awesome, yes, exactly. i've come to the point where i'm inclined to think that this is the "message of hope" (tree of life) vs "warning" (tree of doom) dichotomy elaborated in "rosetta stoned" (and parabola commentary by jello biafra). bc i also happen to believe that track (named after the rosetta stone) serves to show HOW it is TOOL writes, at least lyrics, how something singularly performed can be made to express (and subsequently externally interpreted) in (at least!) two distinct fashions, but also written with a sort of "broken down to its basic elements" etymological slant/bias (like, even using the history of how words evolve within language itself!) as a way to encourage listeners to "keep digging", to move from surface-level first-impression root-chakra type interpretations (e.g., "purple veined dick jokes", tool's got hours of 'em - bill hicks, too)... to the more (for lack of better word) "profound", internal, higher wavelengths/chakras, beyond any sense of self, or need to identify parts from wholes (hence: watch "things" die!). just feel we're being encouraged with everything tool/mjk does to "fall" (eeg brainwaves) towards "this". "you better listen". all those posters of golden scissor cut (1.6180339...) bladder fishes ("vesica piscis") diving towards the heptagonal star? tool logo is also a dick (tuning wrench?) - i don't think any of this is a coincidence (and we can see a sort of illustration of what i'm saying towards the end of the parabola video! dude "lets go" of a leaf from the tree of knowledge/doom. more and more (with each listen?), giving himself over to the "tree of life", the virgin mary, down this vagina mine, while also going UP the body's chakra centers (hence: lift/elevator sound at beginning of lateralus). not to mention the entire lateralus tracklist climbs UP a 13-chakra system, track by track). "slide a mile six inches at a time on maynard's qabbalistic/hermetic/enochian-laced purple-veined chakra-climbing meditation-guiding PENis ...his lyrics ..."that" you're meant to "forget". "between the sounds", "betwixt the air itself", "between the lines", there is no "word to guide you in", "there ain't nothing to DO! what it takes to step through!" (actual lyrics ...enter: tripped the fuck out danny carey drum solo). "lie dead beneath the undertow, there doesn't seem (to be) no other way" (actual lyrics). the real shit is in the music. their words are meant to attract (not to belittle or diminish them, but i think even they'd agree!); mjk comes in at the tail end of the writing session, slaps on the lyrics like a decal/bumper sticker, to everything already created. after a certain point (non-point) words get in the way. and HOW they're sung (context) will mean more to the listener than WHAT they're saying (content) [i know king buzzo has said as much, makes sense given some of melvins' lyrics... rather, how they're sung] don't know, won't know. god damn, shit the bed. (think that also answers why i think "Tool fans are so into analysing lyrics")