Thanks for being patient, TOOL.

[gdwii]

Great song. Have you ever thought that this is the bands view towards us, the listeners? Read the lyrics again with this in mind.

Yeah, I am sure that making music has it's own rewards, but TOOL doesn't have to put out albums, do they? I've been listening to this band for a long time, and seen them in concert (thankfully) as often as possible. But looking at the concert reviews makes me think that there is way too many Ticks, Leeches and Hookers with Penises out there to count.

Then again, maybe I am the only one who sees this song in this light. You only get out of art what you put in to it, right?

[TrueBart]

I kind of agree with you there.

I myself have been listening to Tool for quite awhile and I just don't get "bored" of the songs, it seems impossible to do with Tool considering all the depth and meaning each song contains.

P.S - Nice use of Tool references to identify the people of our world (Hookers with Penis/Ticks/etc)

[Metalanarchist]

This is indeed the meaning of the song, IMO. When I saw Tool summer 2002, before "The Patient," Maynard said, "We'd like to take this opportunity to thank you
for reminding us why we made the choices we made." There is a reason he said this
at this point in the show. If you read the lyrics to the song, I think they can be interpreted to mean that Maynard and the band are always re-evaluating why they are doing what they do as rock stars. "I'm still right here / giving blood, keeping faith" — he's exposing himself before us in the hopes that we will receive this gift and use it to better ourselves.

If there were no rewards to reap,
No loving embrace to see me through
This tedious path I've chosen here,
I certainly would've walked away by now.
Gonna wait it out.

If there were no desire to heal
The damaged and broken met along
This tedious path I've chosen here
I certainly would've walked away by now.

And I still may ... (sigh) ... I still may.

Be patient.
I must keep reminding myself of this.

* To me this means he's considered leaving Tool, giving up the whole lifestyle. Some
nights I can understand, when the fans act particularly boorish, like throwing things on
stage at the band like I've read about at many places, or being exceedingly violent in
the pits. Wouldn't that just suck? If Maynard lost the will to sing for us anymore because he felt like we just weren't getting it? That's what I think he means here. He's being patient, and I for one among many THANK HIM from the bottom of my heart.

[VoiceOfGod]

I took a decidedly broader interpretation to the song. I felt "The Patient" discussed the boredom of life that causes people to see no point in a continued existence. The most striking lyric was "this groan of tedium escapes me..." The point that Maynard could be referring to his own profession strikes me as quite valid, but I think the theme of "tedium" in life can be extended to all people. Despite this monotonous existence, Maynard urges people to fight through it 'til the end. This song contrasts sharply with Parabola, which seems to exault human life, though I feel both songs can apply to the same person at the same time.

[SammyDavisJr]

Hmm. I think It's a dandy tune.

[mike tyson]

The first part of this message is not dealing with the song The Patient, but rather to the 2nd posting on this page. Although TOOL has many very good theories/points/lyrics that deal with things we all should consider or think about. The person said ' P.S. I liked the use of TOOL references with Hookers/Ticks/Etc. ' (or something to that effect). My point being that I have noticed a lot of people (myself included) using lines from TOOL in situatuons. Such as the Timothy Leary 'Think for yourself, question autority.' line many many times, well obviously we haven't been taking Mr. Leary's advice, since we are not thinking for ourselves, and just repeating these infamous lines ( at least to the TOOL fans ). The point is, we all some time or other have used statements from TOOL, and we should think for ourselves rather than use these over-used lines from TOOL. I use them too, but it's just a thought and my opinion.

- - I'm not trying to be Nazi-esque and say NEVER EVER REPEAT TOOLS LYRICS OR THOUGHTS!!!, but I just found it interesting what TOOL encourages and what we are doing. Use lines if you want, I use them, we all find ourselves using them. - -

The Patient like many TOOL songs has an unclear meaning ( at least to me ). This can be about the wait fans have endured during the release of Ænima and Lateralus, and we needed to be patient and wait it out, because in the long run it will be well worth it, ( TOOL you are totally right, it was worth the wait.)

You may proceed.

[matt]

Originally posted by Metalanarchist
This is indeed the meaning of the song, IMO. When I saw Tool summer 2002, before "The Patient," Maynard said, "We'd like to take this opportunity to thank you
for reminding us why we made the choices we made." There is a reason he said this
at this point in the show. If you read the lyrics to the song, I think they can be interpreted to mean that Maynard and the band are always re-evaluating why they are doing what they do as rock stars. "I'm still right here / giving blood, keeping faith" — he's exposing himself before us in the hopes that we will receive this gift and use it to better ourselves.

If there were no rewards to reap,
No loving embrace to see me through
This tedious path I've chosen here,
I certainly would've walked away by now.
Gonna wait it out.

If there were no desire to heal
The damaged and broken met along
This tedious path I've chosen here
I certainly would've walked away by now.

And I still may ... (sigh) ... I still may.

Be patient.
I must keep reminding myself of this.

* To me this means he's considered leaving Tool, giving up the whole lifestyle. Some
nights I can understand, when the fans act particularly boorish, like throwing things on
stage at the band like I've read about at many places, or being exceedingly violent in
the pits. Wouldn't that just suck? If Maynard lost the will to sing for us anymore because he felt like we just weren't getting it? That's what I think he means here. He's being patient, and I for one among many THANK HIM from the bottom of my heart.
I thought I was the only one to see this. "The Patient" from day 1 has meant to me that he (MJK) is being patient. He tells us straight up that his vampire act is getting old. The rewards that he ultimately reaps is the ability to heal. Great song with a powerful message. Prepare yourself as I have for MJK to walk away.

[CloudEleven]

From day one, it has been about the love. Thier love and respect for one another. You can't write with that honest kind of passion without it. I think TOOL is just as important to Danny Carey, Adam Jones, Maynard James Keenan, and Justin Chancellor as it is to all of us. I know you already know their names, but see them as people. They're not above any of us. They may be more talented and intelligent than most of us. They have more money, and a fanbase, but for all intents and purposes. they are just regular people doing extraordinary things with music. I can't see any reason for any of them to quit the band. They want to see the show go on as do we. They could have had a comfortable retirement after undertow, but instead they poured money into more extravagant album packages. They gave up so much (and I mean a LOT) just to have total control of thier music. They have proven themselves over and over again, that they aren't here for fame or fortune, simply to keep a good thing going. I feed off thier inspiration, and I applaud thier dignity.

On the verse that was quoted, he says "If there were no rewards to reap, no loving embrace to see me through, I certainly would have walked away by now"

But he hasn't. Notice how they all stand together at the end of thier shows and bow together? : "Loving embrace to see me through"
I know this is quite a novel of a post... I'll try to keep it shorter next time.