Dr. Wasson ... Blame Hoffman ... divinorum?

[pneumanon]

This is most likely a coincidence, but it's a thought...

The parenthetic portion of the title is "Blame Hoffman."
As has been stated in many previous posts, this could be referring to Albert Hoffman. It sounds as if the doctor in the track says "Good morning, I'm Dr. Wasson", however. On the lyrics portion of this page it's widely regarded as "Watson", but it sounds more like "Wasson" to me. Of course, this is where my speculation comes in. With the reference to Hoffman and Wasson (if it is indeed Wasson), it seems as though this could be loosely referring to salvia divinorum, being that Wasson and Hoffman brought divinorum from it's native Oaxaca locale to "the western world", so to speak. The most common strain of divinorum is typically referred to as the "Wasson/Hoffman clone." Thoughts?

http://maya.ucr.edu/pril/ethnobotany/image/Salvia.pdf

[Loveboat Captain]

Nice one :)

[Mesher_dakimi]

I was just about to start this thread
crasy

[a perfect spiral]

This is most likely a coincidence, but it's a thought...

The parenthetic portion of the title is "Blame Hoffman."
As has been stated in many previous posts, this could be referring to Albert Hoffman. It sounds as if the doctor in the track says "Good morning, I'm Dr. Wasson", however. On the lyrics portion of this page it's widely regarded as "Watson", but it sounds more like "Wasson" to me. Of course, this is where my speculation comes in. With the reference to Hoffman and Wasson (if it is indeed Wasson), it seems as though this could be loosely referring to salvia divinorum, being that Wasson and Hoffman brought divinorum from it's native Oaxaca locale to "the western world", so to speak. The most common strain of divinorum is typically referred to as the "Wasson/Hoffman clone." Thoughts?

http://maya.ucr.edu/pril/ethnobotany/image/Salvia.pdf

I've been saying this.

[Dr. Jake Destructo]

I've been curious as to the significance of the doctor's name. I knew it wasn't random, but a find like this is great.

I love how Salvia is completely legal, but I hate how I can never get a hold of any. :-/

[collapsed shell]

it doesn't matter in any way, but my last name is watson. thats also the name that everyone who knows me addresses me by. so i was really liking the fact that some people thought he said watson.

yes i know its retarded. but hey lateralus had "triad" which was the name of my school and "jimmy" is my fathers name...

i;m pretty sure that i met tool while on a robo trip years ago and they sucked out my brain.

[Dr. Jake Destructo]

My name starts with J, and there are several Tool tracks that begin with that letter.

zomg.

I live in Mabton, and in Lateralus, there is an 'a' AND a 't.' What are the fucken chances of that.

zomg x2

:p I must have been on that robo trip with you, man.

[schismsirp]

Regarding your Wasson/Hoffman connection...R. Gordon Wasson was NOT a doctor. Put it to rest. Its most likely Dr. Watson, and the obvious reference to Hoffman seems simply like Maynard saying, "You can thank Hoffman for what you're about to hear, Doc."

[jugheadsjonesin]

I've been curious as to the significance of the doctor's name. I knew it wasn't random, but a find like this is great.

I love how Salvia is completely legal, but I hate how I can never get a hold of any. :-/

dude you can get it on the internet. salvia's lame.

[StereoScopicLenses]

When I listen to the track it sounds like he says his name is Dr. Lawson to me.. Anyone else?? I don't think its wasson or watson.

[Inner_Eulogy]

This is most likely a coincidence, but it's a thought...

The parenthetic portion of the title is "Blame Hoffman."
As has been stated in many previous posts, this could be referring to Albert Hoffman. It sounds as if the doctor in the track says "Good morning, I'm Dr. Wasson", however. On the lyrics portion of this page it's widely regarded as "Watson", but it sounds more like "Wasson" to me. Of course, this is where my speculation comes in. With the reference to Hoffman and Wasson (if it is indeed Wasson), it seems as though this could be loosely referring to salvia divinorum, being that Wasson and Hoffman brought divinorum from it's native Oaxaca locale to "the western world", so to speak. The most common strain of divinorum is typically referred to as the "Wasson/Hoffman clone." Thoughts?

http://maya.ucr.edu/pril/ethnobotany/image/Salvia.pdf

Has anybody actually ever tried Salvia Divinorum or perhaps the rivea corymbosa seeds? I just sat here for about the last hour and a half reading all about them and curious is it's actually worth trying. I guess I miss the good ol' mushroom trip feeling which I haven't done in many years but have wanted to try again.

[TheUglyEye]

Salvia is that great if your going to order exotic plants go with mescaline containg cactus, or learn to make an aya brew(Cappi Vine, any dmt containing plant eg. Mimosa). Salvia has no control to it i dont find it to be enlightening.

[schismsirp]

Salvia is ruthless and unrelenting. To put it another way, you can have an extended, stimulating and enlightened conversation with somebody (psilocybin, LSD) or you could just let the person punch you in the face. With your eyes closed (Salvia).

[3rdi(O)]

When I listen to the track it sounds like he says his name is Dr. Lawson to me.. Anyone else?? I don't think its wasson or watson.

I believe you are correct. I found some info on this Dr. Lawson fellow and it makes more sense to me than Wasson. I started a thread here:
http://toolnavy.com/showthread.php?t=47988

[pneumanon]

Wow, I'm surprised... I've found salvia to be without a doubt the most enlightening entheogen I've tried. But I understand it's not for everyone and not everyone has the patience for it.

It is most likely that even if the Dr. is saying "Wasson", it is not a reference to Dr. R Gordon Wasson, but as far as I've read he was a Doctor. Check here:

http://lookinside2-images.amazon.com/Qffs+v35leol8dwT1D++LD45NFnfyXirdyfn518ttY8OIReFRg NbttBDn9I+NLkd

Am I way off on this?

[OGT from back in the day]

ok im lost.......i dont want to sound like an idiot but wat is salvia? also is hoffman the "father" of LSD? i heard that somewhere but i dont know if it is true

[erazorhead]

ok im lost.......i dont want to sound like an idiot but wat is salvia? also is hoffman the "father" of LSD? i heard that somewhere but i dont know if it is true

salvia's a hallucinogenic plant. it doesn't seem to work on everyone, hence the myriad detractors. you kinda need to smoke it fast and 'break through' to the salvia world. ive only ever felt myself pushed right back in my chair from it, and this really weird gross itchy feeling, like youve just woken up with a hangover and had a shave or something, hard to explain. it is illegal in oz though so i havent had much of a chance to explore, and have never tried the extract, which is what most users swear by, check erowid.org for any drug shit you wanna find out, hoffman is the father of lsd, as in he birthed it from his pineal vagina.

[OGT from back in the day]

ok thanks man

[beny2]

Salvia Sucks - order it online

[Aunt Acid]

Why the Salvia hate?

[plexus]

salvia ROCKS!

edit....

if you think otherwise.... you dont know how to do salvia.
(especially the guy talking about being punched in the face.)

[Aunt Acid]

salvia ROCKS!

edit....

if you think otherwise.... you dont know how to do salvia.
(especially the guy talking about being punched in the face.)

I agree. If I were to write a song with Albert's name in it, and it needed a character, I would have named him Wasson. That's very Robert Anton Wilson type humor.

[plexus]

I agree. If I were to write a song with Albert's name in it, and it needed a character, I would have named him Wasson. That's very Robert Anton Wilson type humor.

Id name him Razzlemctazzle Bizzlefrizzlefryphrenewton.
But Id be on acid at the time, so that would explain it.

[molehill]

The first time I heard this track (and I don't know if this has been mentioned previously) I was strongly reminded of the Hawkwind track "Flying Doctor". Mainly because of the 'trippy' content of the track and the fact that Dr Watson/Wasson is Australian. Whether or not this is of any relevence, who knows.

Flying Doctor - Hawkwind (definitely worth a listen)

He sneaks through the door of the surgery
He's got the drug cabinet key
He did something funny and he tied up his arm
It's just the flying doctor, no cause for alarm
He sprinkled out a powder and spread out a line
He sniffed it up his nostril and he's feeling so fine
Feeling so fine, it feels like he's flying
Feeling so fine, it feels like he's flying
His receptionist saw him, it certainly shocked her
She said "Look out, you'd better duck,
Here comes the Flying Doctor"

Out in the outback, there's been an outbreak
and the Flying Doctor's got nothing to take
He went to the cabinet, the cabinet was bare
His eyes dilated, you can see by his stare.
Called up his base on the radio,
He said; "My supplies are running low,
They're running low, you can see where they go
They're running low, I see where they go"
Out in the outback with my Percival Proctor
Look out you'd better duck,
Here comes the Flying Doctor

He's got the cabinet key,
The cabinet key, the cabinet key...
He's got the cabinet key, the drug cabinet key...

"This is the Flying Doctor calling Wallarolla base
Wallorola base come in please...
I want to talk to you about my drugs situation...
My drug situation is rather tight...
About as tight as a kangaroo's khyber, I'd say"

Cabinet key, cabinet key...

"Wake up ! - One, two, three, four"

A Sheila in the bush by a Koolahbar tree
Needed an urgent appendectomy
The Flying Doctor like a true Australian,
Performed the operation with a sardine can
He made a rough incision and tried to chew it out,
He had no anaesthetic, so she started to shout,
She started to shout, when he was chewing it out,
She started to shout, he tried to chew it right out,
He balled up his fist and scientifically socked her,
Look out you'd better duck,
Here comes the Flying Doctor

Cabinet key, cabinet key, cabinet key...


(Drug Cabinet referring to the cabinet where all the Schedule 8 pharms are kept, locked away)

[NukeAJS]

Also, the nurse comments that his vitals are stable and he's pretty much ok. I'm going to assume that the crying is the patient because it gets louder when the Doctor enters the room.

I think the track refers to a bad trip because of this. When someone "loses their marbles" they go crazy. The patient is obviously distressed, but there is nothing physically wrong with him according to the nurse. From the title and the nurse's diaglog, this is possibily because of a bad trip. I think the track was titled lost keys and not lost marbles because keys (drugs) are a good help to opening up the doors of perception.

Apparently, the patient (if that is indeed who is crying) obvious opened a couple of doors and lost his keys thus getting him stuck in that stae of mind. We blame Hoffman because he's primarily responsible for a lot of the science behind psychedelics (shrooms, LSD, salvia ... I'm sure there are others).

That's my two cents at least. I thought naming the doctor Watson was pretty funny too.

[okerguy101]

dude you can get it on the internet. salvia's lame.

not lame it just really isn't to enjoyable and you are left kind of feeling raped by the drug.

[crispy]

not lame it just really isn't to enjoyable and you are left kind of feeling raped by the drug.


lol

ive heard that before

[M.Luther]

dude you can get it on the internet. salvia's lame.

idiot.

[Phalanges]

I did 20x extract of Salvia, and it was probably the most frightening thing I've ever experienced. So, hard to explain, you pretty much go to a completely different dimension. It really destroys your ego, you feel reduced down to nothing, at one point I experienced being an item in a vending machine.... And at the end of it, you come back so confused, you completely forget you did anything, and it might scare you if you're wondering why you're experiencing those weird things. Definitely felt "raped", if that's the right word for it. I prefer acid, mushrooms or ecstacy for the inner journies/enlightenment.

[El Shaggy]

not lame it just really isn't to enjoyable and you are left kind of feeling raped by the drug.smoke a bowl of marijuana soon after to avoid this feeling.

I can recall a friend's experince similiar to Phalanges. She was sitting in front of a 50" outdated TV with Super Mario Sunshine playing idle. Haphazardly, this was left on for the discourse of the users experince and she was horrified after it wore off. Really like any 19 year old would be at that point. But if you entertain more likeable ideas the Experince can be enjoyable, mind your set and setting.

Really a drug that wouldn't see much addiction. Though, the above stated alternative smoke does remedy many of the short-lasting and more unpleasnt after effects.

[Lysander]

Is DMT in Salvia?

[wearethestories]

I really like the "Wasson" idea, though it could very well be something else.

To the poster who decided that it couldn't be "Wasson" because Wasson wasn't a doctor: here's a big WAY TO JUMP THE GUN.

Just because Wasson wasn't a doctor, doesn't mean that TOOL wouldn't insert his name into the song where it seems to fit (or at least be a bit of the tongue-in-cheek humor found in "Rosetta Stoned").

[bassmaster]

My name starts with J, and there are several Tool tracks that begin with that letter.

zomg.

I live in Mabton, and in Lateralus, there is an 'a' AND a 't.' What are the fucken chances of that.

zomg x2

:p I must have been on that robo trip with you, man.

Dude, my name is Jake irl and I used to be able to recite the entire script from the first TMNT movie when I was a kid.

omgwftbbq

*head asplodes*

[Creature Core7]

Greetings, everyone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Hofmann

[tryptosaur]

DMT is NOT salvia.
Salvia is extremely potent. Don't be discouraged by the ignorance of others. I grew it for a while, and have had some of the most paranormal experiences of my life with it. And I've done mushrooms, LSD, ayahuasca and smoked DMT (not all at once).
Salvia divinorum contains salvinorin A which is THE most potent naturally occuring entheogen to ever be discovered.
I have had friends tell me that the experience was way too frightening to repeat, but as for me, I've never experienced any fear, only wonder, awe, and astonishment.
The first 3 times I did it, I only got physical sensations, but then by the 4th time----holy fucking shit!
It's definitely not for everyone --- even though I can't personally understand why.

Oh, yeah. It's HOFMANN and not Hoffman.
Wasson by the way was the 1st "Westerner" to paricipate in a sacred mushroom ritual in Mexico. He and his wife started the science of mycology, the study of mushrooms. And, yes, he and A. Hofmann were also the first "Westerners" to collect samples of salvia divinorum and ingest the leaves.
At the beginning of Rosetta Stoned, he specifically says "10 to 2am" which is 4 hours. Four hours is just about exactly how long DMT makes you trip for when ingested w/ an MAO inhibitor as a "tea".
Smoked DMT only lasts no more than 20 minutes or so. And LSD lasts 8-12 hours.
I do believe the opening lines of the song are actual and not just metaphorical. Why say DMT if it's really LSD or salvia? And he mentions "X" also. Ecstasy? Probably. What else is referred to simply as "X"?
The "Blame Hofmann"-thing does seem to confuse what is being said. I think it's due to the fact that even though psychedelics were being experimented with by Europeans and Americans before LSD, it never reached the immense proportions that it did (especially the 60s) once the public got a hold of acid.
The serious research into psychedelics in general was in a sense fathered by Albert Hofmann.
I don't think Maynard is actually blaming Hofmann, but is more like saying it tongue in cheek. Being facecious (did I spell that right?)
One could equally say "THANK Hofmann" for stirring something up that played a crucial role in providing the subject matter for one of the most awesome songs ever created.

[Janster]

At first, I thought it was Dr. Roswell for some reason...

[Rotating_Energy_Field]

http://www.erowid.org/culture/characters/wasson_r_gordon/wasson_r_gordon.shtml

Dr. Wasson from Lost Keys is almost certainly a reference to Gordon Wasson. The song is about psychedelics in general - their positive and negative effects:

Negatives:
Temporary psychosis
Disbelief of the validity of the psychedelic experience by mainstream science

Positives:
Amazing revelations
Connection to a different layer of reality

It doesn't matter about Hoffman or Wasson, the band have simply used their names as a clue to the songs meaning.

[lighterbandit]

just my 2 cents, salvia is for advanced trippers and otherwise it completely overwhelms and terrifies you. i was very interested to discover that smoking it while tripping on other substances produces a completely new and INCREDIBLE effect. for me it removes the extremely uncomfortable physical effects of the salvia, intensifies the visuals exponentially, adds more duration and depth to the salvia 'high', and last but not least it adds a new dimension of some strange form of 'communication' to the trip. whatever it was i learned a lot from it. DONT DO THIS unless you know what the fuck you're doing or I won't be there to bail you out of jail. peace

[Greenrent]

It's really nice and very interesting post.

[Satla]

This speculation seems pretty reasonable, and also very typical to tool. i doubted it at first, im reminding to anyone an actual album of tool called "salvial", and stuff like the begining of third eye.
I dont really have time to analyse the whole song, but after superficial reading of "rosetta stoned", the fact that salvia doesnt effect on everyone explains some lines like: "Contemplating the whole "chosen people" thingy", "Me. The Chosen One? They chose me!!!", "Such a heavy burden now to be the One"...