The meaning to Parabol(a)

[Binary101]

This is my understanding of the song 'Parabol(a)':

Essentially, the lyrics are from the point of view of someone who has realised their conscious ability, and that their consciousness/spirit goes far beyond what is *currently* understood of human experience.

I will give an extremely brief background before quoting lyrics.

To begin with, all human beings - before their conception (i.e. in their spiritual form) - choose a family that they wish to be born to. They choose a family based upon the parents experiences and what "control dramas" the parents have created because of their own life experiences (to learn more about "control dramas" and essentially everything I'm talking about here please read the book "The Celestine Vision: Living the new spiritual awareness" by James Redfield).

There is a reason why a spirit chooses a family to be born into, and this is because of what is referred to as our "birth vision".

Before we are conceived into a physical form via the womb/birth our spirit sees our "birth vision" which details our *intended* direction/purpose in life and what we are hoping to acheive in this world (essentially we are all created with a similar goal which is to progress human evolution and consciousness to its highest form and to amalgamate the spiritual and human world).

Slowly, more and more people are starting to wake up to this conscious evolution and are *remembering* that they are on this world to achieve something (remembering their "birth vision").

We have to look at parents specific "control dramas" and life experiences to see which family will benefit us in our own progression on earth. Kind of like a employer who reviews candidates for a new job application, he is looking for a specific person with specific skills to help take his company further. Effectively our spirit forms are doing the same and are picking the best possible parents (depending on their individual "control dramas" and life experiences) to assist our growth and direction and to help shape our conscious progression in this life and help us acheive our "birth vision".

Obviously, not everyone is able to follow their synchronitic intuitions and live our their intended "birth vision" and upon death they receive a "Life review" which shows them how they may have missed certain synchronistic meetings/information which would have helped them answer their pressing "life questions".

All this leads us to the meaning of one of the key lyrics in the song which is:

"We barely remember what came before this precious moment, choosing to be here right now".

I feel the whole song is based upon this principle/idea but that is the key lyric.

Also, the lyric "Embrace this moment. Remember. we are eternal" - as well as working along the same principles as I've stated above - is a continuation from the song "46 & 2" which I wont go into here (mainly due to the fact that this post would be extremely long by the time I'm finished).

I also feel the song "Lateralus" is part of the same inspiration as "Parabol(a)".

Let me know your opinions on this analysis?

[21122012]

http://www.kessingerpub.com/searchresults_orderthebook.php?Title=32267

[Binary101]

http://www.kessingerpub.com/searchresults_orderthebook.php?Title=32267

If anyone is interested then I found some more information on Rosicrucianism here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosicrucianism (I couldn't find any reviews of this book anywhere I'm afraid).

[21122012]

I have the book. There are many abstract similarities between the lyrics and the text, although whether the songs are actually influenced by the book at all I couldn't say for sure.

[HateSolstice]

That's all well and good, but why would anyone want to born into a family that will just abort them at 7 months with a clothes hanger, or be dumped off in a dumpster after being born in a 7-Eleven restroom?

[bellamadia]

This song embraces a LOT of Taoist beliefs as well.

[mackschapman]

For the past year I have been drawn more and more to Tool. As soon as 10,000 years came out I got addicted to that cd and everything before it. Something about this song attracted me alot. It is my favorite song by far, and I can listen to it no matter my mood. For the past couple of days I have basically just been listening to it none stop, playing it while I was sleeping, working out, running, studying, anything. I have come to one conclusion after reading all these posts on what it means:1. Nobody in this world knows excatly what this song is about except MJK. Speculations only make things worse. Each of us trying to decode this in our own way, and putting our own spin on it, is only going to lead others stary. MJK made this song to express himself in some way that we can never fully understand. We are not him, and none of us have been in his shoes. We can all be experts on certain beliefs and religions, and we can try to know everything there is to know about this world. But we will never know what somone else is thinking. We can all agree that Tools music is amazing, and the lyrics of the songs are just as amazing. Its a puzzle that we can try to figure out, but the simple fact is that only one man has the key. Each and every one of us can connect any religion to this song, this song itself is a bottemless pit.

Maynard is a poet, one of the greatest every. Nobody can create lyrics like he can, and I dont think anyone ever has or will. I know alot of Tool fans I know get the chills just listening to him. Don't you think that one of the greatest lyricists ever wanted us to know something he would make it more clear? Maybe its the fact that Maynard writes about what he thinks about. Each of us thinks about life and what its for. While thinking about it, some people write things down on what they are thinking. Maybe this song and every single Tool song written is just speculation on life and its meaning. It doesn't have to be some hidden message about what the "Truth" is to make it interesting.

And shit, even if the song means nothing, and even if everything Tool has ever written means nothing, its still GREAT music. This is a band I am sure will still be on the radio and listened to 200 years from now.

[PriceisRight]

I took it as like when two people embrace it trancends all. The feeling of love you get when two become one (a parabola is a constant curve).

He did say that the album's main theme was communication. So I could see that fitting.

[MypugsAreSmarterThanYou]

This is my understanding of the song 'Parabol(a)':

Essentially, the lyrics are from the point of view of someone who has realised their conscious ability, and that their consciousness/spirit goes far beyond what is *currently* understood of human experience.

I will give an extremely brief background before quoting lyrics.

To begin with, all human beings - before their conception (i.e. in their spiritual form) - choose a family that they wish to be born to. They choose a family based upon the parents experiences and what "control dramas" the parents have created because of their own life experiences (to learn more about "control dramas" and essentially everything I'm talking about here please read the book "The Celestine Vision: Living the new spiritual awareness" by James Redfield).

There is a reason why a spirit chooses a family to be born into, and this is because of what is referred to as our "birth vision".

Before we are conceived into a physical form via the womb/birth our spirit sees our "birth vision" which details our *intended* direction/purpose in life and what we are hoping to acheive in this world (essentially we are all created with a similar goal which is to progress human evolution and consciousness to its highest form and to amalgamate the spiritual and human world).

Slowly, more and more people are starting to wake up to this conscious evolution and are *remembering* that they are on this world to achieve something (remembering their "birth vision").

We have to look at parents specific "control dramas" and life experiences to see which family will benefit us in our own progression on earth. Kind of like a employer who reviews candidates for a new job application, he is looking for a specific person with specific skills to help take his company further. Effectively our spirit forms are doing the same and are picking the best possible parents (depending on their individual "control dramas" and life experiences) to assist our growth and direction and to help shape our conscious progression in this life and help us acheive our "birth vision".

Obviously, not everyone is able to follow their synchronitic intuitions and live our their intended "birth vision" and upon death they receive a "Life review" which shows them how they may have missed certain synchronistic meetings/information which would have helped them answer their pressing "life questions".

All this leads us to the meaning of one of the key lyrics in the song which is:

"We barely remember what came before this precious moment, choosing to be here right now".

I feel the whole song is based upon this principle/idea but that is the key lyric.

Also, the lyric "Embrace this moment. Remember. we are eternal" - as well as working along the same principles as I've stated above - is a continuation from the song "46 & 2" which I wont go into here (mainly due to the fact that this post would be extremely long by the time I'm finished).

I also feel the song "Lateralus" is part of the same inspiration as "Parabol(a)".

Let me know your opinions on this analysis?

Check out some sacred geometry.
That which is quite evident in the video.
than meditate..and meditate...and meditate....and meditate...
and i'm sure your opinion will change very muchly.

[Janos]

I say it is about sex.

[JOK3R]

For the past year I have been drawn more and more to Tool. As soon as 10,000 years came out I got addicted to that cd and everything before it. Something about this song attracted me alot. It is my favorite song by far, and I can listen to it no matter my mood. For the past couple of days I have basically just been listening to it none stop, playing it while I was sleeping, working out, running, studying, anything. I have come to one conclusion after reading all these posts on what it means:1. Nobody in this world knows excatly what this song is about except MJK. Speculations only make things worse. Each of us trying to decode this in our own way, and putting our own spin on it, is only going to lead others stary. MJK made this song to express himself in some way that we can never fully understand. We are not him, and none of us have been in his shoes. We can all be experts on certain beliefs and religions, and we can try to know everything there is to know about this world. But we will never know what somone else is thinking. We can all agree that Tools music is amazing, and the lyrics of the songs are just as amazing. Its a puzzle that we can try to figure out, but the simple fact is that only one man has the key. Each and every one of us can connect any religion to this song, this song itself is a bottemless pit.

Maynard is a poet, one of the greatest every. Nobody can create lyrics like he can, and I dont think anyone ever has or will. I know alot of Tool fans I know get the chills just listening to him. Don't you think that one of the greatest lyricists ever wanted us to know something he would make it more clear? Maybe its the fact that Maynard writes about what he thinks about. Each of us thinks about life and what its for. While thinking about it, some people write things down on what they are thinking. Maybe this song and every single Tool song written is just speculation on life and its meaning. It doesn't have to be some hidden message about what the "Truth" is to make it interesting.

And shit, even if the song means nothing, and even if everything Tool has ever written means nothing, its still GREAT music. This is a band I am sure will still be on the radio and listened to 200 years from now.
It shouldn't be about knowing exactly what the song is about. People should still try to interpret it and try to find meaning to it. I always try to find personal connections in Tool's music. IMO there is no harm in someone trying to find what they think the song means to maynard. When i read someones thoughts on the meaning of the song i can agree and now have a new angle to look at the song through. That is what art is about.

[alexjmaro]

mmm...sex...yes.

and life moreover.

[nmayhew]

not trying to be a pain here.....but when you want to reply with a quote, please don't use the whole original work of the person who started the thread.....we've already read it, take something out of it.....i'm guilty of it too...but that is why i don't do it any more

moving on

why must we (as has been mentioned above) try to decipher every little thing about tool? some of these paths are interesting, but shouldn't be the main purpose of the music. it has been stated...by a certian short, bald member of the band that the music is what is important, they want us all to gain something from the emotion of the music....then take what we experience from that and integrate it into our lives in a way that is positive. I am by no means stating that the lyrics do not matter, for they do, and are usually, yes, very abstract, leaving room for open interpretation. I agree with the opinion above stating that MJK is the only man who truly knows where the words come from and thier meanings. for the most part, we know what paths tool wants to push us toward, and what things they find influential. so i suggest, and i may be an idiot, for i have much room to grow as far as deeper knowledge goes, that instead of using our time to find the deeper message for them, we should possibly look within ourselves, and formulate opinions based on our own experiential base, rather than strive to understand MJK's lyrics.

that is all my babbling

feel free to correct me and discuss, for enlightening is what i'm here for in the first place......

[paranormalgirl]

I just want to share what this song means to me. The band says it's up to us to find what the songs mean to us.

I kinda had an idea what this song was about when i listened to it the first few times after purchasing the album. It wasn't until my grandmother passed away later that year i found my meaning to the song. It was on the way to her funeral and i was listening to this song on the drive and the connection stunned me and i began sobbing, not crying, sobbing. I think the meaning has to do with our bodies imprison our spirits. It's only when we die that our spirits can fully reign. "This body holding me.....All this pain is an illusion" Our bodies hold our spirits back. Make us experience things, ie. pain etc.

This is my connection to the song.

[spliph]

take a breath step through the shadow and lets go digging

[rintoot]

For the past year I have been drawn more and more to Tool. As soon as 10,000 years came out I got addicted to that cd and everything before it. Something about this song attracted me alot. It is my favorite song by far, and I can listen to it no matter my mood. For the past couple of days I have basically just been listening to it none stop, playing it while I was sleeping, working out, running, studying, anything. I have come to one conclusion after reading all these posts on what it means:1. Nobody in this world knows excatly what this song is about except MJK. Speculations only make things worse. Each of us trying to decode this in our own way, and putting our own spin on it, is only going to lead others stary. MJK made this song to express himself in some way that we can never fully understand. We are not him, and none of us have been in his shoes. We can all be experts on certain beliefs and religions, and we can try to know everything there is to know about this world. But we will never know what somone else is thinking. We can all agree that Tools music is amazing, and the lyrics of the songs are just as amazing. Its a puzzle that we can try to figure out, but the simple fact is that only one man has the key. Each and every one of us can connect any religion to this song, this song itself is a bottemless pit.

Maynard is a poet, one of the greatest every. Nobody can create lyrics like he can, and I dont think anyone ever has or will. I know alot of Tool fans I know get the chills just listening to him. Don't you think that one of the greatest lyricists ever wanted us to know something he would make it more clear? Maybe its the fact that Maynard writes about what he thinks about. Each of us thinks about life and what its for. While thinking about it, some people write things down on what they are thinking. Maybe this song and every single Tool song written is just speculation on life and its meaning. It doesn't have to be some hidden message about what the "Truth" is to make it interesting.

And shit, even if the song means nothing, and even if everything Tool has ever written means nothing, its still GREAT music. This is a band I am sure will still be on the radio and listened to 200 years from now.


What you say here about our speculation making it worse is completely idiotic. Something MJK has always said is that he does not give his meanings to songs so people can interpret them in their own way, which is a beautiful thing. It's not necessarily speculation, its taking whatever you take from the song to mean something to you. For example, I love this song and especially Lateralus, because, to me, and I know to a lot of others, the meaning is that life is beautiful, stop worrying about stupid shit and thinking about sensless things...relax, let go, and live. We should take what we want out of the songs...you are completely wrong.

[boscobytes]

I just want to share what this song means to me. The band says it's up to us to find what the songs mean to us.

I kinda had an idea what this song was about when i listened to it the first few times after purchasing the album. It wasn't until my grandmother passed away later that year i found my meaning to the song. It was on the way to her funeral and i was listening to this song on the drive and the connection stunned me and i began sobbing, not crying, sobbing. I think the meaning has to do with our bodies imprison our spirits. It's only when we die that our spirits can fully reign. "This body holding me.....All this pain is an illusion" Our bodies hold our spirits back. Make us experience things, ie. pain etc.

This is my connection to the song.

Interpretation of songs are definitely influenced by what is happening in our lives or in our thoughts at the time we experience the song.

My mother commited suicide shortly after this album came out.

I saw them in concert and they had two acrobatic performers (anyone else remember that) painted gray and purple, naked, hanging from the ceiling. They did all the rope stuff like in a circue de solei type thing. Bizarre and kind of looked dead....

So besides the spiritual nature of the songs and the visuals at the concert, this song in particular reminds me of death. The release of your soul from your body.

I imagine a suicidal person feels trapped in their body and suffers until the time of release, which is what they feel they are doing, releasing their soul.

Based on my experience.......

[boscobytes]

That's all well and good, but why would anyone want to born into a family that will just abort them at 7 months with a clothes hanger, or be dumped off in a dumpster after being born in a 7-Eleven restroom?

Maybe they only wanted to be here a short time. An older or more experienced soul that came to teach a lesson..... Or serve as a teaching to society. A shorter run in life but a much stronger impact. There is a bigger picture.

[Forever In Debt]

I say it is about sex.
That was my initial thought, but this song could be about a lot of different things...this was a good thread I like it.

[#Notion]

I wish people would get off maynard's cock and start realizing shit about tool they've known all along. Guess what, TOOL SONGS ARE NOT VERY COMPLEX. THEY KNOW IT, I KNOW IT, ADAM'S DOG KNOWS IT, YOU KNOW IT, but if your head is up your ass YOU WON'T KNOW IT. In the REAL universe, people that present inspiring IDEAS and INFORMATION are not WORSHIPPED and SUCKED OFF TO HELL like they are in this one. Maybe if your views of tool weren't from down in a ditch looking up to their (YOUR) mountain you might see how blatantly obvious and POWERFULLY SIMPLE the themes and ideas they present are. Just maybe they're singing a tune that your webbed and dusted chained down brain has been wanting to play with a LONG time. DIVINE KNOWLEDGE begins with PULLING YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS.

So go on, pull your head on out and give a listen, shouldn't have to say it all again..

Note: If you or someone you know is an offended party at the subject of this assessment, please double check the following (before posting): 1. You may or may not be adlibbing yourself into this post's accusations. Only do so if necessary. 2. You may not and need to be. 3. Your ego might be misdirecting this onto a personal level. Please use for construcional thinking only. 4. You might be a faggót

[base metal]

Yes, exactly! I'll buy you a beer for that one brutha.

[Syd]

This is just my personal take on this song - NOT WHAT I THINK ANYONE IN THE BAND WAS TRYING TO SAY.
Next time you listen to Parabol and Parabola think about these songs from the quickly altering perspectives of a baby in the womb and the mother – like they are singing to each other.
"hold on, stay inside" - the mother to the baby, don't come early, say safe and let me shelter you;
"this body holding me" - the baby to the mother, loving being inside the womb
"pain in an Illusion" - most women would say this part is wishfull thinking on the mom's part.
ETC.

[unto her a vineyard]

lol you should make it one of those flashy ytmnd video thingies.

[Syd]

lol you should make it one of those flashy ytmnd video thingies.

ytmnd?

[boscobytes]

This is just my personal take on this song - NOT WHAT I THINK ANYONE IN THE BAND WAS TRYING TO SAY.
Next time you listen to Parabol and Parabola think about these songs from the quickly altering perspectives of a baby in the womb and the mother – like they are singing to each other.
"hold on, stay inside" - the mother to the baby, don't come early, say safe and let me shelter you;
"this body holding me" - the baby to the mother, loving being inside the womb
"pain in an Illusion" - most women would say this part is wishfull thinking on the mom's part.
ETC.

I like it!

[PShepherd11]

I wouldn't say it's "just sex" but I always took it as being about loving (and making love to) that one person that was meant just for him/her and makes life worth living. Maybe it's not common for a lot of people to have found someone as that, I don't know. This song is my favorite and holds that meaning for me.

[Forever In Debt]

I agree, and these our OUR opinions. Not what we think the real meaning is. Otherwise what would we have to discuss???

[PriceisRight]

people sure do type alot

[Inner_Eulogy]

It amazes me the level of stupidity and stupid people there are in the world. I'm not sure if 95% of them are on this forum or simply because I stop in now and then to read or post a comment. But it seems overwhelmingly obvious that there's maybe 1 educated human being out of every 10 on these forums. How has the world come to lack so much common sense. I mean, I just posted a minute ago about somebody who spelled "as in having patients" under "The Patient" song. Jesus christ, it's fucking spelled PATIENCE. I mean, how hard is that? And there are a lot of excellant theories on here behind Tool's music but some people just need to lay the fucking crack pipe down. Parabol(a) is not about being a baby inside the womb talking to the mother. As the other guy said stop over-analyzing shit so much. Yes there music has depth and beauty within but it's also a lot more simpler than that. Aeon Blue Apocalypse for example, Aeon was the name of Adams dog people. Half the shit they make up is just fucking around but worded so well. Take Jambi for example. I think they just get an idea started and then they research it so that they have a good understanding and then Maynard is just a really great artist in his ability to multilayer his lyrics without specifically detaling one particular theme. Ok, I'm done...some of you people just need to smarten up.

[PShepherd11]

Hey man, some people just cannot spell correctly. It is a fact and will not change, and yes, it is annoying. But let's not give them hell about it. There are a lot of spelling and grammatical errors that I notice as well, but at least these people are trying to share their ideas and opinions with others. They are being open and courageous in their attempt to find meaning in these songs, so just let them be. It IS the opinion page after all...

[PShepherd11]

And there are a lot of excellant theories on here behind Tool's music but some people just need to lay the fucking crack pipe down.

You spelled "excellent" wrong, by the way.

[weathermantom]

And Eon.

[SMEPman]

I agree with you on some parts of your interpretation Hasslehoff.

Yogananda once said that we came here to remember. And there are strong refrerences in Parabola to that: "Embrace this moment, remember..." Can you possibly live/be/exist at any other time than now?? This moment?

In an esoteric sence, life in a physical body (or an incarnation) is the closest thing to death the soul can experience. It is trapped, in essence, by the restrictions of the physical plane. Thus the expression "This body holding me reminds ME of MY own mortaltiy." Remember that we are not our body, we just live there. ;)

Awesome song, probably the one song that strikes a chord deepest with me at my present level of evolution.

[YKM]

parabola is to me a song about the transcendece of life and the triviality that we get caught in is nothing...all the pains we feel are just illusions as we need to pull the mask of us and see this world as a host which we are in a symbiotic relationship with....energy

[Syd]

It amazes me the level of stupidity and stupid people there are in the world. I'm not sure if 95% of them are on this forum or simply because I stop in now and then to read or post a comment. But it seems overwhelmingly obvious that there's maybe 1 educated human being out of every 10 on these forums. How has the world come to lack so much common sense. I mean, I just posted a minute ago about somebody who spelled "as in having patients" under "The Patient" song. Jesus christ, it's fucking spelled PATIENCE. I mean, how hard is that? And there are a lot of excellant theories on here behind Tool's music but some people just need to lay the fucking crack pipe down. Parabol(a) is not about being a baby inside the womb talking to the mother. As the other guy said stop over-analyzing shit so much. Yes there music has depth and beauty within but it's also a lot more simpler than that. Aeon Blue Apocalypse for example, Aeon was the name of Adams dog people. Half the shit they make up is just fucking around but worded so well. Take Jambi for example. I think they just get an idea started and then they research it so that they have a good understanding and then Maynard is just a really great artist in his ability to multilayer his lyrics without specifically detaling one particular theme. Ok, I'm done...some of you people just need to smarten up.


I pretty much stopped reading/posting all together on this site after noticing the 1 in 10 ratio myself because the 9 are over the top to deal with at times (the bin). But I'm a 1 and you’re anything but buddy. I made it very clear my thoughts were a personal interpretation, not a "hey, this is what Maynard meant guys" comment. Why does that bug you so much. Its just a thought, an idea to share Mr. Opinion Nazi.

[YoMamma]

I agree with the above

"I pretty much stopped reading/posting all together on this site after noticing the 1 in 10 ratio myself because the 9 are over the top to deal with at times (the bin). But I'm a 1 and you’re anything but buddy. I made it very clear my thoughts were a personal interpretation, not a "hey, this is what Maynard meant guys" comment. Why does that bug you so much. Its just a thought, an idea to share Mr. Opinion Nazi."...

All songs, written by whoever, will have different interpretations for different people. Everyone has had different (and often many similar) experiences. Every experience shapes our individual ethos and personality, thus making each of us unique (....you are unique, just like everbody else). This combination of individual and shared experiences means that each person will find some things that they agree with others about regarding any given lyrics, and some things that they don't.
Someone who has dealt with death alot in their lives (maybe through recent tragedy), for example, will have a very different outlook on alot of the lyrics of Tool. The beauty of Maynards writing is that he uses a great deal of symbolism, which means there will be a great variety of interpretations, with verying degrees of similarity.
In my opinion, what makes a great writer is their ability to make people think about what a song means to THEM. I'm certain that the way I perceive Parabola is quite different than the next person. What's important, however, is that you HAVE an interpretation/opinion. People need to think about what songs mean to them, it's one of the ways we figure out who we are.
I love hearing all opinions, even the ones I disagree with, because there is always something that I hadn't thought of on my own, some new angle that may or may not have any relevance to me. My opinion is constantly in flux (not radically from one pole to the other), do to receiving new info or just through the normal and healthy process of adjusting opinion as your own situation/understaiding of ANY issue changes.
Anyway, that's enough rambling, the only other thing I have to say is that people aren't stupid because they can't spell, any more than they are smart if they can! What is important are the IDEA'S, not weather thay kan spel them properlee.

[SMEPman]

why must we (as has been mentioned above) try to decipher every little thing about tool? some of these paths are interesting, but shouldn't be the main purpose of the music. it has been stated...by a certian short, bald member of the band that the music is what is important, they want us all to gain something from the emotion of the music....then take what we experience from that and integrate it into our lives in a way that is positive. I am by no means stating that the lyrics do not matter, for they do, and are usually, yes, very abstract, leaving room for open interpretation. I agree with the opinion above stating that MJK is the only man who truly knows where the words come from and thier meanings. for the most part, we know what paths tool wants to push us toward, and what things they find influential. so i suggest, and i may be an idiot, for i have much room to grow as far as deeper knowledge goes, that instead of using our time to find the deeper message for them, we should possibly look within ourselves, and formulate opinions based on our own experiential base, rather than strive to understand MJK's lyrics.

that is all my babbling

feel free to correct me and discuss, for enlightening is what i'm here for in the first place......

Word holmes! I don't think MJK even understands his lyrics. In any interview I've ever seen with him he has said that Tool's music and lyrical content is 'open to interpretation.'

So, In my own view, we need to just shut up and just be. Embrace this moment....the present....it is a gift. ;)

I <3 Parabola!

[JAF]

To me, parabola stands for an embrace between two people, rather than the self- transcendance of one person. I also believe this because the word "We" is used many times. Without delving too far into personal affairs, I can relate the song to a relationship. I.E. "We are eternal....Be my reminder here that I am not alone...etc." Yet, the quadratics of the parabola are present in thousands of different manifests. Whether this is the "true" meaning of the song or not, it doesn't matter. [note the signature]

The unimaginable amount of arrogance in one to say that they know exactly what a song is about makes me ill. : (

[maggie72]

My feelings run along the same lines as Syd said about the whole mother/child relation.

To me this song reminded me of when I was pregnant with my daughter. The whole experience of having a life growing inside you, the pain of labor, the joy of seeing your child for the first time, it is an undescribable feeling, IMO.

"This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality, embrace this moment, remember, we are eternal, all this pain is an illusion."

Like I said though, that's just my own personal feeling on the song, I'm sure other people relate to it in different ways.

[parables in the world]

i see this song is about two people who are about to well make love with each other. (i want to point out that you can't interpret one song without listening to the whole album as a whole.) Since its after Schism, which i see is about the pieces of a relationship forming, its the love that happens in Parabol.

Then they take the next step in Parabola. Which is about how Love making is a "holy gift". i wish i could type more but i have many things to do, so take this as a blueprint to see it from my POV.

[Helen S]

maybe try some lsd and then listen to the song again. i'm pretty sure u'll realise it all :p