meaning

[mr. mones]

i'm sure there are several meanings to this song as well as any other Tool song. they aren't the types to spoon-feed anything to anyone, which is part of their artistic beauty. it gives it a lot of freedom for everyone, including the listener.
i would have to agree that the song seems to be about fisting. the phrase "blend and balance pain and comfort deep within you till you will not have me any other way" seems like it could possibly be alluding to sadomasochism. the progression of "finger deep within the borderline" to "knuckle deep within the borderline" also seems to allude to fisting. "elbow deep inside the borderline" and "shoulder deep within the borderline" seem to be taking the metaphor to an extreme thus creating a bigger picture of something i don't really grasp.
"this may hurt a little but it's something you'll get used to" is also something that makes me think the song is definitely using fisting as a symbol or a metaphor for a much more complex concept that i can't rightfully interpret.
damn good song, beautifully cryptic lyrics.

[Nothingtosay]

All Tool songs are cryptic, though. That's what makes Tool's music so intriguing. You go out more confused than you came in.

[Ruckus]

De-sensitization? The inevitable lessening of shock value in a culture that worships it, so much so that the metaphor for fisting is the only possible recourse to explain it?

"Something kinda sad about
the way that things have come to be.
Desensitized to everything.
What became of subtlety?

How can it mean anything to me
If I really don't feel anything at all?"


Well, maybe Maynard just knows REALLY loose women ...