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Tool - Schism Song Meanings

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If you are familiar with the "great schism" of the catholic church then you should understand this song fairly well. The church shism is merely a metaphor for two beings tearing apart from thier love due to a mere lack of communication. Therefore our differences, like the catholics, will wither us away from one another.

Submitted by: anonymous
Added: 2005-08-22 01:51:12     Rating:

Personally, I believe it to be a relationship song. The REALITY of the situation is that no one knows what he is talking about. Hell, I know for a fact that Maynard admitted that if he were to ever say what the songs mean, then people may think he is crazy.

Maynard is a little insane and the results are one great song after another. So please stop pretending like you all know what he is talking about, when most of the time he doesn't even know.

Submitted by: anonymous
Added: 2005-08-31 20:40:22     Rating:

So one of you quoted Maynard saying that if he told the real meanings people would think he was insane. Well, keep in mind tool has so many LSD overtones it's not even funny.

So consider what, at least people with a positive experience with mind expansion let themselves understand about reality. And from that perspective, who wouldn't look crazy.

If you don't read this whole thing.. then you're crazy.


ok. first of all. Sure, I understand what you're saying that it could mean many things, or it could mean whatever the person reading it percieves... but he does have a very cryptic theme underneath it all. whether its a relationship song or a song about a dude whacking off in his own feaces thats not the part that needs to be interpreted.

Point the finger, blame the other
Watch the temple topple over
To bring the pieces back together
Rediscover communication

supposedly Duality, as in, THIS WORLD. the physical plane. external reality, what we percieve, is only half of existance. there is a positive and a negative. and zero of course. but in this other plane of existance in your mind,( activated by well, speaking about maynard i'll use LSD as our tool) you opporate without space and time. you understand the concept of negative and positive, but there is no difference. they're both just HAPPENING. there is NO duality here. He's taking this RELATIONSHIP issue and relating it back to how his mind is handling it. supposedly if you give in to duality and continue to stress out over a dying relationship ur giving in to the human drama and u need to realize that everything is how it is supposed to be. and nothing matters any way. once you become completely emotionally unattached to external reality all you need to entertain you is what's going on in your own head. you realize you are creating your own reality by being addicted to all the human emotions. this is all about ascension. this is what all religions were screaming at everyone underneath the layers and layers of metaphor. ppl are retarded.

The poetry
That comes from the squaring off between
And the circling is worth it
Finding beauty in the dissonance

lets Paraphrase

"the poetry; the myth; the religious metaphors, that are told opposite their scientific and logical explanations are the same thing. it's almost as if, in order to tell the truth about reality and what life is and what "god" is in a way that human minds could comprehend 5000+ years ago, the enlightened ones that formed religions wrote a story with layers and layers of metaphors over the mind blowing almighty scientific truth. Not exactly to hide the truth... but to put it out of plane view.. until we evolved enough to use it with modern science. until a time we can realize why they put it out of plain view in the first place: the human mind is addicted also to knowledge. it feels good for the brain to learn. so the bible especially was screaming at mankind to dig deeper. take the persuit of knowledge. If the church knows about this truth (which would crumble them because they are supposed to be the sole vessel for the persuit of God) they are trying to hide it from us when the some of the story says mankind is doomed because we ate from the tree of knowledge. they don't want us seeking that knowledge. it is obvious.

eventually science and religion will meet right in the middle. yin and yang.

and circling the evidence in any religious text and deciphering what scientific FACT is the metaphor giving color to. "Finding the beauty in the ultimate truth."

There was a time that the pieces fit
But I watched them fall away
Mildewed and smouldering
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

take this with a grain of salt. by the way.

what if when you are conceived.. when the first molecules begin to construct your brain... think of it as a smaller model of the big bang. on a fundamental level matter is made up of mostly vacum. nothingness. its present in every cell, every atom, every subatomic partical, and quark. all there is is an untapped source of energy teaming with possibility. just as the big bang explodes, expands, takes shape, and finds order. SO DOES YOUR MIND. and keep in mind we are still talking about Maynard. and I could be completely OFF, but i've read many accounts of psychadelic experiences basically sumarized as a resetting of the spark that started your brain. you experience non time and space and enter a part of your brain with limitless possibilities. and i am not alone in my experience either that the tripping mind sometimes gets to a point where all the peaces of.. thought (for lack of a better term) have all finally fit together and everything.. EVERYTHING makes perfect sense. it all fits. everything in life. you see clearly. completely. ...and then its gone. and you have to return to normal ego-reality.

doomed to crumble unless we grow...
strengthening our communication.

easy.

for survival, ultimate evolutionary survival... humans.. need only one thing. other humans. living in absolute harmony with each other. Egos' completely shed off. seeing eachother as all the same beautiful and perfect beings that we are... and PROGRESSING. instead of letting reality take control of us. take control of reality. reality means you project only what you precieve to be true. so we're all making reality happen. all of us together. once we all know that. we can help eachother. and grow. and become unified and EVOLVE.

...so who's still with me? anyone?

...don't YOU now feel a bit insane?
cuz i'm sure you now think I Am.

ps: god's name. YAHWEH. translated as "I AM".

...tell me, what human on this earth cannot say the utterly true statement about themselves, "I AM."

feed your head.

Submitted by: der
Added: 2005-10-14 21:37:54     Rating:

I just thought this was about deteriorating relationships:

"Cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion between supposed brothers, between supposed lovers"

But, hey, after that huge entry, I dont know what to think :P

Submitted by: tool9386
Added: 2005-10-18 21:15:28     Rating:

Maynard has also been quoted as saying he has read some interpretations of their songs and says that they are way off, but it doesnt matter. People just need to use their brain, he hates it when people dont think.

Submitted by: cgyscreamo
Added: 2005-10-25 21:39:41     Rating:

He claimed it was just his interpretation of the music.

Submitted by: anonymous
Added: 2005-11-16 21:13:52     Rating:

I always thought this was just a song about hate and the world slowly falling apart. As tensions grow between groups of people, communication stops and society begins to deteriorate. As I see it, it's sort of a hippy song's evil twin.

Submitted by: tonx
Added: 2005-11-28 17:24:44     Rating:

Have you been born? Have you died? Why do you run from what happens your whole life?

Submitted by: anonymous
Added: 2005-12-15 06:50:49     Rating:

I think that this song happens to be about Maynard's relationship with god/jesus christ etc and how it was broken. I believe this because his father is a catholic priest and rumour has it that he Maynard was raped by his father who at the time was a priest. I believe that the words "I know the pieces fit 'cause I watched them fall away," simply means that as he was young, he was a believer, but when raped, he stopped believing because how could god intend such things to happen in such circumstances of the fact his father had devoted his life to being in relationship to god.

Submitted by: wardo
Added: 2006-02-01 11:51:34     Rating:

Maynard's father was a catholic priest? That's funny. He mentioned in an interview in '03 with Kurt Loder (I can't believe I have to bring that name into this) that he grew up fundamentalists Baptist. And it's also rumored that his father (or father-in-law, depending on which story you're listening to) was a holy-roller and a real creep who abused him. But there is no verification that it was sexual abuse, and Catholic priests don't have children.

Submitted by: anonymous
Added: 2006-02-24 06:07:07     Rating:

honestly, I've listened 2 mantra I still don't get it. I told my friend, hez hardout into tool as well. he duznt get it either. I just hear these noises like manta rays. I think its just manta rays..

Submitted by: Zaq
Added: 2006-02-24 19:07:15     Rating:

Check out the new "Mantra" song-meaning page for more info...
HOWEVER, I probably won't give away the meaning of this track to the uninitiated...
I WILL post some riddles and you can e-mail your answers to me at: zaq_bishop@yahoo.com

Submitted by: Zaq
Added: 2006-02-24 19:22:32     Rating:

... What does a manta ray sound like?

Submitted by: regularguy1000
Added: 2006-03-20 03:01:32     Rating:

I'm sorry but I tend to interpret every peice of Maynard's work to religious or spiritual interpretation. Forgive me if I'm wrong or way off, but there seemed to me to be a small relationship to this song and the tower of babel in the bible. The communication was broken by god because they tryed to build a tower to heaven. Some sort of cowincidense, <---- I know that was the worst spelling! sry.> or an underlying element? Just a thought.....

Submitted by: oogodmitch
Added: 2006-03-29 03:30:52     Rating:

tool was about to break up...then they followed dan brown in a quest for some swiss cheez, unfortunately tom hanks had recently named the cheez his savior, after tom cruise and katie holmes banished him to a deserted island, dropping him in the middle, where hanks befriended a rat he named thelema. In a selfless act of courage, hanks shared his only bag of food with thelema, to help out the rat. Unfortunately the rat was lactose intolerant and shortly thereafter croaked. mr. Hanks saved the piece of cheez to remind him of his mortality, and at this moment the world became transparent, luminating brilliant colors, speaking in waves/rythmic patterns.
While on tour with APC, Maynard Keenan needed a break. He ran into a few scientologists, changing them with a single touch. They immediately repented, including the whereabouts of a certain "man with one red shoe." Being an avid collector of souls, Maynard decided to stop his jabbering and soon was whisked away as the winds encircled his being. Not much longer, he returned with a gump in hand. Inviting mr. Hanks to dinner proved to be that "coincidence" he had been looking for.. Whilst enjoying a few glasses of shiraz, Hanks pulled out the script of the new movie in which he had been cast, yet unknown of,: the davinci code, along with the only two things he now possessed, a very moldy piece of swiss cheez and the cup he had used to get water and catch fish.. not only was it heavy, it glowed...Maynard asked Danny Carey to check it out, and the world may never get a chance like this again..Carey stopped and pointed without the words to express,.. no one got it except for the fortunate that fateful day. Henceforth Lateralus was born (insequentially) or coincidentally. schism is about how the band made it thru the tough burden/ grudge thanx to Mary Magdalene Catin.

Submitted by: spicybrown84
Added: 2006-04-05 18:42:11     Rating:

Who knows why Everyone in the world speaks different languages? I dont. A priest said that the reason we do is because a long time ago everyone spoke 1 language whatever it was. They all decided to build the worlds largest tower to see GOD.

"I know the pieces fit because I watched them fall away
Mildewed and smoldering. Fundamental differing."

As they were building God did not want them to complete this. GOD then spread everyone out in different places and gave them different languages so they could not do that again.

"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."

Since then, we have learned other languages and are able to complete this tower.

"Point the finger, blame the other, watch the temple topple over.
To bring the pieces back together, rediscover communication"

"Doomed to crumble unless we grow, and strengthen our communication."

True? Who knows.

Submitted by: mightymuffin5042
Added: 2006-05-14 19:57:54     Rating:

Not sure if this is of any relevance but I figured I'd post it up for the hell of it. I just happen to find this article while looking for a Tool gif from their mainpage. It talks about a 10,000 member church, communications reunited of the sun, and the man they talk about it known regarding cults and alternate religions. Go nuts. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_8_119/ai_85106545

Submitted by: Abyss
Added: 2006-07-04 01:20:14     Rating:

I think this song's about the Tower of Babel and Maynard's wish for all people to have the same language again and to finally reach the point of Godliness through rebuilding the temple but without second guessing... being better prepared for when God's wrath comes so people can overcome God.

Submitted by: Zaq
Added: 2006-07-04 12:29:57     Rating:

It's about Maynard's break-up with his fiance.

"I know the pieces fit
Cause I watched them fall away.
Mildewed and smouldering.
Fundemental differing."
When "the pieces fit" was when they were together and everything was perfect. They fit together perfectly (if you've ever been there, you know what I mean). The pieces "fell away" when things started going wrong. When certain fundemental differences came up.

"Pure intention juxtaposed
Will set two lovers' souls in motion.
Disintegrating as it goes
Testing our communication."
His and her pure intentions, when set side-by-side, made them feel that they loved each other. But it disintegrated as time went on, and tested their communication.

"The light that feuled our fire then
Has a burned a hole between us so
We cannot see to reach an end.
Crippling our communication."
The same thing that made them feel love before has caused this rift between them. They can't see how it can work now, and this causes their communication to fail.

"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."
He knows the pieces fit because he saw how well they used to work, and then he watched the pieces all fall away. It's no one's fault, but he still wants to blame her, which would destroy their relationship (the temple). Then he could put all the pieces back together, and rediscover their lost communication.

"The poetry
That comes from the squaring off between
And the circling is worth it
Finding beauty in the dissonance."
This song and the understanding that comes from the fighting and the falling out is worth all the pain, worth the loss. He finds beauty in the lack of harmony.

"There was a time that the pieces fit
But I watched them fall away
Mildewed and smouldering
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."
He knows now what it was that caused the falling out. He's thought about it enough to know that them second guessing their love is what caaused this rift. And he also knows that it will be irreparable soon if they don't grow and fix the problem.

"Cold silence has
A tendency to
Atrophy any
Sense of compassion
Between supposed brothers.
Between supposed lovers."
The cold silence that has grown and surrounded them decays and destroys any little bit of love left between them.

"I know the pieces fit..."

Submitted by: anonymous
Added: 2006-08-01 14:41:22     Rating:

I think he is either reffering to racism of our mankind,
or the differences between our countries

it can go either way
it started with adam and eve, and grew from their, plenty of generations, and split off, and so on. We formed our own kingdom, and fought our own family's we are all family according to the bible and we have been torn apart, he knows we all belong together because he watched us break apart, I have a feeling that he is seeing it from God's point of view,we have adapted to our places, and have formed culture's and races, and their is no real reason, fault line, to blame we have been ripped apart by our own hate and greed.

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