What does 10,000 Days (Wings Pt 2) mean?

Tool: 10,000 Days (Wings Pt 2) Meaning

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Album cover for 10,000 Days (Wings Pt 2) album cover

10,000 Days (Wings Pt 2) Lyrics

Listen to the tales and romanticize,
How we'd follow the path of the hero.
Boast about the day when the rivers overrun.
How we rise to the height of our halo.

Listen to the tales as we all rationalize
Our way into the arms of the...

  1. Entheogen
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    Jan 30th 2009 !⃝

    This song is about my life. How my brother chooses to fall in with society and culture while I dabble in shamanism. My mother, who I was ripped from at an early age was the one who always believed I would do great. I will take her light that has been dim for a long time and give it to the world. In which people will understand we can live in a world without history. Its all up to me.

  2. anonymous
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    Aug 8th 2008 !⃝

    This song is without a doubt dedicated to Maynard's mother I know this because it is without a doubt dedicated to my own son who passed away at 15 months old- it is the only written word, song, or poem that has ever been able to capture my own thoughts through words and feelings through music. and now that I find myself struggling with the concept of faith I find that Maynard was able to hit the nail on the head with the music and lyrics to lateralus- faith...i find myself listening to these songs over and over to replenish my strength and develop my faith. Tool's music is quickly becoming the therapy I need to help me survive without my baby, my son.

  3. anonymous
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    Jul 10th 2008 !⃝

    This song is without a doubt about Maynard's mother, and her ascension into the heaven she believes in and he feels she deserves to go to. "Judith Marie... unconditional warmth."

  4. anonymous
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    Jun 3rd 2008 !⃝

    I agree with many of the interpretations listed here. I believe that Maynard may have some sort of spirituality, but that's not deeming him a christain or whatnot. I believe that his mother, in her faith, taught Maynard that there is indeed some sort of higher power, whether it be a God or something else. That doesn't necessarily mean that I'm claiming that Maynard is religious, but has some sort of spirituality. I liked the interpretation that if there is a Heaven, then Judith belongs there, even if Maynard doesn't believe in it.

    i never looked at the lyrics of this song until today, and thus had not even the foggiest idea of what it represented. 10,000 days really gave me a bit of an insight of Maynard's life and a better interpretation of his lyrics.

  5. anonymous
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    May 2nd 2008 !⃝

    I feel like Maynard is acting more personal in this particular song than most. I think we all wish we had something to count on in our lives.... I mean I am an atheistic/agnostic that won't believe in Jesus Christ until he flies down from heaven in his cadillac spaceship in the center of time-square and does some magic tricks or something... but it speaks of the purity of much of the design of Christianity. There are two churches/ideal systems... The principles and then the interpretation/convenient utilization by mankind since the beginnings of organized religion. It seems as if Maynard is praising his mother's devotion to a pure and pristine concept, and that she suffered so long more than most people and never withdrew her faith. He seems to show an amount of respect to her beliefs in that regard and then employ the contrast between his unwavering mother's faith and that of the hypocritical and sanctimonious people that molest children, steal money, lie to their congregation but then use Sunday morning as a weekly eraser to all their sins. He also says that she would show him and take him home.... I suppose meaning that if she is on the other side of this planar existence then she will find a way to tell him and save his soul in the way she probably always told him she would. She was obviously an incredible and loving woman; and I know many mothers that cease communication with their children for not sharing beliefs or ideals- and to maintain such a love with someone like Maynard who has been an inspiration for those who rebel against unquestioned conformity for nearly twenty-years now... Judith Marie seems very special.

  6. anonymous
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    Mar 26th 2008 !⃝

    I got through most of yours. they are all great as I agree this is about his mother, and I think he wishes his mother didn't spend so much energy on some "god" that doesn't exist and is any deserves the pearly gates to swing wide in honor it's for a soul like his mother's AND to all who have struggled and fought for their integrity (no matter what hypocrites might think) they have not had to make choice in desperation like obviously humanity (the common man) and his mother go through. An absolute glorious tribute. Directly to Judith Marie and to all who slave with the hope that they (or humanity) will be saved in the end ! ! ! As was promised

  7. anonymous
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    Feb 28th 2008 !⃝

    Sure it could be about his mother, which I also STRONGLY agree...but, has ANYONE turned to the bible, maybe you don't believe in it like me, but at least "study it"...it'll make ALOT more sense, and that's FOR ALLLLLLLLLL tool songs, not JUST this one.
    PS..im sure as hell not old enough, but ...james..please marry me, or atleast..well...nope..marry me.

  8. anonymous
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    Feb 10th 2008 !⃝

    Anonymous you've got it backwards; Viginti Tres then Wings pt1

  9. anonymous
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    Dec 26th 2007 !⃝

    Did you know that this album has a secreat song? play 10,000 days and wings for marie at the same time. at the end of wings for marie play viginty tres.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  10. anonymous
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    Oct 17th 2007 !⃝

    I don't think that he is turning Xian or whatever has been suggested before me, but I think that he is more so respecting what she believed in because she was a good person and if there actually is an afterlife that she of all people deserves to go to a good place for suffering and staying strong for so long.

  11. anonymous
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    Oct 13th 2007 !⃝

    Maynard's mother had some form of disability, I believe it was paralysis, which onset later on in her life. I believe I read that "10,000 days" is close to the time between when she was diagnosed and when she died.

    unlike most Tool songs, a look at the lyrics shows that its pretty obviously about the death of someone. I've heard a couple people talk about how the lyrics are a sign that Maynard had a bit of a christian transformation, but I'm certainly not going to make that bold of an assumption.

    when I first bought the album, the sinister tone of this song made me think almost certain that the song was maybe mocking the death of someone, or something like that. but when you really look at the lyrics, its really a rejoicing eulogy about the goodness of the loved one.

  12. beetee
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    Jun 22nd 2007 !⃝

    Hey guys, I think this song is amazing and I've been wanting to give my thoughts on it. Y'all have given some good interpretations. But first of all, I really don't think there's any chance of Maynard being sarcastic here. It's clear that he loved his mother dearly, and I don't think he would make a mockery out of her. But that's just me. Anyways, one thing that's really cool and has been sticking out to me is the sort of comparison of Judith to Christ. It even seems to parallel her last days to his (Jesus)- with the storm in the background (the violent storm after Christ died) and comparing her congregation to Judas. I think this song leaves open the inference that MJK believes in Jesus. Now before you all raise up in arms, I would never, ever associate him with the stereotypical Purpose Driven Life-reading, if you died tonight would you go to heaven-asking, holier than thou Christian. I'm just saying I think his mother's life could have convinced him that Jesus is real. That's what I think is so cool about it. Every bit of Christianity he came around he saw hypocrisy and every kind of evil there pretty much is, but he knew at least ONE true Christian, and says to her "You were my witness, my eyes, my evidence, Judith Marie, unconditional one." Amongst all the people proving to him that God did not exist, SHE was evidence for the contrary (that he does exist). And where he tells her to say "I never lived a lie, never took a life, but surely saved one..." it's quite possible that she saved his life by showing him the love of Christ in her actions.
    Yes it's possible that it may not be specifically Jesus that MJK believes in but, I think this song, if it indeed is not satirical (which I'm pretty sure it's not), shows that he believes in a God or the idea of God. I could be wrong but that's just my two cents. Peace.

  13. anonymous
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    Jun 22nd 2007 !⃝

    The lyrics are pretty self-explanatory. MJK is talking directly to his mother, and he's addressing how, in roughly 10,000 days, or 27 years, of suffering, her faith in God was strong and true, and never faltered, and how, in the strength of her faith, she reinforced his own belief in God and taught him firsthand what it means to truly have faith, even in the face of suffering. He also is addressing how those around her, her so-called friends who were also of the church, turned their backs on her and talked shit about her, and so they are not truly people of God, but HYPOCRITES, however divine retribution will fall upon their heads when their own time comes. He is saying that his mom was more or less a true believer and if anyone deserves to go to Heaven, it is her for not only having such faith, but also in saving his life and his soul by showing him how to be a true believer as well. It's a beautiful, beautiful song.

  14. anonymous
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    Jun 2nd 2007 !⃝

    I'd like to begin by saying that, along with other Tool songs, the meaning is what it means to you. But I think we can get a little bit into Maynard's head when he was writing these lyrics as well.

    I'll go with the interpretation that it's about his mother.

    There are 3 ways to look at these lyrics, imo

    1) Judith was a religious woman, and though Maynard is not, he believes that if there is a heaven, she deserves a place there. People feel the "touch of god" mainly through the actions and love of other people, and he may feel that she was a shining light that this world may sorely miss, but she is in a better place now, and he is happy for that.

    2) He could just be totally sarcastic and contemptuous of his mother's final days if he believes that her death is just a "dead end" and that she was just a deluded fool to think that there would be a place of reward for her graceful and "enlightening" life in the face of her own disability. A "I know you're a good person, so why waste your life?" kind of thing.

    3) Even if her death isn't rewarded with an afterlife, she
    taught her son about a heroic way to face adversity without self pity and evidently with great care for others. That's probably legacy enough and may require no other reward.

    It could also be any mixture of these things, or none at all. Again, the meaning of the song is ultimately what it means to you.

  15. anonymous
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    Apr 12th 2007 !⃝

    Howdy all. 10,000 days Pt 2 is many people's fav song off this album, and rightfully so. If we break it down a little, we can see the song is alluding to belief in your own person. The beginning of Pt 2 sets up the premise of Jesus, a savior. Someone who is more capable than you. "None of us have actually been there, not like you" is what people of faith would accredit to Jesus. The lyrics take a turn at this point, "spare me" indicates what Maynard really thinks of believers. When referencing Judas, it's more in a poetic sense. If one of my friends betrayed me I could call them a Judas. I'm guessing his mother was religious, and her religious friends turned out to betray her."Without you to guide them all to Zion" is speaking to religion. When religion fails, who will save them? "You're the only one who can hold your head up high" is speaking to all of us. Ultimately, we're the ones who save ourselves. Without taking into consideration the links with Maynard's mum, Pt 2 is about having faith in your own self, highlighting the let downs of religion. As a side point, a song is NOT linear. It is not merely the songwriter speaking to one person. Their discussion can bounce around. They could be speaking to an issue, then to the listener and then to a specific person in their life




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