Dead Ohio Sky

[HoldYourLight11]

It seems pretty evident that theres a loss of some kind in these lyrics- Ya know, "eleven and she was gone." etc, etc... But it also seems pretty evident that these lyrics are extremly vague on purpose- Perhaps because Maynard doesnt want all us rabid Tool-heads knowing EVERY personal fact about his lfe, perhaps so that we all can apply them to our own lives- I would rather think like that.

But also, just in case ya havent figured this out yet: 'jimmy' is Maynard, (his really name is James) and wasnt he Eleven when he lived in Ohio?

[ProfoundHaytred]

yeah he lived ina town named 'ravenna' and he lived there when he was 11.....thats a very powerful song

[Jenova]

11 is his youth. He has lost it. To find it, he must seek out the events of his childhood. "1 and 1 are one, 11.." - he can only be complete once he finds what he has lost...

[The Border Line]

Interesting... Interesting...

Perhaps a connection to Prison Sex?

I believe I read somewhere that Maynard was "bullied" into "admitting" that he was sexually abused as a child during an interview on MuchMusic regarding the Prison Sex video.

[malfeasance]

jimmy's probably one of the most personal songs for tool (though all songs are based on personal situations). it's one of the few songs that noone besides the band could relate to. so trying to "decode" this one is futile.

[okkoto]

the shudder-inducing power of this song comes only when you realize that maynard is essentially singing to himself. i love that idea. many times have i looked at a pictrue of myself when i was much younger and tried to find some connection to this strange little person.

jimmy is always in lower case, suggesting that the song is about a small verison of james(as someone mentioned before). so james is singing to jimmy.

i'm asuming the "she" is a mother, or mother-type figure, and the loss of her produced a feeling of loss for the young boy: loss of innocence.

and maynard is desperaretly trying to reconnect with his lost innocence and make part of himself young again. not like "oh i wish i was young again, my back is killing me", but more like wordsworth saying that children are closest to god..."glow child, glow/ i'm heading back home".

such an awesome song. definately one of my favorites. more people should connect with their youth.

[YamiDemon]

"jimmy" is one of the best songs on this album, and my idea is really that it is Maynard singing about himself, but never really specifies what Eleven is about. He did live in Ohio when he was eleven, hence the"... under a dead ohio sky...' thing. A magazine said that Maynard's mother died when he was eleven, but posted a retraction afterwards. This is him singing to himself, but doesn't want us tool-listeners to knw what he is really singing about here.

[povvy]

Originally posted by malfeasance
so trying to "decode" this one is futile.

I agree. Songs like "jimmy" just need to be listened to. Let the sounds move you (and hopefully your mind).

Patrick.