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AllforUnity
02-17-2004, 01:09 PM
I'm going to give my own interpretation of this song. Before I begin, a reminder: this is the way I think, my theory/belief/thoughts…you don't have to think the same.

I think this song could mean different things. This song seems to me like it could possibly be about drug use…but it wouldn't quite fit with the rest of the album, since it seems to be dealing with metamorphosis of the human body, mind, and soul.

First verse:

Black then white are all I see in my infancy.
red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me.
lets me see.
As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
drawn beyond the lines of reason.
Push the envelope. Watch it bend.

I think this first verse is explaining how when we are younger, or more close minded, we tend to think "inside the box", as it's so called. "Black and white are all I see in my infancy." I think is talking about how when we're younger, we're more close minded and such…"red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me. Lets me see." I think this line is talking about how the more you live, or the more you learn in life, the more things become clear to you. It's saying how once you get past that stage of only seeing black and white, or being close/narrow minded, you eventually see other colors, or open your mind to new things. The next 2 lines are talking about how you start to see below, above, and beyond the lines of reason, things you would have never thought about before. And the more you push yourself in thinking, all you do is sit around and watch the "envelope bend."

Next verse:

Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must
Feed my will to feel my moment drawing way outside the lines.

"Over thinking, over analyzing separate the body from the mind." This line is talking about how when you over think things, you tend to realize things more…be more realistic. When you don't realize things, when you're close minded, or when you stay "in the box." You tent to miss opportunities, and wither away intuition, so you have to feed your will to feel…to experience, to give yourself the opportunities to draw outside the lines, or outside of the "box."

Next verse:

Black then white are all I see in my infancy.
red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me.
lets me see there is so much more
and beckons me to look through to these infinite possibilities.
As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
drawn outside the lines of reason.
Push the envelope. Watch it bend.

This verse is pretty much the same as the first…but there's a little difference. The "and beckons me to look through to these infinite possibilities" was added…this means when you start to develop more, and become more open minded to things, you can do whatever you want, and believe in whatever YOU believe in, instead of what other people and society want you to believe in. There's infinite possibilities out there, and when you start thinking more like that, you start to realize that, and you feel yourself coadjutor to them.

Next verse:

Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition leaving all these opportunities behind.
This verse was discussed above…

Feed my will to feel this moment urging me to cross the line.
Reaching out to embrace the random.
Reaching out to embrace whatever may come.

"Reaching out to embrace the random, Reaching out to embrace whatever may come." This means that humans reach out to take in whatever they can, and will, or whatever they please, or want. Humans only see what they want to see…so in a way, we're all desperate for knowledge…for the truth, for answers.

Next verse:

I embrace my desire to
feel the rhythm, to feel connected
enough to step aside and weep like a widow
to feel inspired, to fathom the power,
to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain,
to swing on the spiral
of our divinity and still be a human.

Everyone has a desires. To feel the rhythm and to feel connect, this is saying to feel connected to yourself, to life. To feel connected to everything, until it's so overwhelming it makes you "weep like a widow." To feel inspired, and to fathom the power of life, or complete content, and knowledge, of that place you reach when you know you're open minded and free to anything. To witness the beauty of life in a way you never thought possible before. Until you realize everything is beautiful in it's own way. To bathe in the fountain of life, eternal life. To swing on the spiral of life…of divinity and remain a human. The last line of that means that you can do or be anything and you don’t have to be a god in order to be successful in knowing yourself.

Next verse:

With my feet upon the ground I lose myself
between the sounds and open wide to suck it in,
I feel it move across my skin.
I'm reaching up and reaching out,
I'm reaching for the random or what ever will bewilder me.
And following our will and wind we may just go where no one's been.
We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been.

"With my feet upon the ground I lose myself between the sounds and open wide to suck it in, I feel it move across my skin…" This means that when you're stable, you're open to anything…and you want to know everything, which explains open wide to suck it in. And you feel it go through you, or go across your skin. Then you reach for anything to confuse you, because you feel total knowledge. You look for something you don't know, because you need to know. I don't know about knowing everything, because that's really not very possible…but you want to know the things that you don't. And when you reach that place, no one has been there…follow your will, follow what you want, and what you think is right, and you'll end up in that place. None of us (I don’t think) have found it yet…but someday, perhaps, we will.

Spiral out…keep going…Enjoy.

CrazedDemon
02-18-2004, 06:51 AM
in my opinion this song is about what you said, except certain differences...the main point is the same, that as you grow older you "see" more and are open to different experiences.

The differences begin with the "over thinking..." part, in my opinion he is saying that if you think about stuff for too long you'll just end up picking the wrong thing, you need to trust in your instincts every now and then.

"reaching out to embrace the random.." is about him trying to learn any and all things that he can, then later separating the rest and defining his own views and concepts.

"I embrace my desire to..." just says that he feels the need to be connected to everyone and everything, learning and growing as an individual.

"with my feet upon the ground..." is how he feels that he is almost complete and whole as a person, and he loves it, as long as you believe in yourself you can become whole and accomplish anything you desire.

anyway that's just how I percieve it.....I could be WAY off....

Theodagoth
02-18-2004, 07:39 PM
So far from the posts i have read here, i have agreed with each one, and again no difference. I find it great to know there are people out there who think just like me. I may be a little off in my thoughts sometimes but overall i try to be a good person. One thing i have noticed though is it seems MJK might unintentionally promoting Buddhist principles. A lot of his songs are about ridding oneself of desire or close to that, which is the founding principle of Buddhism. On the line of your interpretations i could not agree more. It is about human spirit and perception that is all Lateralus is about. Each one of TOOL's CD's has a theme. I have not quite figured out Opiate's though. If you know or have an opinion i sure would be glad to hear it, I find that sometimes an opinion that is not your own but you believe can sometimes be good it means you have faith in the humans which said them.

CrazedDemon
02-25-2004, 06:01 PM
Opiate was said to be just a collection of their heaviest songs......i think i read that in the FAQ......