very spiritual aura, enticing people to let go of their hate, grudges, discord and limiting beliefs. (thanks, Zipper - Phoenix, AZ)

This runs 9:22. Radio stations usually play a shortened version of the song that has a shortened intro and the quiet part after the solo taken out. (thanks, Nick - Paramus, NJ)

All of the art work done on the album cover, the CD itself and even the background screen at the concert are the works of Mr. Alex Grey. He is an artist that attempts to capture what humans look like without their outside flesh. Many of his drawings are of human bodies that lack all exterior features such as hair, skin, nails, etc. Grey has found a way to not only draw humans in this state but has drawn their "energy" surrounding them and in them.

Before this, the last album Tool released (not counting box set Salival) was Aenima, which came out in 1996. In 2000 lead singer James Keenan released an album with his band A Perfect Circle, and it appeared that Tool had broken up. This proved otherwise, and the album went over very well with Tool fans.

The line "Black then white are all I see in my infancy, red and yellow then came to be" has to do the the Aborigines from Australia who at first did art work only with black and white paints then later discovered how to make red and yellow, which they incorporated in their art. The "Spiral" would probably be either the earth twisting on its axis or its rotation around the sun. (thanks, Jake - New Jersey, NJ)

The beginning lyrics of the song use the Fibonacci number sequence, where each number is the total of the two before it....
Black (1)
then (1)
white are (2)
all I see (3)
in my infancy (5)
red and yellow then came to be (8)
reaching out to me (5)
lets me see' (3)
Their drummer is also known to use several other mathematical sequences in his playing. (thanks, Keri - Los Lunas, NM)

The saying "as below, so above and beyond, I imagine" probably has to do with the principle of the saying "as above, so below" used by Neo-Pagans while opening the Magic Circle. (thanks, Raistlin - Middletown, OH)

According to an All-Tool issue of Revolver magazine, this song was originally called "987" because it the time signature changes in a repeating sequence of 9/8, 4/4, then 7/8. Justin Chancellor, Tool's bassist, had this to say about the song: "For me, the song 'Lateralus' was the turning point. I wrote a bar of nine, a bar of eight, a bar of seven, and we originally called the song '987'. I saw it as something that kept getting shorter and shorter and, like a spiral, it kind of folds in on itself." (thanks, Jamin King - Puyallup, WA)

Tool - Schism

Tool - Schism Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Lateralus
Released: 2001

Schism Lyrics

I know the pieces fit 'cause I watched them fall away
Mildewed and smoldering. Fundamental differing.
Pure intention juxtaposed will set two lovers souls in motion
Disintegrating as it goes testing our communication
The light that fueled our fire then has burned a hole between us so
We cannot see to reach an end crippling our communication.
I know the pieces fit 'cause I watched them tumble down
No fault, none to blame it doesn't mean I don't desire to
Point the finger, blame the other, watch the temple topple over.
To bring the pieces back together, rediscover communication
The poetry that comes from the squaring off between,
And the circling is worth it.
Finding beauty in the dissonance.
There was a time that the pieces fit, but I watched them fall away.
Mildewed and smoldering, strangled by our coveting
I've done the math enough to know the dangers of our second guessing
Doomed to crumble unless we grow, and strengthen our communication.
Cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any
Sense of compassion
Between supposed lovers
I know the pieces fit

Writer/s: M.J. KEENAN, A. JONES, D. CAREY, J. CHANCELLOR
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Schism

This is about the divisions within the church. It talks about how the church was once good and pure, but has now been corrupted by people. (thanks, Keith - Phoenix, AZ)

This was the first single from the album. Lateralus was their first album in 5 years and was widely anticipated.

The video opens with "Mantra," a short track that comes right before "Schism" on the Lateralus CD. The guitar part in the middle was shortened for the video. (thanks, Nick - Paramus, NJ)

This was released the year after A Perfect Circle released their debut album. The other members of Tool were unhappy that Maynard was dedicating so much to A Perfect Circle, which is the "fundamental differing" in the lyrics. Maynard explains that doing the same thing for A Perfect Circle that he'd done for Tool ("Pure intentions juxtaposed") caused a rift ("the light that fueled our fire then has burned a hole between us"). (thanks, Damian - Dublin, Ireland)

This song has a very intriguing time signature, which frequently changes throughout the song. The verses can be counted as 12/8 (12 eighth-note beats to a measure) but it is actually split up into recurring measures of 5/8 (5 eighth-note beats to a measure) and 7/8 (7 eighth-note beats to a measure). In this way, the standard 12/8 time signature is split into two parts, a "Schism," thus the theme of the music matches the theme that the lyrics are based on. It's also interesting to note that for the chorus, the time signature shifts and is "reunited" back into standard 12/8. (thanks, Bob - Tokyo, Japan)

This is one of 2 songs by Tool that has ever charted in the US. It reached #67 in July of 2001. The only other single is "Vicarious," which reached #57 in April of 2006. "Prison Sex" also made it to #81 on the UK charts. (thanks, Fremont - Concord, NH)

Tool - Disgustipated

Tool - Disgustipated Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Undertow
Released: 1993

Disgustipated Lyrics

Disgustipated

The strange story told at the very end of this song was left on lead singer Maynard James Keenan's answering machine by his landlord. The credits on the album read: "phone message: bill the landlord."

The last song on Undertow, this comes up as track 69 on American copies of the CD - tracks 10-68 are just a second or two of nothing. Here's the breakdown of the song:
Percussion/Animal sounds - 0:00 - 1:10
Preacher - 1:11 - 2:32
Disgustipated - 2:33 - 6:45
Crickets - 6:46 - 13:50
Phone message - 13:51 - 15:47

The term "Disgustipated" was first coined in a Popeye comic book in the 1930's and was used to express a combined feeling of disgust and exasperation with a situation involving Olive Oyl. Since the situation was obviously resolved by Popeye eating spinach, we can conclude that this song was intended to promote vegetarianism. Or, it could just be a cool song with a funny title. (thanks, Robert - Houston, TX)

Tool - H

Tool - H Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Aenima
Released: 1996

H Lyrics

WHat's coming through is alive.
What's holding up is a mirror.
But what's singing songs is a snake
Looking to turn this piss to wine.
They're both totally void of hate,
But killing me just the same.
The snake behind me hisses
What my damage could have been.
My blood before me begs me
Open up my heart again.
And I feel this coming over like a storm again.
Considerately.
Venomous voice, tempts me,
Drains me, bleeds me,
Leaves me cracked and empty.
Drags me down like some sweet gravity.
The snake behind me hisses
What my damage could have been.
My blood before me begs me
Open up my heart again.
And I feel this coming over like a storm again.
I am too connected to you to
Slip away, to fade away.
Days away I still feel you
Touching me, changing me,
And considerately killing me.
Without the skin,
Beneath the storm,
Under these tears
The walls came down.
And the snake is drowned and
As I look in his eyes,
My fear begins to fade
Recalling all of those times.
I could have cried then.
I should have cried then.
And as the walls come down and
As I look in your eyes
My fear begins to fade
Recalling all of the times
I have died
And will die.
It's all right.
I don't mind.
I am too connected to you to
Slip away, to fade away.
Days away I still feel you
Touching me, changing me,
And considerately killing me.

Writer/s: MAYNARD KEENAN, DANIEL CAREY, PAUL D'AMOUR, ADAM JONES
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

H

While many people believe this is about God, it has nothing to do with religion. Lead singer Maynard James Keenan is speaking about his experiences of being abused and how it affects him and his family.

This could have been titled "H" because Maynard's son Devo has the middle name of H (not an initial - that's the whole middle name). He talks of how his son and his wife have no hate but he wants to lash out at them because he has been abused. He speaks of how he refuses to give into these temptations. One of the deepest songs ever written. (thanks, Keith - Phoenix, AZ, for above 2)

It's possible the H stands for Herbert. Maynard James Keenan's birth name is Maynard Herbert Keenan, and it could be about his troubled childhood. (thanks, nero - richmond, MO)

The working title for this song was "Half Empty," which the "H" could stand for. It may represent the "half-empty is interchangeable with half-full" notion.

In 1996, when Tool was performing this live, Maynard touched on the idea of having an angel sitting on one shoulder and a devil sitting on the other. In at least one interpretation, the song is about being very close to someone who is tearing you apart, someone you can't bring yourself to leave, but someone who will destroy you because you can't leave them. It is the price you pay for being close to them; they aren't doing it on purpose: "considerately killing me." (thanks, Tara - San Diego, CA, for above 2)

Tool - Mantra

Tool - Mantra Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Lateralus
Released: 2001

Mantra Lyrics

Mantra

The sound for this unusual short instrumental was created by Tool lead singer Maynard James Keenan's Cat. The sound is actually Maynard's cat being squeezed and the resulting sound slowed down to create the low pitched noise. (thanks, Craig - Blairgowrie, Scotland)

The Mantra is the subtle hum of the soul and spirit it brings all communication of the body to one. (thanks, Dan - Stourbridge, England)

"Mantra" is about 1:10 long, and maybe 25 seconds are featured in the "Schism" video.

Tool - AEnema

Tool - AEnema Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Aenima
Released: 1996

AEnema Lyrics

Some say the end is near.
Some say we'll see Armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will.
I sure could use a vacation from this

Bullshit three ring circus sideshow of freaks

Here in this hopeless fucking hole we call L.A.
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any fucking time. Any fucking day.
Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Arizona Bay.

Fret for your figure and
Fret for your latte and
Fret for your lawsuit and
Fret for your hairpiece and
Fret for your Prozac and
Fret for your pilot and
Fret for your contract and
Fret for your car.

It's a bullshit three ring circus sideshow of freaks

Here in this hopeless fucking hole we call L.A.
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any fucking time. Any fucking day.
Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Arizona Bay.

Some say a comet will fall from the sky.
Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves.
Followed by fault lines that cannot sit still.
Followed by millions of dumbfounded dip shits.

Some say the end is near.
Some say we'll see Armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will cause
I sure could use a vacation from this

Stupid shit, silly shit, stupid shit...

One great big festering neon distraction,
I've a suggestion to keep you all occupied.

Learn to swim. [3x]

Mom's gonna fix it all soon.
Mom's comin' round to put it back the way it ought to be.

Learn to swim.

Fuck L Ron Hubbard and
Fuck all his clones.
Fuck all these gun-toting
Hip gangster wannabes.

Learn to swim.

Fuck retro anything.
Fuck your tattoos.
Fuck all you junkies and
Fuck your short memory.

Learn to swim.

Fuck smiley glad-hands
With hidden agendas.
Fuck these dysfunctional,
Insecure actresses.

Learn to swim.

Cause I'm praying for rain
And I'm praying for tidal waves
I wanna see the ground give way.
I wanna watch it all go down.
Mom, please flush it all away.
I wanna see it go right in and down.
I wanna watch it go right in.
Watch you flush it all away.

Time to bring it down again.
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.

I wanna see it all come down.
Bring it down
Suck it down.
Flush it down.Some say the end is near.
Some say we'll see Armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will.
I sure could use a vacation from this

Bullshit three ring circus sideshow of freaks

Here in this hopeless fucking hole we call L.A.
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any fucking time. Any fucking day.
Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Arizona Bay.

Fret for your figure and
Fret for your latte and
Fret for your lawsuit and
Fret for your hairpiece and
Fret for your Prozac and
Fret for your pilot and
Fret for your contract and
Fret for your car.

It's a bullshit three ring circus sideshow of freaks

Here in this hopeless fucking hole we call L.A.
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any fucking time. Any fucking day.
Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Arizona Bay.

Some say a comet will fall from the sky.
Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves.
Followed by fault lines that cannot sit still.
Followed by millions of dumbfounded dip shits.

Some say the end is near.
Some say we'll see Armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will cause
I sure could use a vacation from this

Stupid shit, silly shit, stupid shit...

One great big festering neon distraction,
I've a suggestion to keep you all occupied.

Learn to swim. [3x]

Mom's gonna fix it all soon.
Mom's comin' round to put it back the way it ought to be.

Learn to swim.

Fuck L Ron Hubbard and
Fuck all his clones.
Fuck all these gun-toting
Hip gangster wannabes.

Learn to swim.

Fuck retro anything.
Fuck your tattoos.
Fuck all you junkies and
Fuck your short memory.

Learn to swim.

Fuck smiley glad-hands
With hidden agendas.
Fuck these dysfunctional,
Insecure actresses.

Learn to swim.

Cause I'm praying for rain
And I'm praying for tidal waves
I wanna see the ground give way.
I wanna watch it all go down.
Mom, please flush it all away.
I wanna see it go right in and down.
I wanna watch it go right in.
Watch you flush it all away.

Time to bring it down again.
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.

I wanna see it all come down.
Bring it down
Suck it down.
Flush it down.

Writer/s: DANIEL CAREY TOOL, J. CHANCELLOR, ADAM THOMAS JONES, JAMES HERBERT KEENAN
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

AEnema

This is based on a comedy routine by Bill Hicks, who hated the city of Los Angeles. He thought the people were very superficial and represented America at its worst. In his routine, which is sampled in the song, Hicks talks about California falling into the ocean and creating Arizona Bay. Hicks died of cancer in 1994.

Lead singer Maynard Keenan was a big fan of Hicks, and drew inspiration from his comedy routines, which often contained lots of social commentary. The album artwork contains a painting of Hicks dressed like a doctor with the caption, "Another Dead Hero."

Maynard spend 6 months writing the lyrics. Though he does mention LA, he's not speaking specifically about the city. It's a conceptual song asking, "What if everything was destroyed and we had to start over again." LA in this case represents what's wrong with the world in Maynard's eyes, and he's trying to get the message across that we need something like the city falling into the ocean to happen before we can evolve as a race. (thanks, colin - chatham, Canada)

This song was inspired when Tool performed in some sort of L Ron Hubbard arena in Los Angeles. The band looked in dismay when they came across all these yuppie disciples of Hubbard and saw what they felt were the meaningless things they stood for.

"AEnema" is a combination of words. "Anima" is the female archetype hypothesized by philosopher/psychologist Carl Jung to exist within the male. "Enema" is the purification of one's rectum through flushing water. The combination would mean something along the lines of flushing out the superficial crap within us.

In the song, Maynard gives a list of people he can pretty much do without. The song is a reminder about what is important and what is not in the long run of life. The song has an intense anger focused logically on ideas of superficial people, yet has an inescapable creativity to it. (thanks, mike - oakhurst, NJ, for above 3)

Tool - Prison Sex

Tool - Prison Sex Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Undertow
Released: 1993

Prison Sex Lyrics

It took so long to remember just what happened.
I was so young and vestal then,
You know it hurt me,
But I'm breathing so I guess I'm still alive
Even if signs seem to tell me otherwise.
I've got my hands bound,
My head down, my eyes closed,
And my throat wide open.
Do unto others what has been done to you
I'm treading water,
I need to sleep a while.
My lamb and martyr, you look so precious.
Won't you come a bit closer,
Close enough so I can smell you.
I need you to feel this,
I can't stand to burn too long.
Released in this sodomy.
For one sweet moment I am whole.
Do unto you now what has been done to me.
You're breathing so I guess you're still alive
Even if signs seem to tell me otherwise.
Won't you come just a bit closer,
Close enough so I can smell you.
I need you to feel this.
I need this to make me whole.
There's release in this sodomy.
For I am your witness that
Blood and flesh can be trusted.
And only this one holy medium brings me piece of mind.
Got your hands bound, your head down,
Your eyes closed.
You look so precious now.
Show me something
Thought I could make it end
Thought I could wash the stains away
Thought I could break the circle if I
Slipped right into your skin
So sweet was your surrender
We have become one
I have become my terror
And you my precious lamb and martyr.
I have found some kind of temporary sanity in this
Shit blood and cum on my hands.
I've come round full circle.
My lamb and martyr, this will be over soon.
You look so precious.

Writer/s: D. CAREY, P. D'AMOUR, A. JONES, J. KEENAN
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Prison Sex

At least in its most upfront interpretation, this is about child abuse. In early interviews, lead singer Maynard James Keenan apparently was quite vocal about his dislike for his stepfather, and the video supports this theory quite well. However, the autobiographical nature of this song is purely speculative.

When discussing the release of "Prison Sex" as a single, drummer Danny Carey had this to say: "It will annoy a lot of people... which is half the fun." (thanks, Landon - Effingham, IL, for above 2)

This song is definitely about abuse, but not only from the perspective of the victim. Throughout the piece the lyrics change from the frightening realization of what is happening to the individual to the insatiable appetite to force the same on another. It is about the cyclical nature of abuse and the reason that certain learned behaviors are perpetuated. (thanks, greg - Memphis, VT)

According to Tool guitarist Adam Jones in Revolver Magazine Presents Tool, "Contractually, the record label was supposed to talk to us about any sort of publicity stunt they pulled on our behalf, especially with us paying for part of it. But without telling us, they made little kid T-shirts for the single 'Prison Sex' with our Tool wrench logo on there, which is actually a phallic symbol. So the label was going to send the shirt to all the radio stations because Nirvana did that with one of their songs. And we're going, 'Well, first off, you didn't even talk to us about this.' And they went, 'No, you don't understand. Nirvana did this and it was a huge hit with radio.' And Maynard goes, 'Do you know what that song's about? It's about getting f--ked in the ass as a little kid.' They never sent the shirts out." (thanks, Jamin King - Puyallup, WA)

Tool - Third Eye

Tool - Third Eye Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Aenima
Released: 1996

Third Eye Lyrics

Dreaming of that face again.
It's bright and blue and shimmering.
Grinning wide
And comforting me with it's three warm and wild eyes.
On my back and tumbling
Down that hole and back again
Rising up
And wiping the webs and the dew from my withered eye.
In, out, in.., out, in, out
A child's rhyme stuck in my head.
It said that life is but a dream.
I've spent so many years in question
To find I've known this all along.
"So good to see you.
I've missed you so much.
So glad it's over.
I've missed you so much
Came out to watch you play.
Why are you running?"
Shrouding all the ground around me
Is this holy crow above me.
Black as holes within a memory
And blue as our new second sun.
I stick my hand into his shadow
To pull the pieces from the sand.
Which I attempt to reassemble
To see just who I might have been.
I do not recognize the vessel,
But the eyes seem so familiar.
Like phosphorescent desert buttons
Singing one familiar song
"So good to see you.
I've missed you so much.
So glad it's over.
I've missed you so much.
Came out to watch you play.
Why are you running away?"
Prying open my Third Eye.
So good to see you once again.
I thought that you were hiding.
And you thought that I had run away.
Chasing the tail of dogma.
I opened my eye and there we were.
So good to see you once again
I thought that you were hiding from me.
And you thought that I had run away.
Chasing a trail of smoke and reason.
Prying open my third eye.

Writer/s: ADAM JONES, DANIEL CAREY, JUSTIN CHANCELLOR, MAYNARD KEENAN
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Third Eye Song Chart

On the studio version on the album Aenima, the band included spoken-word excerpts by the late comedian/philosopher Bill Hicks, who was also given thanks in the credits of Radiohead's album The Bends. In the live version that was included with the band's boxed set Salival, they included a different spoken-word excerpt, this time from the late Dr. Timothy Leary, famed as the LSD messiah of the '60s. (thanks, Stefano - Old Bridge, NJ)

Bill Hick's comedy was known for biting social commentary. He was an influence on comedians like Dennis Miller, and always spoke his mind. In a routine that influenced this song, he said that if we had a third eye to see the beauty of the universe, watching television was like spraying black paint over it.

Some Eastern philosophies refer to the "Third Eye." The left eye is used to see where you are going, and the right eye is used to determine what you are going to do when you get there. The third eye is the invisible eye that represents the energy to do it. (thanks, Joshua Matney - Noble, OK)