The actual lyrics to Undertow...

[There is no spoon]

This, IMO, is the most important song on the album, and I can't find lyrics to match what the song says anywhere, so here we go... (This is what I hear)

Two times that
I've been struck dumb by a voice that
Speaks from deep
Beneath the endless black water that’s

Twice as clear as heaven
Twice as loud as reason
Deep and rich like silt on a riverbed
And just as never ending

Currents mouth below me
Opens up around me
Suggests and beckons all while swallowing
It surrounds and drowns and wipes me away

But I'm so comfortable
So comfortable

Shut up
Shut up
Shut up
Shut up
You're saturating me
How could I let this bring me
Back to my knees

Third time that
I've been baptized by the voice that
Screams from deep
Beneath the cold black water that’s
Half as high as heaven
Half as clear as reason
Cold and black like silt on the riverbed
And just as never ending

Currents mouth below me
Opens up around me
Suggests and beckons all while swallowing
It surrounds and drowns and wipes me away

But I'm so comfortable
So comfortable

Shut up
Shut up
Shut up
Shut up
You're saturating me
How could I let it happen
Why don't you kill me
I'm weak and numb and insignificant
How could I let this bring me
Back to my knees


Eu-phor-i-a
Eu-phor-i-a
Eu-phor-i-a
Eu-phor-i-a

I'm back down in the undertow
I'm helpless and I’m awake
I’m in the undertow
I die beneath the undertow
There doesn’t seem no other way out of the undertow

Eu-phor-i-a


OK everyone, let's tear it apart...

[iAMtheMA!]

without confirming or denying, i'm gonna use this relevant thread to insist that the lyrics on toolshed are incorrect in far too many places (and especially concerning undertow). seriously, who the fuck gives a shit if maynard handed 'em unto us? how the fuck are people going to accurately synthesize or comment on specific interpretations if everything is up in the air? are the shit lyrics intentional? maybe. if so, can we not put it aside (if only for comparison's sake) and get back to what's actually on the albums?

i'm thinking that this is why maynard states "you better listen" in rosetta stoned, but i may be mistaken there (MANY of those "official" lyrics are off as well).

still...

[There is no spoon]

Tell me about it. I had to listen to this song a dozen times and use the "official" lyrics to piece that together. I agree though, it's sometimes tough to try to get meaning from the song if we don't know all the words...

[iAMtheMA!]

two times in i've been struck dumb by a voice
that speaks from deep beneath the endless water

it's twice as clear as heaven twice as loud as reason
even rich like silt on a riverbed just as neverending
the current's mouth below me (yeah) opens up around me
suggests and beckons all while swallowing
surrounds and drowns and washed me away

oh but i'm so comfortable so comfortable

shut up shut up shut up shut up you're saturating me
how could i let this bring me back to my knees

third time in i've been baptized by a voice
that screams from deep beneath the cold black water

it's half as high as heaven half as clear as reason
cold and black like silt on a riverbed and just as neverending
the current's mouth below me opens up around me
suggests and beckons all while swallowing
surrounds and drowns and washed me away

oh but i'm so comfortable so comfortable

shut up shut up shut up shut up you're saturating me
how could i let it happen (again?)
why don't you kill me i am weak and numb and insignificant
how could i let this bring me back to my knees

euphoria euphoria euphoria euphoria

i'm back down i'm in the undertow
i'm hopeless and on the way i'm in the undertow
lie dead in the undertow
there doesn't seem no other way out of the undertow

euphoria








i swear, if iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii had a website like this (the money and time to waste), this collective fanbase would have a much better "starting point" concerning tool/maynard's "tedious path". "you may say i'm a dreamer"...

...but, hey, i'll leave the arguement to the "collective" - a misinformed tool fan, or an informed tool fan? btw, and sadly, it has been easy seperating the two while surfing 'round this forum.

[Solaris]

without confirming or denying, i'm gonna use this relevant thread to insist that the lyrics on toolshed are incorrect in far too many places (and especially concerning undertow). seriously, who the fuck gives a shit if maynard handed 'em unto us? how the fuck are people going to accurately synthesize or comment on specific interpretations if everything is up in the air? are the shit lyrics intentional? maybe. if so, can we not put it aside (if only for comparison's sake) and get back to what's actually on the albums?

i'm thinking that this is why maynard states "you better listen" in rosetta stoned, but i may be mistaken there (MANY of those "official" lyrics are off as well).

still...

I think the official lyrics are not wrong intentionally. Maybe they are the lyrics how Maynard had planned them once, but when it came to recording the album, he noticed that they didn't fit into the song so well as he thought and so he changed them spontaneously a bit so that the context is not changed but they sound better with the rest of the song.

[iAMtheMA!]

well, your stance certainly follows toolshed's disclaimers: "these are the lyrics straight from the source. they form a blueprint for each performance of each song. they may vary at times, but the above words were typed by the guy who sings them. let them be your starting point." yeah well, sorry, but i'm actually kinda bothered trying to communicate with fans "so comfortable" with this bullshit; it just doesn't satisfy me, so i'm speaking up. i have a few immediate instances in mind that could suggest that the incorrect lyrics submitted to the internet, or "words by maynard jamez keenan", were indeed intentional (oh, and that "z" in "james" was one of them). how about the idea that the continual misinterpretation of "dumb-ass" only furthers the true insult of "'cause you're a dumb AND belligerent fucker" within "swamp song"? or how about the fact that toolband has an asterisk after "and you will come to find that we are all one mind" to mention "waiting for confirmation" during "reflection"? a lot of it may not have been intentional (since maynard probably doesn't care to indulge upon what we all should've known by now), but ...well, i've proved my point. let's get these lyrics correct already.

is a petition or something in order, or what?

[eapatty01]

omg, i JUST posted this shit. You're seriously upset because "the man" wouldn't get you the "right" lyrics?? Listen to the music. Your sig says "think for yourself"....its good advice for someone as ignorant as you. Do you actually need every song spelled out for you?

Obviously he posted what he feels. Now go listen to the songs and decide what YOU feel.


"Think for yourself"

[iAMtheMA!]

uhhhhhhhhhhh, heh - a joke, right? (?!) ...no?! well then, first off (and indeed fuck off), i certainly do the work. to filter your bullshit post even further, IF he merely wrote about "what he feels" (which isn't really so "obvious", by the way), and a ton of the lyrics aren't even close to what the studio albums contain ...then what do you think "the man" feels for delivering accurate lyrics? the guy has already done plenty for us, let him be - it's supposed to be our turn. YET, even after more than a decade, we're all just "so comfortable" with 'em; are we really to lay so goddamn complacent with such inaccuracies? what the hell kind of fanbase tool-appreciation website is this anyway? i've been able to make plenty of valid points concerning how retarded this site has handled the passing of nardo's "official" lyrics (which are incorrect, a true example of what's "obvious") and i realize you're not denying the fact*; however, as disheartening as it is, i've actually witnessed too many members of this forum bash and then refer others to the lyrics section in toolshed for the "hard" information, to help 'em delve "better" into the understanding behind the music we all say we love ...and then everyone posts stupid fuckin' interpretations based on those same very weak foundations. please, don't preach (er, spout leary) to me about others' inability to listen, guy.

and "omg", eh? we're still doing that shit? i suppose, then, that this is where i search for an emoticon button to properly display an iritated and otherwise astonished rolling of the eyes t'wards your piece of shit backlash ...i mean, right?


here's the edit (notice the asterisk above):
* apparently, eapatty01 (whoever the fuck you are), after having to research, within the pushit "right lyrics" thread, your out-of-context mentioning of "i JUST posted this shit" ('cause it confused me), you are indeed and futilely trying to deny fact. i can't help to think that you may be of a southern baptist background. am i close? (?!) ...no?! heh, sure fooled me.

"i'm just kidding"

[There is no spoon]

Hey, I just wanted to know what he was singing, that's all...

[iAMtheMA!]

two times in i've been struck dumb by a voice
that speaks from deep beneath the endless water

it's twice as clear as heaven twice as loud as reason
even rich like silt on a riverbed just as neverending
the current's mouth below me (yeah) opens up around me
suggests and beckons all while swallowing
surrounds and drowns and washed me away

oh but i'm so comfortable so comfortable

shut up shut up shut up shut up you're saturating me
how could i let this bring me back to my knees

third time in i've been baptized by a voice
that screams from deep beneath the cold black water

it's half as high as heaven half as clear as reason
cold and black like silt on a riverbed and just as neverending
the current's mouth below me opens up around me
suggests and beckons all while swallowing
surrounds and drowns and washed me away

oh but i'm so comfortable so comfortable

shut up shut up shut up shut up you're saturating me
how could i let it happen (again?)
why don't you kill me i am weak and numb and insignificant
how could i let this bring me back to my knees

euphoria euphoria euphoria euphoria

i'm back down i'm in the undertow
i'm hopeless and on the way i'm in the undertow
lie dead in the undertow
there doesn't seem no other way out of the undertow

euphoria

[eapatty01]

MK: it's not my music. it's your music.

"this collective fanbase would have a much better "starting point" concerning tool/maynard's "tedious path". "you may say i'm a dreamer"..."


Because the fans want to know.
"Let them figure it out for themselves. I'd rather have them seek
out the information, then they've made some effort, then they deserve
to find out what the songs are about. If they just pick up a
magazine and it's all spelled out for them, they're not discovering
anything. I'd rather they do some research..."



...I don't think you're a dreamer.

[iAMtheMA!]

*cough*

[There is no spoon]

That being said, i don;t think knowing the lyrics are going to take anything away from me. It's not a mind exercise, it's a how well do your headphones work.

[iAMtheMA!]

since i'm sure you didn't even look at my lyrics whilst listening...
"undertow" lyric number, as transcribed by:
a. iAMtheMA!
b. There is no spoon
c. toolshed.down.net/lyrics/undertowlyrics.php (maynard*)

----------------------------------------------------------------

01
a. two times in i've been struck dumb by a voice
b. two times that i've been struck dumb by a voice
c. gone under two times i've been struck dumb by a voice

02
a. that speaks from deep beneath the endless water
b. that speaks from deep beneath the endless black water
c. that speaks from deep beneath the cold black water

03
a. it's twice as clear as heaven twice as loud as reason
b. that’s twice as clear as heaven twice as loud as reason
c. it's twice as clear as heaven and twice as loud as reason

04
a. even rich like silt on a riverbed and just as never-ending
b. deep and rich like silt on a riverbed and just as never-ending
c. it's deep and rich like silt on a riverbed and just as undisturbing

05
a. the current's mouth below me (yeah) opens up around me
b. currents mouth below me opens up around me
c. the currents mouth below me opens up around me

06
a. suggests and beckons all while swallowing
b. suggests and beckons all while swallowing
c. suggests and beckons all while swallowing

07
a. surrounds and drowns and washed me away
b. it surrounds and drowns and wipes me away
c. it surrounds and drowns and sweeps me away

08
a. oh but i'm so comfortable so comfortable
b. but i'm so comfortable so comfortable
c. but i'm so comfortable too comfortable

09
a. shut up shut up shut up shut up you're saturating me
b. shut up shut up shut up shut up you're saturating me
c. shut up shut up shut up shut up (2x/echo/delay?) you're saturating me

10
a. how could i let this bring me back to my knees
b. how could i let this bring me back to my knees
c. so how could i let this bring me back to my knees again again again

----------------------------------------------------------------

11
a. third time in i've been baptized by a voice
b. third time that i've been baptized by the voice
c. under for the third time i've been baptized by your voice

12
a. that screams from deep beneath the cold black water
b. that screams from deep beneath the cold black water
c. it screams from deep beneath the endless water

13
a. it's half as high as heaven half as clear as reason
b. that’s half as high as heaven half as clear as reason
c. and it's half as high as heaven and half as clear as reason

14
a. cold and black like silt on a riverbed and just as never-ending
b. cold and black like silt on the riverbed and just as never-ending
c. it's cold and and black like silt on the riverbed

15
a. the current's mouth below me (yeah) opens up around me
b. currents mouth below me opens up around me
c. ???

16
a. suggests and beckons all while swallowing
b. suggests and beckons all while swallowing
c. ???

17
a. surrounds and drowns and washed me away
b. it surrounds and drowns and wipes me away
c. ???

18
a. oh but i'm so comfortable so comfortable
b. but i'm so comfortable so comfortable
c. but i'm so comfortable far too comfortable

19
a. shut up shut up shut up shut up you're saturating me
b. shut up shut up shut up shut up you're saturating me
c. ???

20
a. how could i let it happen again
b. how could i let it happen
c. ???

21
a. why don't you kill me i am weak and numb and insignificant
b. why don't you kill me i'm weak and numb and insignificant
c. why don't you kill me i'm weak and numb and insignificant

22
a. how could i let this bring me back to my knees
b. how could i let this bring me back to my knees
c. and i'm back on my knees

----------------------------------------------------------------

23
a. euphoria euphoria euphoria euphoria
b. euphoria euphoria euphoria euphoria
c. lost in euphoria

24
a. i'm back down i'm in the undertow
b. i'm back down in the undertow
c. i'm back down i'm in the undertow

25
a. i'm hopeless and on the way i'm in the undertow
b. i'm helpless and i’m awake i’m in the undertow
c. i'm helpless and awake in the undertow

26
a. lie dead beneath the undertow
b. i die beneath the undertow
c. i'll die within your undertow

27
a. there doesn't seem no other way out of the undertow
b. there doesn’t seem no other way out of the undertow
c. it seems there's no other way out of this undertow

28
a. oh euphoria
b. euphoria
c. euphoria

----------------------------------------------------------------

* "these are the lyrics straight from the source. they form a blueprint for each performance of each song. they may vary at times, but the above words were typed by the guy who sings them. let them be your starting point." - tdn (which means that the lyrics on toolshed are not accurate to the album ...they are infact subtle commentaries by maynard.)

we've a lot of work to do.

[iAMtheMA!]

okay, i've sat on this thread long enough.

anyone? spoon? did you see how retarded those "official" lyrics are? did you see how "there is no spoon" even followed a lot of 'em?!?! blind faith is a bitch, credulists. which proves my point... we have idiotic tool fans (who don't even listen to the fuckin' music) creating idiotic tool threads/posts, and an entire fanbase content with a site's somewhat-disinformation.

[blindman]

the exact lyrics to undertow are irrelavent. within the three versions that are posted there are no crucial parts that significantly change the songs obvious meaning. if you are rackin your brain trying to figure out exactly how the song goes on the album then you probably care about it more than the writer; who does sing it different every time (probably depending on the combination of drugs he's on) and who obviously didn't care about writing it the exact way he sang it on the album. if your trying to dig into maynards brain then it is probably best to piece the evidence together to try to understand the perspective and intentions that he is coming from. p.s. this is to you iamthema!

[iAMtheMA!]

well, these corrections are in response to the thread, an immediate response. i organized the lyrics in this one, but i could've gone through other tracks with obvious differences to whatever meanings. also, i understand that tool has done a lot of things different from what's on the albums, but we can't even agree on the one version these forums take format under. it's not a major thing, but i can't imagine that it'd be a major thing to change - to discuss and collaborate. am i really so out of line here? dah...

enjoy the warm weather/holidays!

[blindman]

the thing that i don't get is the importance of having or agreeing on the songs lyrical structure when a) maynard doesn't even know. (or Care) b) it doesn't change the theme of the song in its entirety and c) alot of what maynard wants is to think for our selves and have our own ideas; i don't think maynard wants his thoughts to be idolized. i think he wants to be a trend setter of thinking for ourselves (I am not saying that his thoughts are right, but.... the foundation in which they are derived from is essential in not being succeptable to being brainwashed) in other words think for yourself, question authority. This quote is actually fairly ironic in the tool world because most fans don't even question maynard. message to maynard... Publicly renounce your throne and let your people free!

[blindman]

p.s. sorry to not directly responding TO the thread. this is merely my opinion about the thread.

[JE Mack]

wipes me away - i hear "wash(es) me away"

How could I let it happen - i hear, "this happen"

I die beneath the undertow -- i hear "down beneath"


i could be wrong, but the meaning is the same either way

[iAMtheMA!]

mark twain's "it ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. it's what you know for sure that just ain't so." - without suggesting any level of comfort, i feel like this is where i was at early on. you're right, it is awfully ironic (and just plain awful) to push for consensus while spouting "think for yourself", but i'm coming across too many threads and ideas that'll fall apart just because someone starts insisting upon the "official" lyrics as an accurate translation of maynard's efforts. that's what i don't get. it just seems like disinformation to me, so i question it. but should i nudge this "not a major issue" into light, or let it be? i'm thinking now that it might more of a distraction than anything else.

blindman, are you here to "show us the way"?

[blindman]

i am not the light...just a witness of it.

[Intolerable]

Thank you, iAMTHEMA!, for posting what I've been thinking all of this time. Could not agree more regarding the actual undertow lyrics.

[There is no spoon]

Hey all. Sometimes you just wanna know the lyrics in order to sing along in your car without having to go....

Currents mouth below me
Opens up around me
BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH while swallowing
It surrounds and drowns and wipes me away

[blindman]

then the official lyrics will do.

[There is no spoon]

my last post wasn't the only line that was hard to understand. Thus, the official lyrics will not do

[weathermantom]

Hey all. Sometimes you just wanna know the lyrics in order to sing along in your car without having to go....

Currents mouth below me
Opens up around me
BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH while swallowing
It surrounds and drowns and wipes me away

hahaha that's exactly what I do. Kind of like in Eulogy, or Third Eye, when he says "You could be the one who saves me from my own existence" or "I opened my eye and there we were," before I knew those were the lyrics, I just kinda made talkbox noises along with maynard.

[Mattywasaracecardriver]

the lyrics to undertow are changed as time goes on, new experiences, new people talking about them, new people listening to them. so the relevance to wether one word is slightly different to the other should be left open to an individuals perspective.
if theres one thing ive learnt from spending al these hours reading thoughts and researching ideas and points then its tht the beauty of tool is tht there is always goin to be a debate as to what is actually being said and why its being said. the simple fact that there can be so many enterpretations is just brilliant in my opinion. Though being able to come up with a new perspective or understanding to these songs would help if lyrics were more defined.

BTW, iAMtheMA!, dont know if its intentional but through reading this thread your points were cool and insightful, but your attitude and mannerisms of speaking are hilarious. loved it.

[iAMtheMA!]

there isn't an original mannerism within me, it's all stolen, i am a phoney.

:)

[Polish_Rides_The_Spiral]

that line shut up shut up shut up, the echoe part reminds me of H. when they go 'i dont mind, o i dont mind' the same effect. both are pretty sweet uses of it

[There is no spoon]

Mattywasaracecardriver ....I'm not sure how lyrics change over time. That doesn't even make sense. I started this thread not for interpretation, but for actual words. Regardless of the meaning, I just want to know what is actually being said on the CD that I bought almost 14 years ago.

[Mattywasaracecardriver]

an example of what i mean is on this tool lyrics site.

* All references to "shoot you in your fucking head" are now performed live as "fuck you in your fucking ass" -- clearly a more appropriate message for the times.

I'm sure there have been more changes like this to the songs by Maynard, as we all know, the lyrics differ to so many songs when performed live, to go with new ideas, and extended versions.

But yeah ok, i cant give you the adsact words so ill shut up. :)

[PShepherd11]

Although live performances may vary, I think some people feel (myself included) that the studio recorded album is THE one to go by. Since that will never change, I would really like to know what he's saying for the sake of knowing. Not that it will change the meaning of the song, but it'll bring clarity to some parts of it. Wanting to know what he's really saying doesn't have anything do with thinking or not thinking for yourself.

[There is no spoon]

Although live performances may vary, I think some people feel (myself included) that the studio recorded album is THE one to go by. Since that will never change, I would really like to know what he's saying for the sake of knowing. Not that it will change the meaning of the song, but it'll bring clarity to some parts of it. Wanting to know what he's really saying doesn't have anything do with thinking or not thinking for yourself.

THANK GOD SOMEONE FINALLY GETS WHAT I'M SAYING.

I started this thread to get actual lyrics, not meanings, not interpretations, not feelings, not opinions about life, not pictures of Kate Pierson of the B52s, not heresay, not anyhting else. just what the album has on it.

[Alex in Chains]

* All references to "shoot you in your fucking head" are now performed live as "fuck you in your fucking ass" -- clearly a more appropriate message for the times.

That's what I thought it was when I heard the song live, but it's "My foot up your fucking ass." At least, that's the way it is on every bootleg I've heard.

[Aenima7988]

ok first of all, i always thought the song was about getting sucked into drug abuse, just like many other tool songs, which either means they're analogies or coincidences, or jesus christ maynard, realize it ONCE that you can't control drug addiction and move on.

aaaaaanyway, when he posts the "official lyrics" that are inaccurate, he's probably posting what he has in his lyric book. The original lyrics written down might have been "i don't want to rot in apathetic existence" but when they played and recorded it, it got shortened to something more like "and i know i won't rot in.."

there's an alice in chains album in which Layne Staley pretty mcuh wrote all the lyrics in the studio, so what he put on paper, had in his head, and actually sang on the final take were probably all completely different. There's a lyric in the song Frogs that's like "flowers watched through wide brown eyes" but he recording sounds like "flowers watched through wide eyes blue" or "floweres watched through wide eyes bloom" it happens all the time

[HelenA]

since i'm sure you didn't even look at my lyrics whilst listening...

we've a lot of work to do.

I cannot believe you went to that much effort - that is insane (and totally awesome).

I agree Priti,
Although live performances may vary, I think some people feel (myself included) that the studio recorded album is THE one to go by. Since that will never change, I would really like to know what he's saying for the sake of knowing. Not that it will change the meaning of the song, but it'll bring clarity to some parts of it. Wanting to know what he's really saying doesn't have anything do with thinking or not thinking for yourself and

I miss JE Mack.