Tool: Prison Sex Meaning

Song Released: 1994

Prison Sex Lyrics

It took so long to remember just what happened and 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. Got my hands bound and my head down and my eyes closed,...

1. anonymous

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   Feb 6th 2007 !⃝

   after reading what has been posted, the song does seem to be about child abuse and such, but if you have ever seen the video for it, then the theme of what goes around comes around is shown in the video. So it might be about people who get abuse tend to abuse others? which kinda ties that whole circle theme back in.
   if you haven't seen the video then it kinda is like this:
   theres like this little puppet guy and he's trapped in this box, and there's a bunch of little drawers and all along the walls of the box, and puppet guy opens the drawers and finds little guys inside and he plays with them. Then this giant black thing reaches down and starts playing with the puppet guy, and then puts him back and the puppet guy starts playing with the drawers again, and that repeats, until at the end you see the big black thing put the little puppet guy back in a drawer and he is actually in the same situation as the little puppet guy... I donno its confusing. just watch it.
2. imbecilebychoice

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   Dec 25th 2006 !⃝

   I read that someone had an interview with Maynard when his father died, asking him why he didn't attend the funeral and all that, and later he broke down in another interview stating that he was abused physically and sexually by his father, that's where the lyrics came from.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
3. anonymous

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   Dec 13th 2006 !⃝

   saying it's a reference to child abuse ignores lyrics such as "do unto you now what has been done to me". it seems like the song has to do with a vicious cycle of abuse that we all do to each other.
4. journaltap

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   Dec 7th 2006 !⃝

   I sorry but I have to disagree with the past two interpretations of this song this seems like a straight forward song about child abuse, and whether it is Maynard himself talking about child abuse on him or onto somebody he knows its pretty straight forward. "It took so long to remember just what happened." A supression of a tramatic experience that you try to forget and then comes back.
   "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" and then finding a way to get over it even though you know its still affecting you. I think the past two interpretations are just over complicating the song. Sorry guys.
5. anonymous

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   Dec 7th 2006 !⃝

   I have to disagree with the past two interpretations of this song its seems to be a simple song about child abuse. "It took so long to remember just what happened", I mean come on if that doesn't sound like someone suppressing a tramatic experience what else could it be. "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." It seems to simple of a song to overcomplicate it.
6. anonymous

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   Nov 22nd 2006 !⃝

   i too agree it's about abuse. but, I believe it's about the abuse among one's self. judging by maynards scrambled voice throughout the song I would have to say the abuse is comming from alcohol.
   read the lyrics.
   prove me wrong.
   u know I'm right :)

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
7. Toolio

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   Sep 19th 2006 !⃝

   When you first listen to this song and read the lyrics, a man being raped by another man is pretty much what this song is saying. But I think that there is a deeper meaning to this song...
   
   What comes around goes around is what I interpret. Whether it's in a good way or a bad way, people tend to become vulnerable to change. "do unto others, what has been done to you" "do unto you now, what has been done to me" and "i've come around, full circle;" these are the most important lyrics of this song in my opinion. Let's say some kid decided to bully around some other kid, and after being a victim of that, the victim comes back and says, "well if you can do that to me, i'll do it to you."
   but it could also be about victims of abuse; or people of religions....Or anything else. As my friend told me: Tool makes their songs to be interpreted in your own way.

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