TOOL are not anti-POT thats for SHURE. Also its a great song about the stupidity of drugs laws (esp with pot) and the current government ruining lives while deep into oil and other shitty and other right wingers loaded off pills (rush L) waving their fingers at nice folks who just want to smoke (ie pissing over my black kettle etc etc). We all know some drug dealers are guilty of being scum bags(selling to kids, throwing crack in with weed etc etc if you livied around shit head dealers in shitty cities you know, but others are people who enjoy a plant and shouldnt be railroaded (IE hung the guilty with the innocent) Some of the lyrics come across as coming from the other side, like a dialog. Its pretty straight forward. I could go on forever about this because I love this song (My explination is flawed as a type this really fast with out cheaking grammer and spelling lol). Also as a normal person who enjoys "the pot" and has a family and is a good person I like how its a good Fuck you song to those who ruin people based on enjoying a plant.
READ THIS it was posted before it pretty much explains it (i know it was posted before)

Activist Railroaded By Kangaroo Court

We all know, of course, that juries are supposed to be randomly selected, not stacked with those who will agree in advance to convict.

Yet in January 2003, in San Francisco, California, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer was being anything but “random” as he carefully interviewed and sorted through 80 prospective jurors before settling on 12 – mostly out-of-towners – who appeared most likely to bring the conviction he sought against Oakland's self-styled “pot guru,” 58-year-old Ed Rosenthal.

After a two-week trial, that jury unanimously convicted Rosenthal, a world-renowned marijuana advocate, after finding as a matter of fact that he'd been growing more than 100 pot plants, conspired to cultivate marijuana, and maintained an Oakland warehouse for a growing operation. “He was painted as a major drug manufacturer,” The AP reports, “and put on little defense.”

And why did Rosenthal and his attorneys present so little defense? Because “Throughout the trial in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, (Judge) Breyer had refused all efforts by the defense to disclose to the jury that Rosenthal was growing marijuana as an 'officer' for the City of Oakland's medical marijuana program, authorized under California's Proposition 215, passed by the voters in 1996,” points out syndicated columnist Alexander Cockburn.

“Throughout the two-week trial, Rosenthal's defense team had repeatedly tried to call witnesses to testify that Rosenthal was growing medical marijuana ...acting as an agent of the City of Oakland's medical marijuana program,” confirms AP legal affairs writer David Kravets. “The judge denied those requests. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the judge twice during mid-trial appeals.”

In other words – and as usual these days – the federal courts worked to conceal as much of the truth of the case as they saw fit, to make sure the jury made only a finding of fact, without being given any chance to decide whether the federal law was being appropriately applied in Rosenthal's case.

“Within hours of finding ...Rosenthal guilty on three felony counts of conspiracy and marijuana cultivation,” columnist Cockburn relates, “a sobbing juror was overheard saying she and others jurors had been terrified that U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer would throw them in prison if they had found Rosenthal innocent, although she herself had had a strong disposition to do so.”

i bet TooL gets off on all of us fighting over lyrics, we arnt even sure of yet. and the meaning therein

Good point

It seems you have all missed the point of the title "pot." It has nothing to do with marijuana, though you can certainly argue the hypocracy point. The title should be evident, "when you piss all over my black kettle".....clearly the reference to "pot" is the "pot calling the kettle black." Your argument towards marijuana may be a valid point, however the reference to the title is very subjective!

I want to quit but i'm addicted,I'm a dick ted to you....

I can't see how anyone can be so sure they're correct. Maybe, just maybe, you're all heading in the right direction. Or maybe you're all completely, unbelievably wrong. After listening to the song over and over in the past couple of weeks, and then reading this entire thread, I think both sides of the argument have valid points. Part of the brilliance of Tool is the different way they inspire/influence/affect different people. I'm confident MJK intended for discussions like this to take place when he wrote the song - from the title, the references of being high and to the kettle, so many different conclusions and opinions can be born. Am I the only one who appreciates this? Unless I hear it from the mouth of the man himself, I doubt I'll be convinced that one argument is correct and the other isn't. And again, I'm confident that won't be happening - Tool want it to be this way. Open up, allow it...

I've noticed that about 99.9% of Tool's music is pretty androgenous(sp?), meaning it can go either way really.

I've also noticed that I'm hungry. Time for a sandwhich.

I wanted to add a few thoughts abou

Wait, is this the Funky Town forum?

Oh man, I have no idea what's going on.

Americans aren't taking advantage of the freedom of speech, besides with music and racism and such. For f*cks sake, illegal immigrants are standing up and fighting for their rights haha....but not US!



nailed it

ahh thanks for the article, nice work.

i actually thought this one was quite obviously about the drinking, tobacco smoking, prescription pill popping assholes who call friendly pot smokers criminal drug users. so essentially it is about both pot (mj) and "the pot calling the kettle black" syndrome which drenches our drug laws. so in this sense it's not advocating the use of pot either, just pointing out the hypocritical flaws.

and btw, did someone say pot was decriminalised in Australia ?? not in my neck of the woods buddy

nobody in tool has ever done drugs, infact they all hate drugs and are totally for making everything illegal hahahahaha

i love you guys

Good thread. I agree with The Pot calling the Kettle Black.

Wonder what MJK thinks when he reads these posts.
BTW...am I the only one that got a chuckle out of the name Alexander Cockburn?

New to forum, "hi" everyone. Haven't read all the posts, so forgive me. Jesus would. <big ass grin>

Absolutely this song is about pot, corruption and the whole drug war. The drug war has done, and is doing imeasurable damage to our countries and cultures.

"Hang the Jury with the innocent." Juries judge those being prosecuted for possession and use laws. In part, because of the drug war, the rights of juries and lawyers/liar to know their rights and roles as jurors is being shoved under the rug. In the United States the jury has the absolute right to acquit ANY defendant for ANY crime for ANY reason. This ability, called jury nullification, has been a fundmental part of American Crimminal Justice since our FIRST supreme court, since out nation as a nation. Juries could use the power to make it impossible for the government to prosecute crime, essentially, through popular movement, nullifying the law. What crimminal law is enforcable if a jury acquits? None.

Oor jury system has been squashed by efforts to proseucte this drug war. Injustice anywhere leads to injustice everywhere. Efforts to limit the juries in the drug war cases, HAVE led to juries abilities to judge cases EVERYWHERE.

Know this, if you serve on a jury, you are NOT simply there to MINDLESSLY apply fact to law, but to judge the law, and encourage other's to do so. Drug use and abuse can be a problem. The drug war is destroying our country. Our government's cure is worse than the disease of drug addiction.

I don't believe MJK was narcing anyone with the Ganja Police bit. He was calling out the Ganja police for being out of their minds.

"Guilty as the government" CIA drug dealers ring a bell?

A plant that's been with us since recorded human history began, and even used to record some of the first bits of history by man, has been banned. Cultural, industrial, commerical, spiritual and medical use EVERYWHERE in our development. In Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America (probably Australia too, giving the British Empires NEED for hemp products, but not sure). They were really out of the fucking minds to create the ganja police.

I am getting windy and long. Vicarious and The Pot are two ideas I personally have been trying to express for years now, and TOOL has done so very well.

The plant is older than YHWH as YHWH

Anyone know where Anslinger's grave is? It's time the the kettles to piss all over the pots.

*ganja police, you must have been out ur minnnndddddd!!!!!!*

*kangarroo be STONED, he's as guilty as the government*


and your telling me this song isnt about marijuana, i believe this song is in reference to the ganja and the pot calling the kettle black.

I never did understand that law.

.

"The pot calling the kettle black"

This song is about "The pot"... or whatever is calling the kettle black.

The song gives a clear message that it is about hypocracy of some kind -- I don't think that is in question? Who the hypocrite is, and what they are accusing the character (played by MJK) of doing is what is in question.

That's why it's called "The pot".

I admit It may be a double meaning, and I agree that this song could easily be about hypocracy behind the war on drugs. However, I don't think that it's called "The pot" only because of drugs.

I listened twice, its Ganja ABLAZE...you must have been out you mind. So I say, but I was blazed at the time...

Right on Derge.... I was hoping someone would get the point.... and stop reading into the weed reference so much. The entire song is a poke at the "authorities", as well as the "better than you's". Stop talking shit about my life style and let me live dammit!!!!

This is the first time I've seen this association with that case. Thats pretty interesting. By the way, your link doesn't work. (at least not for me)

Has to be the coolest thing I have heard on any of these forums.

The only reason that sweet, sweet MJ is not legal is because the government can not tax it if it were. They can't tax anything that is grown naturally (See how cigarettes dont count? Its all that shit they put in them). Everything is about the money, from drug companies (intentionally holding back cures in order to sell more pills) to dairy farmers (pumping unnatural amounts of hormones into their cows, causing more milk, but raising our tolerance to anti-biotics, which renders them usless and us vulnerable). All about the $$$$$.

Maynard's lyrics are often susceptible to many interpretations/meanings at once. All of those interpretations/meanings can be true at the same time. The lyrics to this song can be about the inherent hypocricies on both sides of the drug issue, the Bush administration, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the war in Iraq, that article someone cited (which by the way seems right on point to me), Maynard's relationship with his mom, and just hypocrisy in general: all at the same time.

One interpretation I had, in regard to the "Ganja police" line (if that's what he says), is that he is talking about the U.S. being the world police, and is saying that as those world police, the U.S. acts in that role as if it is stoned. Now that I write it, it seems a little far-fetched, but what the hell.

Summed it up pretty much for me. QFT

Not because it makes sense, thats for certain.

deathtoll would be huge from Od's

it's arse, noob and he's mentioning that you also typed the quote out wrong, not to mention TOOL didn't come up with that quote it's an extract from one of bill hick's shows (Dangerous?) and you also didn't mention the name of the song and as for him calling it one of the GREATEST songs in Tool's repertoir, he's way off.... but it all comes down to personal opinion in the end with EVERYTHING.

Patch up the lies?

i think it's Can't you puhlease? you must have been out your mind.
and it's definetely Kangaroo beast on knees, guilty as the government

I'm thinking it's Ganja Puhleeese (Please). In other words...Ganja made you act like that? Please...You must have been out your mind! It's showing that in order for someone to be such a hypocrite, they must be on something way more mind-altering than ganja. Proving they're no better than the ones they judge, and may in fact, be worse. opinions?

Kangaroo Beast on Knees?

That's just silly.

A perfect truth.

yep.. could be it... sounds like it

What about ketchup on fries? Its equivalent to the whole "Ganja Police/please" theory. The main point is that the song is about hypocrisy. And IMO, its one of the best tracks on the album.

are kangaroos from australia?

Check it out... "The pot who calls the kettle black". This is an old saying...it's about hypocracy. The song doesn't have to be about marijuana at all. "The pot".. who ever this song is about... is pissin' on Maynards "black kettle"...the pot must have been high, because the pot is "black" too. Guilty of the same thing the kettle is being accused of. Both the pot and the kettle are black, but the pot doesn't see it's own blackness (the blackness could be anything, but w/i the saying it's from sitting on the stove). So, that's why it's called the pot. Now the question is who is the pot?

Maynard used to be real fuckin high himself....but as far as I know he's now a friend of Bill W., like myself. And sure, most addicts and alcoholics are creative geniuses...look at Maynard. Actually, let me reverse that, most creative geniuses are alcoholics or addicts, whether practicing or SOBER.

ummmm..beg to differ, Maynard is a recovered alcoholic/addict...but I bet ur right about the band not being pro-drug use. There are many songs that I believe are about certain steps w/i the program of AA/NA, u just got to know the program to catch it. : )

I dont think you can validly argue if the song is about pot or not. While the band probably has a a singular meaning for the song, it can be interpreted many many ways.

I dont think anyone argues they say ganja at the end. Can there be a metaphor or other term for that? You can say there ather words and meanings for the pot and high, but not ganja. Then again, he could be talking about both. Saying to the authorites, you must have been high, or saying, your so stupid its like your high. Its all interp.