The Golden Ratio, Maynards Family life, and the temple of solomon, just kidding,...

[intoxic8]

Pushit is a very aggressive song.
the following is what i feel when i listen to it, now i'm not sure of Maynards whole life story, so im not saying he wrote this the way i tink of it.

well its pretty clear that he's leaving someone. i think he's leaving two people, or maybe two sides of one person. one that he loves and cannot bear to be without, and one that he despises or fears, and cannot be with.
it could be a wife, who he is seperating from, and a son who he loves. (i duno nything bout maynards family, so plz dont say i started a rumour ;)

any way the one he loves asks him to stay, but he cannot because he will fade like a sigh. he will erupt, he will ruin everything even their own love.

ok i know this seems like a very simple explanation for a very complicated song., but i think pushit is different from most tool songs, because although songs like 46 & 2, stinkfist, Reflection, Parabola, etc are both spiritually, emotionallly and mentally complicated, Pushit , like H, are basically RAW EMOTIONAL songs. they are very compliicated emotionally. no Chormosone theories, Jungian philosophys, Caesaro Summability, Golden Ratio, Temple of Solomon or the Fibonaci sequence, this song is a bout raw emotion and power, about being pushed away by someone you love, about having to leave some one you love forever because you know staying would be catastrophic. it is truly beautiful and awakens a lot of passion in me and i hope alot of others.

well thats just what i think the song feels like. maybe i will try pen my ideas on the meaning of the lyrics later, if it seems like anyone cares.

anyway pushit is a damn powerful song.

[Goldfoot]

Personally I think it's a mental struggle and the effects on the narrator and another person. I'm not sure if that's how you meant the two sides to a person or not. I don't really want to go into it right now, I just thought I'd reply.

[Lateral Undertow]

I have heard a live bootleg of this song and before they start playing Maynard asks something to the effect of have you ever had someone love you but you can no longer reciprocate those feelings so the other persons love for you smothers you and it is like being pushed into a hole where you can not escape. Those are not his exact words but that is the jist of it.

[a788]

when i listen to the song, i am reminded of a time when i was in a relationship with someone and we fought so much, we cared about eachother a lot, but we couldn't pull it together because we never got along, i was kind of scared of him in the end i think, which reminds me of the "there is no love in fear" line...

[moneyisevil]

in one bootleg i have mjk says , "anyone have someone love you so much that they tried to suck you deep into a dark hole and you had to kill them to get away? <pause>> Me neither......" <pushit immediatley starts>

[a788]

where do yall get all the bootleg music?

[Naga Royal Guard]

irc, p2p

[Khaotic]

I agree that the soung is about his relationship with another, but psychiatric phillosphies do play a role, especially in the line "What is this but my reflection, Who am I to judge or strike you down."

I also think this song links with Schism, maybe they talk about the same person.

The song could be about his kid or wife, or even Paul D'Amour, but it can be related to any emotional attachment to people. I personally think Maynard writes his "emotional" songs in this manner, so people can relate to them. We have all been in relationships that have had this tone, whether it be parents, girlfriend/bofriend, wife, kid, brother/sister, etc.


Oh yea, its very powerful. The musical imagery syncs very well with the lyrics, this is one of my favorite songs.

[juncopartner]

i never thought of the song as being about another person at all. i thought it was a kind of reflection. the 'you' spoken of could be a side of himself. (i.e. reflection-- 'crucify the ego'). that is just me though. a lot of people tend to look at this in terms of a relationship with another person, but i've never been in a relationship like that, so it never struck me to interpet it in that way. though my interpretation may be wrong, every time i listen to pushit i get goosebumps and feel very inspired

[you_lied]

when i listen to the song, i am reminded of a time when i was in a relationship with someone and we fought so much, we cared about eachother a lot, but we couldn't pull it together because we never got along, i was kind of scared of him in the end i think, which reminds me of the "there is no love in fear" line...
that is my favorite line from the whole song. i think i have not so much a fear of him in the end, but a sense more so of desperation. "Survival is my only friend. Terrified of what may come. Just remember I will always love you, even as I tear your fucking throat away. But it will end no other way. " - do yall see it there? I get that he has no other choice, he realized that it would have to be one or the other- that no matter what happens it would be for the better for both?

[Khaotic]

i never thought of the song as being about another person at all. i thought it was a kind of reflection. the 'you' spoken of could be a side of himself. (i.e. reflection-- 'crucify the ego'). that is just me though. a lot of people tend to look at this in terms of a relationship with another person, but i've never been in a relationship like that, so it never struck me to interpet it in that way. though my interpretation may be wrong, every time i listen to pushit i get goosebumps and feel very inspired


After ANALyzing the lyrics once again. It seems to fit better if its about him self. "Choke this infant here before me, What is this but my reflection, Who am I to judge or strike you down." The infant is prior "ego" or conciousness that still affects his being now. Choking the infant is trying to let go of past emotions that are no longer relevant but still are latched on to him. But as I said before, the purpose of the song I think is not only a healing for him, but also to people who relate to the lyrics, no matter how they view it. I guess you could say that for all his lyrics.

[martyrinexile86]

To me, the song is about a relationship where you love someone deeply, but it's killing you to stay with them, and you know inside that it has to end before it before it consumes you, so you resolve to break it off for the sake of your sanity ("Thought I'd trade it all for just a little piece of mind"). Even though you've have purged most of your feelings for this person you know that part of you will always love her, and that you must kill the part of yourself that does to allow catharsis to begin ("Remember I'll always love you, as I tear your fuckin' throat away"). It's about getting past your love for someone and realizing that sometimes what's best for you as a person is not easy.