"The Pot" is short for "The Pot calling the kettle black"

I'm sorry guys, but I don't believe this song has anything to do with marijuana. The only reference that could possibly be made to pot is when he says, "you must've been high"

And, if he is saying "ganja police" at the end, (which I've not heard a better suggestion for) then I'd say it certainly is at least referencing marijuana for a metaphor in the song.

Yeah!

Okay, so maybe pot is way more of a metaphor here than a theme.

The actual line is "Ganja? Please! You must have been out've your mind."

So he's saying (and alluding to it throughout the song) that no, being high couldn't even excuse your behavior, you must have been fucking nuts. Ganja? Please. You're using being high as your excuse? Being high couldn't have produced your level of hypocrisy. You must be insane.

Or... something... *shrugs* fuck it, probably wrong. Maybe it tells you to smoke crack if you play it backwards...

i liked that, blanket. spot on (so far, heh). i'm still not sure about these lyrics, though, but that's a good interpretation of "ganja? please...".

I still think "Ganja..please you must have been outta your mind" is as though he is saying.. "Ganja? Please..you all must be crazy to think this song is about marijuana!" I imagine Maynard would have thought endless amounts of people would immediately jump to the marijuana conclusion so added this at the end to set everyone straight.

Just my idea

This isn't about pot. It's about the old saying "pot calling the kettle black." It's convenient to just assume that it's only about marijuana, but Tool is a band that is surely deeper than just writing about pot. Think about "Stinkfist" and "Schism."

hah stating the obvious is easy, its even easier when someone already MENTIONED THAT.. maybe, oh i dont know, like a 100 or so tdn members. kthxbye.

Who are you referring to? And regardless there is no need to be rude about it.

kthnx?

certainly not you. i dont know you. in fact, i dont know anybody from the internet. anyways, i'm paranoid and so are you. lets be friends to the end? a little, internet romance? hmm... time to blaze.

i hear ya

Exactly....the marijuana reference in this song is STRICTLY metaphorical. I've been screaming this since this stupid thread (which HAD to have been created by pot heads) was created saying it is about pot (marijuana).

Well, I think the thing here is that it is about a lot of things, drug use being but one. It's a very broad metaphor but the drug imagery and puns aren't coincidental.

I understand that...I'm talking about the kids sitting here saying it's about smoking weed and getting high and this and that.

I agree this song has something to do with reefer, but I don't think it's solely about the plant. I agree that it is a satire of the concept of a "melting pot" where acceptance was once a reality. Now it's conformity or outcasting. Definitely a lot of stabs at hypocrites/liars as well. I also read a statement that man's natural ability to say one thing and do another and agree with that, unfortunate as it may be. But realizing all these things is the first step to rehabilitation, no? ;)

Peace

Of all the songs Tool has made, these lyrics have to be the most readily apparent and easily discernable. Just read them as they are. The "pot" in question is NOT the drug, but rather it is a clear reference to the old adage of "the pot calling the kettle black". As in hypocrisy:

"When you pissed all over my black kettle you musta been high"

In other words, when you (the pot) called me (the kettle) black, you must have not been thinking clealry. This is another song about hypocrisy. It's really simple and clearly evident that SOMEONE pissed Maynard off really badly with something they said about him or the band, and he took it as someone "in glass houses throwing stones", which is yet another cliche'd reference in the song.

He refers directly to a "fucking hypocrite" later in the song. It's clear that someone said something that was way over the line, and Maynard returned the favor with this song--which BTW, is a brilliant piece of writing, IMO.

All the references to someone being high are just his reaction to how utterly stupid the attack must have seemed to him at the time. Anyone who said something that inflamitory must have either been high or out of their mind.

Imagine the bullshit these guys probably have to put up with from people saying whatever they want to about them --true or not. And imagine just getting fed up with the stupidity of the press and critics and so-called fans that don't appreciate anything and talk shit about you. It has to wear on them. It would certainly wear on me. My take is that this song is just an expression of that shit they put up with. Part of the price they pay for their position. The pot called the kettle black, and the kettle got a little revenge.

B

Yeah, so the kangaroo reference, meaning a sham of a trial proceeding, means nothing in the context of hypocrites.

To me, that's the line that ties it most (at least that aspect of the song) to drug use, specifically marijuana. Not the use so much as the legality, and that the courtroom proceedings are really just for show and that you're going to prison to serve your mandatory minimum sentence.

I can agree with you that these lines referncing a kangaroo court (a court that has no authority or is corrupt) and slamming lawyers might be about the drug case earlier mentioned. It's hard to say, but that theory is as likely as any other. It seems clear that Maynard is not happy with lawyers or the courts, and I am fully with him on that.

But those lines only make up a small part of the lyrics. My point is that the main theme of the song is clearly that someone (the pot) said something highly offensive to or about Maynard (the kettle), and that he perceived it as the height of hypocrisy. The title is a reference to this, and not to the drug kind of pot. That's all I am saying.

Black

I think the point of the song is hypocrisy in general. Maybe there are a few specifics touched on "practically raised the dead" and "rob the grave to snow the cradle" and so on... but there are some specific imageries used that to me are no coincidence. The song is about many hypocrites, some of which are metaphorically named in specific.

Uh, i just read a couple, well, more like 10 posts, but people were confused-ish about the name The Pot. i'm 80% sure that it refers to "The pot calling the kettle black." which comes in the song as "When you pissed all over my black kettle... You musta been, HIGH!" which means the law accusing the public to stop smoking pot, when in fact they smoke it too. that's also why i think it says "Fuckin' Hipocryte.

*chuckles*

I would have to agree. I could be wrong but, I really think this is more in general than just one guy that pissed Maynard off by being a hypocrite..the general idea I get is government, and if anything to me more so influenced by the "bush" administration and the "war on drugs" or "war in Iraq".

Yeah, and I always get an imagery of Rush Limbaugh when he says 'fatty fingers'... heh, so great.

And to reiterate, the line "practically raised the dead" I think favors the Iraq war and the lies behind it. In other words, ever heard the phrase rattle the grave or whatever it is...saying in other words "what you did was so absurd that even the dead almost got up to say something about it"...that may not be the greatest form of analogy but I can't remember the actual figure of speech either right now. And the "rob the grave to snow tha cradle" seems to me to mimic the saying "you robbed Peter to pay Paul"

It was discussed on a previous thread, a long time ago, about the "Rob the grave" line.

I think the idea then was that the 'grave' was the absentee votes or otherwise illegitimate votes used during the 2000 presidential election.

The 'cradle' refers to the presidency itself and the 'grave' refers to the illegitimte votes. Kind of like voting scandals when ballots are counted and somehow there are votes from people who are dead. 'Snowing' something I believe was described to mean to 'pad the outcome'. So to "rob the grave to snow the cradle," would mean, 'using illegitimate votes/practices to guarantee ascension to the presidency.'

Well thank you for the explanation. I had not previously seen the other thread but that sure seems to make a lot of sense to me. I stand corrected.

Well, it's a subjective interpretation... I don't know that you can be corrected. Heh.

I'm aware of that but, by saying I stand correct means I do believe that theory has much more merit than my own...in other words I jumped off my own bandwagon and joined that one. We could be wrong but I would surely bet that is the accurate explanation.

Word.

It's amazing how much it would break your hearts if Maynard actually wrote a straight-forward song about cannibis that didn't have some deep labyrinth of meaning. Not every idea or point needs to be cloaked in smoke & mirrors. Sometimes...in order to get people's attention, you have to hit them over the head with a sledghammer.

"Ganja? Pl-ease!" Is stating if you truly hate cannibis and bought into the years of educational suppression and deception by the "powers that be"...then you must be totally out of your mind and under the influence of something more "evil" than marijuana. Cozened indigo...

But I could be wrong...

Well, for starters, the 'cozened' thign is totally contrived. He in no fucking way actually SAYS that in the song. Only the printed lyrics. He sings 'chosen' although of course 'cozened' works well as a substitute, both phonetically (almost) and literally.

"Ganja? Please!" I think refers to him saying "Oh, you did this stupid shit because you were high? Right. You must be fucking stupid. Pot doesn't make you a hypocrite, let alone this level of stupid. Ganja? Please. You must have been out of your mind."

"Well, for starters, the 'cozened' thign is totally contrived. He in no fucking way actually SAYS that in the song. Only the printed lyrics."


I have to ask...are you particularly close to the band or Mr. Keenan himself? You seem to perceive that you have tangible or concrete evidence to support this.

Arguing about the "meaning" of songs is one thing...to claim you know with such certainty what the artist is singing vs. writing is only valid if you have that inside information.

I'll believe you if you can back it up. A small part of me hopes you can.

Nah, not in any practical sense. Does anyone actually *hear* 'cozened', however? I mean, before you read the 'official' lyrics, was there anyone out there that heard a "k" sound in front of that word? I've listened intently for it and I can never hear anything but a distinct "ch" sound.

Anyone?

I don't think this song is about pot. It's about hypocrisy. The pot that he refers to comes from the saying, "the pot calling the kettle black". And when he says, "you must have been high", I think he offers that as an explanation for such blatantly hypocritical judgement. He's incredulous. As if the only explanation for the other person's behavior is that they were high.

Right, but there are several kind of concrete examples he uses to paint that picture of hypocrisy. 'Rob the grave' part about Bush (perhaps), 'fatty fingers' (Rush Limbaugh perhaps?) , 'kangaroo done hung the jury' (drug war reference, perhaps)

I think the song is made up of many examples of hypocrisy from the real world and they're just cleverly written to imply no one specifically, but they are specific examples. The government's/judicial system's stand on the drug war, or more specifically, pot, is one of those examples.

It's kind of funny how some people (in earlier pages) were actually wondering if a song called 'The Pot' had something to do with pot! Like, hello I think it's pretty obviously related to marijuana somehow! As for the 'melting pot' ideas, well, I suppose that's a logical conclusion too. But come on, the melting pot isn't so bad, is it? Isn't everyone supposed to be united and accepted? I thought that's what America was all about. Then again I'm Canadian and we've got a sweet cultural mosaic goin' on here, so... =P

In my opinion, 'The Pot' is basically saying how stupidly drugs can make you act. It's pretty obvious. I think they're also referring to other drugs, like cocaine, etc, but are just using dope as an example. After all, who would want a song called 'The Crack'? Oh wait, that'd be pretty sweet, actually.

On another note, in a little while I'll be attempting to sing The Pot with some friends of mine who've learned how to play it. I'm pretty stoked to find out if it sounds good with a girl or if it turns out to be lame.

Probably lame.

-Alyssa

It was already stated in an interview (I can't remember which band member) that it was in reference to the phrase "the pot calling the kettle black"...

Oh, well obviously I havent heard that interview. And I've never actually heard anyone say "The pot" calling the kettle black, I didn't realize it was part of the saying. If it's meant to be about this phrase, why does he say "ganga? p-lease!"? Maybe he's using dope as an example of how hypocritical people can be? I don't know, drugs are dumb. As for this topic, I think pretty much every opinion on the matter has been expressed, maybe it's time to lock it?

Well you're Canadian....need I say more?

Anyways, I may stand somewhat correct as he does say Ganja please, but I still think he's speaking more metaphorically and just using it as a reference for being hypocritical as has been said. The thing that I'm diagreeing with is the people sitting there and saying "yeah dude, this songs about smoking pot and getting high" the fucking idiots, ya' know.