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Old 02-09-2007, 10:56 AM   #58
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Re: The Meaning of H. Spoken by Maynard himself

Quote:
Originally Posted by gdude View Post
He’s going back inside himself to that happy place.

If you analyze "H." by Tool you will come to understand that Maynard was emotionally abused by his father (or stepfather, can't be sure which one). This could go hand in hand with "jimmy" if you consider the fact that his mother cannot protect him from the abuse he is suffering because of her condition. This may also go hand in hand with "Prison Sex" because in a live show in Quebec on 11/29/96 Maynard said "Prison Sex" was about "recognizing, identifying a cycle of abuse within yourself, that's the first step of the process -- realization, identifying. The next step is to work though it, but this song is about the first step which is recognizing." The "cycle of abuse within yourself" could be about Maynard's feelings but is probably more about his father's (or stepfather's) because his son had not yet been conceived when this album (Undertow) was released.

This is an interpretation of the song H. by Tool off of their 1996 CD Ænima. This interpretation was submitted to lyricinterpretations.com by a person known as "Zaq". This seems to make sense. It seems that this song is about Maynard and his struggle to not fall into a cycle of abuse (reminiscent of "Prison Sex"?) directed at his son Devo. Devo was born in 1995 and Ænima was released in 1996, though Devo was obviously conceived in mid to late 1994 giving plenty of time for Maynard to write this song about an unborn child "my blood before me". I also think that this song goes hand in hand with "jimmy" in describing Maynard's thoughts and feelings about himself and/or his parents. I came to this conclusion when I saw Maynard James Keenan was actually born James Herbert Keenan. So, jimmy is James when he was eleven and H. could be short for Herbert his middle name. H. Is also Devo's middle name, not initial but name, H. Isn't short for anything save for H.
Here is "Zaq's" interpretations of "H."
The snake represent Maynard's father.
The "blood before me" represents Devo, Maynard's son.
"What's coming through is alive.
What's holding up is a mirror.
But what's singing songs is a snake
Looking to turn this piss to wine."
This means the Maynard we experience in most songs is the Maynard seen in his father's mirror, the Maynard that was shaped in his father's image. But he is trying to turn all these negatives(piss) to positives(wine).
The snake behind me reminds me, how bad I could have been.
My son in front of me begs me to let my guard down, to love, to grow again.
"Venomous voice, tempts me,
Drains me, bleeds me,
Leaves me cracked and empty.
Drags me down like some sweet gravity."
The way he was treated by his father makes him feel like shit, takes his will to live away, and he is tempted to let it drag him down(because he feels worthless). It is "Sweet gravity" because it would be easy to treat his son that way, and in a way it would feel right, because it would be a release, and because his father treated him that way.
"I am too connected to you to
Slip away, to fade away.
Days away I still feel you
Touching me, changing me,
And considerately killing me."
He loves his son too much to slip and fade into what he feels he is destined to become. Even when he isn't with his son, he can still feel his son's effects on him, can still feel his son killing the snake inside of him.
"The walls came down."
The walls he had put up to protect him emotionally have come down, allowing him to love and be loved.
"And the snake is drowned and
As I look in his eyes,
My fear begins to fade
Recalling all of those times.
I could have cried then.
I should have cried then."
The snake inside him is dead, and as he watches it die, he is no longer afraid. He was so relieved that he could have cried.
"I have died
and will die.
It's all right.
I don't mind."
The snake has died, other parts of him will die, he will change, but it's okay. I don't mind.
"And considerately killing me..."
HEY, it's a POSITIVE Tool song!!!

Submitted by "Zaq" on lyricinterpretations.com

One note about the line "considerately killing me...", I think that means that parts of him are dying but they are the bad things and they are being killed considerately by love from his son and his love for his son.
I hope this makes sense, it did to me and I was perfectly "sober" when I wrote this. Oh, and sorry about all the puns and subversive references to various Tool songs, I couldn't resist.
I totally agree with this 95%, except the the abusive father part. I'm not sure if that's true or not or even if so that's it's his father he's referring to. It may just be the shadow within himself (referred to in 46&2) that he's battling inside himself and the infinite negative temptations that may surround him as they do with any rockstar. He may have not had much compassion in his life for a long time until his son was born and that's what finally made him face himself and break down his own emotional walls and may have been the first time he cried in a very ling time.

Last edited by Inner_Eulogy; 02-09-2007 at 10:59 AM..
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