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Tool - Jambi Song Meanings

This one's about Maynard's son and how even through his music and fame he's worked and "tempted the devil with (his)song" and gotten all these earthly pleasures "(he'd) wish it all away if (he) thought tomorrow they'd take (his son) away"
"shine on forever,shine on benevolent son"
(that's what I think)

Submitted by: anonymous
Added: 2006-09-04 13:24:41     Rating:

After hearing that it's about his son (didnt know he had one) yeah I can see it being about that.

The only thing I thought was funny is in reference to the title, "Jambi," in which the only thing I can think of relating to that word was the wishmaster on the old popular pee wee's playhouse.

..And if he could he'd wish it all away
(-;

Submitted by: Toolio
Added: 2006-09-19 12:25:04     Rating:

I heard that the name of this song (Jambi) is the name of a genie that was in PeeWee's Playhouse.

Submitted by: anonymous
Added: 2006-10-26 12:30:10     Rating:

It is the name of the genie, but it also is a reference to the poetic meter the lyrics are in, Finnish iambic meter.

Unstressed-stressed-u-s-u-s-u
unstressed-stressed-u-s-u-s
unstressed-stressed-u-s-u-s-u
unstressed-stressed-u-s-u-s

the first verse seems to follow this formula, except all of the lines end with an unstressed syllable and are equal in length.

Also, the Finnish translation of iamb is.....You guessed it, jambi.

Source: http://www.Toolband.Com/news/index.Html

Submitted by: anonymous
Added: 2006-11-26 23:16:13     Rating:

It's about his mom, not his son... read ALL the lyrics. Research people

Submitted by: anonymous
Added: 2007-02-07 12:21:33     Rating:

What I got from it, is that through all the fame and fortune Maynard and Tool have acquired, he'd still give it all away in order to go back and save his mom some how. I may be wrong, who knows.

Submitted by: anonymous
Added: 2007-02-19 01:48:06     Rating:

this is Maynards love song, I don't know who to but it is definately not his mother or son. "feast like a sultan I do on pleasures of flesh never few" (sorry if that's not exact but its off the top of my head) the flesh is most commonly referred to as a woman or as worldly and that he would give it away, the devil again refers to worldly things (thats the only way I can come at it anyway) and this song is all about the willingness to sacrifice all his infidelity and worldly belongings which as humans, are our most prized possessions.
i will just finish with "shine on benevolent son" which I think is a meaning for be granted the person (woman) in the first place and he wants it to continue until "the two become one" which is as close as two people can be like they say at weddings husband and wife become one.

Submitted by: anonymous
Added: 2007-02-26 12:19:22     Rating:

my interpretations is as follows:

It's about himself, his divinity and his connection to the the "one". Verse one, he has it all, his dream has come true, he's accomplished his goal musically. He's overcome the "devil" inside himself, once in love with his dark side. He's overcome the self destructive devil. "But you changed that all for me" I don't believe is a person, not his son or his mother, it's the realization that he is one with the divine the divine is "you". He prayed and begged to receive enlightenment or collective consciousness and through his lyrics cursed and shouted at the "devil" the dark inside him. And then realizes he "got what he wanted all along" it was always there he just had to "see" it. "no price could hold sway or justify my giving away, my center." His center is wholeness/oneness with it all, would give away all of his worldly possessions if he thought they would take that away from him. It's his peace of mind, his home, it's everything without it nothing else matters, and trying to hold onto it is the struggle because of what we see and what is all around us it is hard to hold onto that divine consciousness. "damn my eyes if they should compromise... divide me, then I might as well be gone." if he lets what "seems to be or what he sees" separate him from what he "knows" then it will divide him from the divine and he might as well be gone, for repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability to lift the light of heaven conscious of his fleeting time here. The benevolent son is just metaphor for the divine light shining down upon him, "shine down upon the severed" all of us who are separated from each other and therefore separated from our connectedness our divinity. "Shine on until the two become one" until we realize that we all are one, the collective consciousness. "Divide and whither away." divided we whither and suffer. "Shine down upon the many, light our way, Benevolent sun" show us all the way. "Breathe in union" "So, as one, survive Another day and season" As long as we are separate alls we can do is survive another day, another year. "save your poison" don't project your negativity out onto me save it for yourself. "stay out of my way"

For me this cd is so much more right in your face and personal, not as many hidden messages or interpretations. For ex. Vicarious, it's all right there, no hidden messages there. 10,000 days pretty raw and personal, no way to misinterpret. Same with Right in Two. Just my take on it all.

Namaste

Submitted by: anonymous
Added: 2007-03-14 20:17:36     Rating:

Just and FYI, but I looked up Jambi in the dicitonary or some other reference thingy, and I got "a province on southeastern Sumatra" (pronounced jahm-bee)

Submitted by: Zaq
Added: 2007-04-04 14:49:04     Rating:

Take the fist stanza (the feasting sultan part) as it is.

I think the "You" he is talking about is HIMSELF. Just hear me out.
---
"The devil," the bad side of him, the side that writes the "bad songs," was drowning him, taking over. He was sick of all that, so he began writing the "good songs," the Lateralus album, all the hopeful songs.
---
"But you changed that all for me
Lifted me up turned me around.
So I would wish it all away."

The good side of him changed all that, his thinking on Lateralus was completely different than songs such as "Eulogy" and "Judith."
---
"Prayed like a martyr dusk til dawn
Beg like a hooker all night long"

In this part (yea, BOTH parts), he's talking about HIMSELF. He prayed sometimes, while other times he was sinning and being the opposite of the other side of him.
---
He would wish away the bad part if he could, but nothing could get him to "kneel away his sin," because he doesn't think he would be justified in doing so.
---
"So if I could I'd wish it all away
If I thought tomorrow would take you away.
You're my peace of mind, my home, my center
I'm just trying to hold on..."

If Maynard thought that the "bad side" would overtake his "good side," he would rid himself of the "bad side" to save the "good." The good side is his "peace of mind, his home, his CENTER," and he's trying to hold on to that despite all the bullshit that he sees (listen to "Vicarious"). Note that "peace of mind, home, and center" can all be seen as things inside oneself: your "home" is where you are comfortable being inside yourself, the others are fairly obvious.
---
"Damn my eyes if they should
Compromise our fulcrum.
Want and need. Divide me then
I might as well be gone."

The things he sees are destroying the good side of him, unbalancing him. The good side of him is trying to open people's eyes to the world around them and the things inside them, and then it is devastated that what he has done so far hasn't made a dent. He needs to do one thing, but wants to do another, and if he can't do both then he might as well not exist.
---
"Shine down upon the broken
Shine until the two become one."

He's broken in two, they need to become one. The "benevolent son" needs to fix him and stitch him together, if you will.
---
"Divided I'm withering away."

Again, he can't live when he's divided in the afore mentioned way.
---
"Silence legions/leaches, save/say your poison.
Silence leeches/legions, stay out of my way!"

He needs the "leaches" ("Ticks and Leaches" anyone?) to leave him alone so he can do what he needs to do, and he needs his "legions" of fans to leave him alone so he can sort it all out.


I know it's hugely different from the other interpretations,but I think this one makes the most sense. I also think it fits the song and lyrics much better. Give it some thought and consideration.

Thanks,
~Zaq~

Submitted by: lateralus123
Added: 2007-04-25 02:48:23     Rating:

Guys, amazing interpretations and ideas which I thank you for! I just wanted to add to the part of "legion" stated by Zaq that "legion" maybe referal to demons as from the Bible verse Mark 5:9 "And [Jesus] asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion: for we are many." (King James Version)1

Submitted by: oscarfish16
Added: 2007-05-07 15:47:19     Rating:

Right on Zaq. Also, Jambi was part of the Srivijayan kingdom in modern Indonesia. It was a trading civilization, which means it was wealthy. It was ruled by Sultans. The last Sultan, hiding from Dutch invaders, ruled from a mountainous region. In Sanskrit "sri" means shining and "vijayan" means victory or excellence. He says "shine down" many times, and the song is about his victory over his dark side, or at least his ability to balance it. How does he integrate this stuff into his songs? He is a true lyricist. Simply amazing!

Submitted by: paja713
Added: 2007-09-14 00:25:58     Rating:

It doesn't matter if it's about his mom or his son, because MJK often writes from another persons perspective coming out of their mouth. but I think this song is about living a life you enjoy, but is morally wrong, and someone (maybe close or just random) helps you to see and change your life (but you changed that all for me, lifted me up, turned me around) and how now that you see that your life is great and morally correct, you would wish it all away if you thought tomorrow would take them away. *girly ohhh, or awwww* like when they see puppies, lol.

Submitted by: anonymous
Added: 2007-10-30 09:30:20     Rating:

Its obviously about Maynards mother, along with just about the whole album. Anyhow, as you may know 10,000 days (27 years) was the approx. amount of time Judith spent paralyzed before she died. When Keenan states he feasted on treasure and flesh meaning how successful the band was. And how he would wish away all of his fame and fortune if he thought that his mother would die. I know there's the Geanie (jambi) and all the ancient artifact shit, but just carefully read through the lyrics and its quite self explanatory...

Submitted by: anonymous
Added: 2007-11-03 17:10:10     Rating:

It's about anything that is a fulcrum or a "sun" of sorts, and the knowing of its importance/the struggle to maintain a healthy relationship with it.

damn my eyes-your eyes can deceive you, lead you to believe things that are not real based on a shallow interpretation of them.

if wants and needs divide me then I might as well be gone-
the two become one, shine on upon the severed- unifying yourself with the oneness of this reality instead of letting hollow wants and needs divide you or "wither you away"

to me the song is more of a spiritual nature, but can also be interpreted towards his mother or son...which connect as well to the spiritual sense just on a more singular level.

Submitted by: anonymous
Added: 2007-11-17 11:37:37     Rating:

I believe this song to be about how Maynard feels about his mom passing away. I feel that he is saying in the beginning how he had everything; fame, wealth, etc. Then with the passing of his mom he felt as if he lost the only thing he really needed, and would trade anything and everything just to have her. From the passing of his mother, however, he found religion, not being christianity or catholic, but some sort of spiritual meaning to life.

Submitted by: Joe Kelly
Added: 2007-12-07 14:10:52     Rating:

This song is about his son. "Feast like a sultan I do. on treasures and flesh never few" Means that he has all the money and women any man would ever want. "The devil and his had me down in love with the dark side I found"". Maynard always talks about how his music is his way of healing the past.On the first few albums he sung of child abuse, bad relationships, Desensitization, christianity, hence dark subject matter. "but you changed that all for me, lifted me upturned me round" meaning his son has changed him a lot. You can clearly see the difference in the subject matter on 10,000 Days as apposed to all the other records. And he would give up all the fame and fortune if he thought he would lose his son. As far as the name of the song I don't know Maynard is fuckin crazy!

Submitted by: anonymous
Added: 2008-02-27 23:37:55     Rating:

Well, if we can interpret the songs in any way we please, I may as well give you all my interpretation. (Note: this interpretation disconnects the song from the rest of the album, and the band's common themes, and judges it individually).

King Solomon in Ecclesiastes in the Bible explores life basically and concludes that everything is meaningless without God. Solomon has experienced things in life assumed to give pleasure and make life enjoyable; i.e. Money, Women, Wisdom, etc.

The first four lines of the song can imply anyone similar to Solomon (Basically everyone at some time or another). The next four lines are about his love for worldly evils. These works of the "devil" and the "dark side" had kept him blind from God, and now that he has found him, he never wants to "lose his sight" again.

"Wish it all away" can imply a need for forgiveness for sins and wrongdoings. "Damn my eyes" can represent a willingness to lose physical things to keep spiritual ones. "Shine on benevolent son" can be symbolic of Jesus and the thirst people have for him.

At the end of the song, the "leaches/legions" can imply those of the world, or the devil himself, that want to bring him down or away from God.

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