keepgoingspiralout 2006-08-07 17:21:53    

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I think this is the ultimate song about Tool's music, or music in general. At first, the listener only takes the music and lyrics at face value, but as you listen more and dig deeper, the listener begins to realize how there is much more to the song than initially thought. For example, when people first listen to the song "Stinkfist" they initially believe the song is about nonexistant sexual gratification, but when listened to more and more the listener comes to realize that this is merely a metaphor for desensitization and addiction in general. Lateralus is about finding the latter meaning and completely understanding the created music, and eventually losing yourself between the sounds.

anonymous 2006-09-29 11:56:43    

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Maynard's vocals during the first few minutes of Lateralus form a fibonacci sequence. The number of syllables progress to the sixth step, then back down to the first step; up to the seventh step, and then back to the fourth step:

[1] black
[1] then
[2] white are
[3] all I see
[5] in my infancy
[8] red and yellow then came to be
[5] reaching out to me
[3] lets me see
[2] there is
[1] so
[1] much
[2] more and
[3] beckons me
[5] to look through to these
[8] infinite possibilities
[13] as below so above and beyond I imagine
[8] drawn outside the lines of reason
[5] push the envelope
[3] watch it bend


the fibonacci sequence shares a relationship with phi, the golden ratio. The golden ratio is used to describe spirals, which are mentioned several times in the lyrics: "swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be human", "spiral out, keep going" twice, and "spiral out, keep going." five times.

Also, Keenan first begins singing 1 minute and 37 seconds into the song, which equates to 1.617 minutes (the golden ratio = approximately 1.618).

But despite all that, I believe there's a prety good chance that not only the song, but the album Lateralus is aimed at the ideas of alchemy, especially due to the fact that the philosopher's stone often serves as a spiritual metaphor to evolve from a lower state of imperfection and vice (symbolized by the base metals) to a higher state of enlightenment and perfection. References to this spiritual transmutation are:

"give away the stone. Let the oceans take and transmutate this cold and fated anchor.
Give away the stone. Let the waters kiss and transmutate these leaden grudges into gold." ~ the grudge

"black then white are all I see in my infancy, red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me....Lets me see". ~Lateralus
if seen in this perspective, the part from Lateralus can either refer to the four colors of the philosopher's stone during different phases of creation, or to the colors of the ingredients themselves (i.E. Black = mercury, white = salt, yellow = sulphur, red = stone).

But let's not close our eyes to the infinite possibilities ;-) it is also believed that the same line refers to the order in which infants start to see colors.

The infant theory is strongly referenced in the book "The Giver," about a secluded utopian-esque society with many secrets. It is suggested that all within the society are fully color blind. Slowly the main character begins seeing colors, the red of an apple, then the yellow of the sunlight, like an infant awakening to reality.

thirdeyepried 2006-10-18 11:15:33    

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Everybody's interpretations of this song are awesome. I like to think of it as a sister song to "Third Eye" which pretty much has the same message... To me at least

anonymous 2006-11-12 06:42:22    

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Does anyone else find this ironic?
Let's take the chorus for example.. "over thinking, over analyazing seperates the body from the mind"

doncha think we're all over thinking and over analyzing this song and its seperating the body from the mind?

anonymous 2006-11-21 18:52:37    

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The fibonacci thing you can find out immediately in wiki. That's just the first level: a pattern, chosen, used...adds unity and strength to the text. The interesting stuff lies deeper.

How about a homonym? When my son first put me onto this album (and tool), I thought he was saying "Ladder Alice." Funny, right. But think about it. Alice in Wonderland. DNA spiral...

Everything is a spiral. Things spiral out of control. Vicious circles. The "spin" on a situation. Revolutions per minute. What goes around comes around. I could keep going and going...

T. Kuhn described the cycle of institutionalization: the new, latest-and-greatest gets layered with more and more baggage, becomes THE authority, begins to dictate, until the next New becomes the latest and greatest...

The ACTION is where the norm ENDS, at the edge of "the envelope." Need for speed. Here, time and public opinion BEND, until they break.

Go ahead, think if you want, which is safer, the norm, the institutional. OR you can DO. Research can lead to knowledge and knowledge explains. Very efficient. But boring. It loses the freshness of first discovery, the life of first rebellion, the opportunity of the random.

Stay if you want, but this poet says, instead, keep going. Swing on the spiral.

anonymous 2007-02-03 23:23:21    

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Just thought i'd mention that there is such a thing as "the golden spiral" that is said to be the source of human beauty.

anonymous 2007-02-21 11:39:41    

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all I can add to those really perfect beautiful interpretations is I think Maynard has been inspired by the bands music. when trying to write lyrics I think he has been moved so intensely that at one point he is describing what the music is doing to him. ie move myself between the sound open wide to suck it in I feel it move across my skin..etc. -you know the words! just think bout it next time your into the song so intensely...i think youll agree I have a point

anonymous 2007-03-10 03:45:07    

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How about follow this song as a trip (acid). As you start to become aware of the drug affecting you and how you are being affected you see more and more (the "black and white are all I see" lyrics).

This 'idea' can be followed all the way down through the song to the "Ride the spiral to the end / it may just go where no-ones been" where the person on the trip is just falling down through their own thoughts and may end up seeing or realizing something that has never become apparent to anyone else. I know the whole idea sounds mega stoner but it is a way that the song can be listened to. (And no, I do not advocate drugs, it is merely a way a friend said she interpreted the song and I thought it was valid)

anonymous 2007-04-04 04:04:48    

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"over thinking over analyzing separates the body from the mind, withering my intuition leaving opportunities behind"
means that analyzing everything separates but when you follow your intuition your mind and body are acting as one. "true will unassuaged of purpose, and delivered from lust of result..." or something along that line Crowley said.

anonymous 2007-04-09 02:42:50    

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i find it amusing that you guys are missing the most significant part of the song, the breakdown.

with my feet apon the ground,
i lose myself between the sound,
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,
whatever will bewilder me,
following our will and when we,
may just go where no ones been ,
we'll ride the spiral till the end and may just go where no ones been,
spiral out, keep going

if you don't understand that you are missing the entire meaning of the song

toolman7070 2007-04-12 14:46:19    

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Absolutely incredible song....one of Tool's top 5 in my opinion. The Fibonacci sequence in the vocals and drums are insane. Who thinks of that kind of shit when writing a song? (Maynard and Danny I guess) I am completely blown away by the way this song feeds itself until it explodes at the end "Sprial Out. Keep Going" I do not feel it is about drugs, but tend to agree more with the Astral theory.
"Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must
Feed my will to feel my moment, drawing way outside the lines " Thinking outside the box and going with the moment is what comes to mind...I am in awe is all else I can say.

anonymous 2007-05-09 20:15:27    

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I think this song is a metaphor of some kind! It could be about anything! So many different things it could mean. Thats what Maynard does. Creates Metaphoric songs and leaves us thinking of what it could mean.

"Drawn Outside the Lines of Reason" means thinking outside of reality.

"push the envelope, watch it bend" means doing whatever you want in your imagination.

The song is all about knowing reality from imagination and what is possible.

SO MANY THINGS IT COULD MEAN PEOPLE!

anonymous 2007-05-20 23:53:22    

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Everyone have experienced dmt. while you sleep, this song is no doubtedly one of the best, anyone who has listened to it in the way it was constituted to be listened to, anyone who has listened to it, not just because it has a good beat or rhythm,but really soaked it up like a sponge for what it really is meant to be, has been caught in a state of such inspiration, and learned something about themselves. If you meditate or have found yourself in a state were you start to see life and creation in a way that it has never been seen through your eyes before or have ever had moments were you realize how complex and structured everything is, whether you were on psilocybin, ergot fungus,dmt, lsa or not anything at all you have felt what Maynard and the gang felt while constructing this song. basically if and when you realize how many absolutely phenomenal things are going on around you that you can't for sure explain, and when you see things that you don't consciously give much thought to because your so conditioned, when you are seeing and experiencing them the path and structure of things on a bigger view, then you have if you have felt this, and it may or may not have been when you heard this song. this is when you have experienced the energy that created this song

anonymous 2007-06-25 01:59:53    

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I think the song means that sometimes we try too hard to perceive things, even to the extent to where we can just believe a bunch of nonsense because we get too much too fast.
"Overthinking
Overanalyzing
Separates the body from the mind
Withering my intuition
Leaving 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"


In conclusion this may seriously be the greatest song ever created from layout to musicality to lyrics. I know all Tool songs seem to be perfected in those aspects but "Lateralus" by far goes to the max as far as completion. This song and this album my be the most complete duo I have ever heard.

anonymous 2007-06-25 22:57:59    

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In my opinion this song is more simple than everyone is making it. I'm not going to sit here and research every little complexity that makes this song as thought provoking as it is, but rather take a step back and look at it as the big musical orgasm it is.

Anyone that has meditated for long enough to achieve any sort of desired result would probably agree:

"Over thinking, over analyzing separate the body from the mind"

This is where the song gets heavy, and the message presents itself. You would have to meditate to understand, but for those of you who don't, an excellent meditation technique is to pick one thing and "over analyze" it, that is, to think about it until you let go of any thought and achieve what many people describe as "inner peace" or "oneness". It is my belief that "separating the body from the mind" is just another way of saying this.

I have heard others talking about how they believe this has something to do with astral projection, but I haven't achieved any mental state that meditation doesn't provide with many attempts at astral projection.

... Then again, maybe I'm "in my infancy" XD

anonymous 2007-08-01 05:46:31    

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Alright. Personally I thought the song was about mending the schism in your brain "right side left side" considering people are usually one sided. The reason this is my interpretation is because the lines that are most important in my opinion are "stop thinking stop analyzing" because your missing the other half of the music. Try not listening to just the lyrics just because you like maynard:) danny and adam (and JUSTIN) are there too. Make of it what you will I may just be a moron XD!

anonymous 2007-08-06 12:59:27    

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Did you know that the branches of a tree grow in the fibonacci sequence? If you look at a tree from the base up, the lowest branch is directly in line with the next lowest. The sequence of branches matching up with the height of the branches forms a spiral and the number of branches between each that line up are the fibonacci sequence.


That's messed up

anonymous 2007-09-25 11:03:58    

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I think it's about learning, overcoming your ignorance and constant development of one' inner self (or one's mind).
What is reality? How did we come found ourselves right here, right now, at this moment?

anonymous 2007-10-17 21:05:10    

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I don't know much, but I do know that black and white are the first colors you see when you are born. Your cones don't develop until later on.

IINickKII 2007-10-19 23:02:37    

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Let me begin by saying that to get the true meaning of what I am saying you will have to open up and listen. Not just to words which I say, but what society is crying out for and obviously the lyrics. My vocabulary is not large enough to describe what goes through my head when I hear this song. Nonetheless, this is only my interpretation, and I don't want to limit anyone to think that this is the only way the song is meant to be "heard"
First off, the song title is separated into two words: Lateral
and US
This word is talking about the world in general
Second, the fibnocci sequence (which I didn't think about till I read it by earlier post) could be a metaphor for a great deal of effort but not moving forward. (this might be jibberish right now but I will explain)
I think its better to describe this song in basic form then back up with hard evidence from the lyrics and society. Its mainly about what society COULD BE and what IT IS NOW. If you haven't noticed, the world today is filled with rape, murder, drugs and division between races, spiritual beliefs even within our own borders we bicker on how our government should be run. Conflicts are fought daily. In Africa children are not so much drafted as threatened with killing their families if they don't join the army. Then they kill them anyway because an angry soldier is a good soldier. But the biggest conflict is between certain religions and how they interpret god's will.
If all these things are destroying the things we love, cherish and believe in how will we expand? We can't. Some of you may not be convinced that if we end all world hunger, wars, troubles then we still will not be able to flourish as human beings, rather than americans or canadians or chinese. But heres some food for thought; about 5,000 years ago there was a civilization called the the egyptians (kind of a coinkadink seeing that I am taking history now) and they were able to live in relative peace because they were secluded from everyone else. They were surrounded by mountains and desert and a huge sea. It was very difficult for them to be attacked. They also had everything that they needed; the Nile to provide water and fresh soil to provide three crops a year. An eden if you will. They were able to maintain their empire for over 3,000 years and live in peace. The artwork from that period was astonishing. And one of the seven wonders of the world(maybe two) the pyramid of Giza and the Sphinx. My point being that if we were able to live in peace and get along, what are the possibilities?
But Lateralus is not a song about war or how shitty society is. It's about hope. The thought that even though we hate each other for numerous and odd reasons, we may be able to get past our differences and live in a world where we feast on each other's intellect; learn from mistakes and assist others when in need. Just think about how great of a world it would be without conflict. Where we can create something and not have it destroyed. Where we don't "spiral" -we expand and grow.
This is not all I am going to say. I am tired right now and another 1,000 words on comparing the lyrics to modern society seems like an everest to me. I will prob have another post in an week or two.