Deciphering Rosetta Stoned

[octagram]

im sick of reading all these interpretations that say its about scientology because it says "L.Ron Hubbard" or people that say its about the government covering up the aliens,

how fucking dumb can someone be, its a straightforward message and im deliviring the message for those who choose to hear it now, consider this a warning for those who do not.

First off: the name lost keys (blame hoffman) - a pun, if you know about albert hoffman you would know what he invented, LSD and then you could see why someone would lose there keys.
-this is the hospital part, the first part of the song

and
Rosetta Stoned: rosetta stone is an artifact that was used to decipher egyptian hyrogliphics. - they probably named the song rosetta stoned because the lyrics need a bit of deciphering.
-this is the rest of the song

the story is pretty much a man is admitted to hospital and nobody knows whats wrong with him, the doctor asks the guy to explain: so he does

the guy was trippin on a few things before being admitted to hospital:
"10 to 2 am, X, yogi DMT,and a box of krispy kreme's" , - u can fnd out what X and DMT are- and krispy kremes are just donuts (he's prob on acid too

and all this weird stuff happens to him int the trip, he sees a Spaceship: "a flaming stealth banana split the sky"

and an alien jumps out and scares him:
"then the X file being, looking like some kinda blue green Jackie chan, with Isabella Rossellini lips, and breath that reeked of vanilla chig champa, did a slow mo matrix decent outta the butt end of the banana vessel"

He doesent know if its actually happening to him or coz hes trippin:
"fuck me! It's gotta be the dead head chemistry. (the) blotter got right on top o' me. Got me seeing E mutha fuckin T!" - Blotter means LSD blotter

and the alien tells him secrets of the world and about the human race:
"and after calming me down with some orange slices and some fetal spooning, E.T. revealed to me his singular purpose. He said. you are the chosen one. The one who will deliver the message." - its a joke about the orange slices, coz apparently if someone's having a bad trip oranges make it go away (dont know if thats true though)

he wants to remember what the alien says, he thinks its important:
"Must remember to write it down.This is so real.Like the time Dave floated away"-dave floating away is a scene from the movie 2001 a space oddysey

it hs jokes all the way through the lyrics,its hard to understand at first:
"It was so real. Like I woke up in wonderland. all sorta terrifying. I don't wanna be alone while I tell this story.
And can anyone tell me why y'all sound like peanuts parents?" - if you know the charlie brown cartoon called peanuts you would know the parents talk like (Wahh wah wah) lol so he was buzzin out and everything sounded like that.

and then the aliens abducted him:
"see, they took me by the hand. And invited me right in.
Then they showed me something. I don't even know where to begin."

so they tell him the secret message again but he is tripping to hard and he cant remember what they said, he wants to write down all the shit they said but he forgot to bring a pen, so he forgot it all:

"Overwhelmed as one would be, placed in my position.
Such a heavy burden now to be the One
Born to bear and bring to all the details of our ending,
To write it down for all the world to see.

But I forgot my pen
Shit the bed again ...
Typical."
-when it says shit the bed i dont actually think it means shit the bed, it probably a funny way of him saying that he messed up like"oh i forgot to bring a pen, god damn shit the bed"

Thats pretty much it the rest is pretty easy to figure out if you listen to the lyrics, a bit of searching might reveal some more humor too

and i just wrote a shitload of stuff, but its worth it if it makes atleast 1 person enjoy the song a bit more, tool's lyrics always sound like bullshit at first but they are way more meaningfull than any other bands, tool just wants us to do a bit of searching for ourselves, and this also scares off the people that just listen to music because the want something to tap their foots to, and in the case of this song rosetta stoned tool put some hidden humor in it too, this song isnt ment to be taken seriously its just a funny way of describing a trip report, other tool songs are meaningful in different matters if u understand my deciphering of this song and want me to do another just request it, i understand their songs pretty easily after years of daily listening.

im out bitches

[hushypushy]

how fucking dumb can someone be, its a straightforward message and im deliviring the message for those who choose to hear it now, consider this a warning for those who do not.

When you start out by saying that any Tool song is "straightforward" you're kind of killing your credibility. No song by Tool is straightforward, not even Maynard's Dick.

Thank you for your extremely literal analysis; you truly don't believe there are any other meanings in this track?

[octagram]

Yeah i still stand by what i say, all these people are way overthinking and overanalysing this song.
i never said tools songs are straghtforward (The pot-filled with double entendre's. for example) deffinately not straightforward.

but all this song is is a story the "Meanings" or "Secret Meanings" that people think are in this song are just non-existant these people try to gather information from interviews with alex grey talking about dmt and think thats somehow mixed into this song, well its not at all.

In my opinion, maynard made a masterpiece with this song, filled with metaphors, humor, references to other things e.g movies, greatfull dead, etc.
there is no hidden meaning about religion scientology or anything.
im not saying it isnt influenced by a personal experience in someways but this song isnt ment to be taken seriously at all. just a fun story filled with "easter eggs" (for those who are willing to find them!

[octagram]

and by the way - i would also call maynards dick a straightforward song to interpret, 'like rosetta stoned in a way' its humorous, when people dig too deep then its pretty rediculous, that song was probably recorded in an afternoon and wasnt even released on a full lenght album, there is no proof that it has deep meaning of anysort and those who try to prove it does just sound stupid. ALSO: "Part of me" its a song about his dick, read the lyrics and listen to the song it will all make sense, read other peoples interpretations people are like (he used to have a bad relationship with his father and now he lost a part of himself that he cant controll blah blah these people are very stupid in the way that they are looking way past the point of these song's tool make humourous songs like these, and also fucking incredibly deep songs i.e Lateralus Parabol (Anything from lateralus album, H , etc

you just gotta learn where to draw the line between the different types of songs stop overanalysing shit like lipan conjuring and "part of me"

however

[hushypushy]

but all this song is is a story the "Meanings" or "Secret Meanings" that people think are in this song are just non-existant

there is no hidden meaning about religion scientology or anything.

wut




you can have an opinion about what it means, but it's just that. an opinion. You aren't Maynard, so you don't have the final word on what it does or doesn't mean. And regardless, it's a subjective piece of art, you can interpret it any way you want. So what if someone recognizes a different theme? Are you saying their subjective interpretations are wrong? Are you saying that your interpretation is the absolute only way to understand this song? Are you familiar with Hitler?


I guess I respect your interpretation of the song itself (even though it's an extremely straightforward, very literal summary of story in the lyrics). You can believe whatever YOU want about what the song is or isn't about. But I can't respect the part where you say that other people are wrong in their interpretation. You see where the line is drawn?

Are you really from Oman? I'm guessing your first language is Arabic and English is maybe your second or third language...I hope you understand the distinction I'm trying to make with this discussion.

[octagram]

yeah my english is ok enough to get what your saying.
and i respect that its a subjective piece of art as you say. there is no doubt about that, people can take what they want from it and thats the important thing.

the way i see songs are i take the information from the lyrics (They present an idea) once you are focused on the idea and understand it, you find stuff you can or cant relate to, and when you can relate, you feel the emotion come through.
thats what listening to a song (a well made song) is all about

the lyrics define and explain the emotion, and the music is the vessel in which it is carried

i know that everyones minds work differently, some people may see some lyrics
and add pieces in "unnecessary information" to try and make the song relate to something they understand more. for example instead of listening to the song and feeling it for themselves, with the help of the lyrics to transmit the idea,- these people search the net for clues and watch interviews and try to put lots of puzzle pieces together that dont really fit to try and make sence of the song, when really they just need to understand the lyrics and look inside themselves. (This is what i dont like, and why i unfortunately made myself look ignorant by calling these people stupid or whatever :P)

the reason i gave a straightforward explanation for the song is because what i wrote is what i am 99% sure about. that means someone can get these facts and ideas and build the rest of their emotions around it while they listen and interpret the song for themselves, without reading some long interpretation written by someone else who is talking about the government and about scientologists and stuff and it complicates the hell out of the song for the people that are having a bit of trouble finding their own with it.

imagine you are a first time listener to rosetta stoned and you dont really understand it so you hop on a forum like this ... would it be better to read a straightforward thing to nudge along your brain into understanding the rest, or is it better to read some kids massive story thats focused on specific ideas instead of a direction for the idea, like about how the song is based on maynards dmt trip when he was with his friend dave and then this and that happened and blah blah ..

(you get what im pointing at right?)-yup i am from oman, my english isnt perfect.

i once had a friend that i was playing tool for, it was the song "Prison sex" ...now my friend didnt understand the lyrics, i was trying to explain the lyrics to him and trying to make him understand it better. but he has the type of mind that just looked at the name "prison sex" he immediately thought it was about prison sex and denounced any other meaning that this song had. -i gave up on him lol, some people are just like that they create barriers in their mind, thats not what you should do if you wanna really understand something.

the reason i posted this Straightforward interpretation up is just to help people, im not posting up a random story of what i think its based on just so i can get comments to glorify my theory that could have a 1 in a million chance of being right.

sorry dude i was being a *** at the start i came out a bit hostile. but i hope you understand what i am saying and my motives for this, i listen to every tool song differently so dont think i treat every song like rosetta stoned, i just think people should find the humor in this song, thats really the main focus.

[fearandloathing]

When you start out by saying that any Tool song is "straightforward" you're kind of killing your credibility. No song by Tool is straightforward, not even Maynard's Dick.



i always felt a fairly straightforward message to this song(compared to others)and it's always been drugs are fun, but at the same time drugs are bad M'kay. i'm sure the bastard who wrote the song would have something different to say, but that's simply my opinion. HusPus, you said it best, you're entitled to your opinion, but so is everyone else.

also

i also have never met anyone who thought this song was aboot aliens and/or l ron hubbard. i can see how aliens might be thought of, though i see them as hallucinations, but hubbard? im pretty sure it was a passing reference, as in Ænema. maybe im just not at the right parties to meet such peoples.


but all this song is is a story the "Meanings" or "Secret Meanings" that people think are in this song are just non-existant these people try to gather information from interviews with alex grey talking about dmt and think thats somehow mixed into this song, well its not at all.


seriously, where do you find "these people"??

[fearandloathing]

the reason i gave a straightforward explanation for the song is because what i wrote is what i am 99% sure about. that means someone can get these facts and ideas and build the rest of their emotions around it while they listen and interpret the song for themselves, without reading some long interpretation written by someone else who is talking about the government and about scientologists and stuff and it complicates the hell out of the song for the people that are having a bit of trouble finding their own with it.

imagine you are a first time listener to rosetta stoned and you dont really understand it so you hop on a forum like this ... would it be better to read a straightforward thing to nudge along your brain into understanding the rest, or is it better to read some kids massive story thats focused on specific ideas instead of a direction for the idea, like about how the song is based on maynards dmt trip when he was with his friend dave and then this and that happened and blah blah ..

(you get what im pointing at right?)-
the reason i posted this Straightforward interpretation up is just to help people, im not posting up a random story of what i think its based on just so i can get comments to glorify my theory that could have a 1 in a million chance of being right.


i see where your comin from maan, at first i was confused as to why someone would post a sypnosis of a tool song.

[octagram]

its rediculous "These People" are everywhere go on lyrics websites, youtube comments, etc thats why i was stubborn at the start and called them stupid.

what i reckon is the L.Ron reference was just a bit of observational humor and in no way connected with anything in the song. Sweaty L.Ron hubbard upper lip. now look at a pic of him, http://www.able.org/about/l-ron-hubbard/images/l-ron-hubbard_3.jpg he has got one ugly hell of an upper lip there haha

[fearandloathing]

what i reckon is the L.Ron reference was just a bit of observational humor and in no way connected with anything in the song. Sweaty L.Ron hubbard upper lip. now look at a pic of him, http://www.able.org/about/l-ron-hubbard/images/l-ron-hubbard_3.jpg he has got one ugly hell of an upper lip there haha

i think he has a fabulous upper lip! commendable even!

[octagram]

i think he has a fabulous upper lip! commendable even!

well its deffinately one of a kind.

[fearandloathing]

well its deffinately one of a kind.

once again, i forget that sarcasm doesn't carry well over the internet..

[Bassinyaface]

I like this way of thinking about it. There is defiantly a lot of humor to it, and the fact that people can't see it cause their so caught up in looking for meaning, seems to be a pretty profound, and hilarious, point too.

[dancingflame]

its a song about tripping, having "divine (or alien)" revelations and being unable to describe what your brain was telling you. it IS a song about overstressed interpretation and mysteries that are going along with hofmanns potion and related hallucinogens- i never had a different interpretation in mind. and still think anyone can make something different out of it. but if you`re familiar with tripping and have a sense of irony towards the whole matter (our culture isn`t designed for those experiences and so we would need a "rosetta stone" to decipher it for the "uninitiated"). those who cannot relate to it will not "really" understand the whole subject. and thats a huge source of irony. "stoned" blabbering instead of divine revelation. its a matter of cultural and historical context to put those experiences in the right frame of mind. first its personal and you have to see what "it" told you (are you a hero who is about to save the world?) then (if you`re not already in hospital ;)) you have to take the responsibility to make your "achievements" available for the benefit of society. a pen could be useful. but i guess anyone who had similar experiences kind knows this feeling of having "lost the keys" to unlock the doors of perception when the trip is over. thats what this song is about. the music in its meandering use of changing rhythms and tones describes the flowing nature of this state of mind- its not capable for the everyday-mind if you`re not a yogimaster or something like that. just my opinion (and it is the same as it was in april 2006).

[dancingflame]

addition: the hospital- situation is hinting to some sort of drug induced psychosis- the narrator couldn`t find his way back- he was dancing in quicksand and got sucked down- thats a possible result of this kind of experimentation with your own mind. irony. so the lost keys are maybe also reversed- unable to enter the "normal" state of mind (the every day-consciousness) again because he tripped too hard and interpretated the whole thing too literally. stuck in another dimension- forever. name "hofmann" to some "victims" of acid and he/she will know exactly what you`re talking about. you don`t even need to know both songs the title "lost keys( blame hofmann)" already says everything.

[I Feed On Life]

im sick of reading all these interpretations that say its about scientology because it says "L.Ron Hubbard" or people that say its about the government covering up the aliens,

how fucking dumb can someone be, its a straightforward message and im deliviring the message for those who choose to hear it now, consider this a warning for those who do not.

First off: the name lost keys (blame hoffman) - a pun, if you know about albert hoffman you would know what he invented, LSD and then you could see why someone would lose there keys.
-this is the hospital part, the first part of the song

and
Rosetta Stoned: rosetta stone is an artifact that was used to decipher egyptian hyrogliphics. - they probably named the song rosetta stoned because the lyrics need a bit of deciphering.
-this is the rest of the song

the story is pretty much a man is admitted to hospital and nobody knows whats wrong with him, the doctor asks the guy to explain: so he does

the guy was trippin on a few things before being admitted to hospital:
"10 to 2 am, X, yogi DMT,and a box of krispy kreme's" , - u can fnd out what X and DMT are- and krispy kremes are just donuts (he's prob on acid too

and all this weird stuff happens to him int the trip, he sees a Spaceship: "a flaming stealth banana split the sky"

and an alien jumps out and scares him:
"then the X file being, looking like some kinda blue green Jackie chan, with Isabella Rossellini lips, and breath that reeked of vanilla chig champa, did a slow mo matrix decent outta the butt end of the banana vessel"

He doesent know if its actually happening to him or coz hes trippin:
"fuck me! It's gotta be the dead head chemistry. (the) blotter got right on top o' me. Got me seeing E mutha fuckin T!" - Blotter means LSD blotter

and the alien tells him secrets of the world and about the human race:
"and after calming me down with some orange slices and some fetal spooning, E.T. revealed to me his singular purpose. He said. you are the chosen one. The one who will deliver the message." - its a joke about the orange slices, coz apparently if someone's having a bad trip oranges make it go away (dont know if thats true though)

he wants to remember what the alien says, he thinks its important:
"Must remember to write it down.This is so real.Like the time Dave floated away"-dave floating away is a scene from the movie 2001 a space oddysey

it hs jokes all the way through the lyrics,its hard to understand at first:
"It was so real. Like I woke up in wonderland. all sorta terrifying. I don't wanna be alone while I tell this story.
And can anyone tell me why y'all sound like peanuts parents?" - if you know the charlie brown cartoon called peanuts you would know the parents talk like (Wahh wah wah) lol so he was buzzin out and everything sounded like that.

and then the aliens abducted him:
"see, they took me by the hand. And invited me right in.
Then they showed me something. I don't even know where to begin."

so they tell him the secret message again but he is tripping to hard and he cant remember what they said, he wants to write down all the shit they said but he forgot to bring a pen, so he forgot it all:

"Overwhelmed as one would be, placed in my position.
Such a heavy burden now to be the One
Born to bear and bring to all the details of our ending,
To write it down for all the world to see.

But I forgot my pen
Shit the bed again ...
Typical."
-when it says shit the bed i dont actually think it means shit the bed, it probably a funny way of him saying that he messed up like"oh i forgot to bring a pen, god damn shit the bed"

Thats pretty much it the rest is pretty easy to figure out if you listen to the lyrics, a bit of searching might reveal some more humor too

and i just wrote a shitload of stuff, but its worth it if it makes atleast 1 person enjoy the song a bit more, tool's lyrics always sound like bullshit at first but they are way more meaningfull than any other bands, tool just wants us to do a bit of searching for ourselves, and this also scares off the people that just listen to music because the want something to tap their foots to, and in the case of this song rosetta stoned tool put some hidden humor in it too, this song isnt ment to be taken seriously its just a funny way of describing a trip report, other tool songs are meaningful in different matters if u understand my deciphering of this song and want me to do another just request it, i understand their songs pretty easily after years of daily listening.

im out bitches
Welcome to the world of what the rest of us already know.

[Lateralareallofus]

Rosetta stoned is about a man completely baffled by being thrown into higher consciousness without the work done to get to that mindstate. Maynard talks about this in his recent podcast with Joe Rogan

[Judity]

When you start out by saying that any Tool song is "straightforward" you're kind of killing your credibility. No song by Tool is straightforward, not even Maynard's Dick.

Thank you for your extremely literal analysis; you truly don't believe there are any other meanings in this track?

Long time listener, first time caller...

Who are you to say that the song shouldn't be taken literally? Who is anyone to say anything about the lyrics except for the genius that wrote them? To me, there are several deep meanings to all of Tool's songs, but the one commonality in the way they reverberate through my head is that they are all my interpretations, which makes the music sound even that much better...in my head. The art is in the thought provoked by the utterance of the word or the strum of the guitar.

If you're looking for a message to be spelled out within the music, learn to swim.

[franz]

The key to understanding this is to know about an illegal TV show that the guys from tool watch. It is about a really stupid guy. Rosetta stoned is a really stupid name. They are saying that is the kind of title he would come up with. He was homeschooled partly because of his religion thus 'I didn't even graduate high school'. I shit the bed again is probably about how he gets raped while unconcious all the time. The DMT is about how he reads on erowid all the time. The whole album is about him. 10,000 days is about how long hes been alive and a couple other things.

[DogStar_OG]

This is about a friend of the band that got way too high and shit his pants. Maynard then added his creative touch to the story the guys joked about, and that's how these lyrics occurred. Adam mentions it in a recent talk. I'm sure you can find it on youtube. No fairies or deep spiritual significance. Just too fucking high. Hilliarious song too.

[The Green Mule]

The shitting the bed line is about humans destroying the planet, i think. Over fishing, waste, we've really f-d it up!