Staircase-crucifix-window

I am quite surprised this hasn't been tied to mental illness- unless of course none of you have mental illnesses (schizophrenia could be particularly relevant to teh song)

Having gone through five or so at once (schizophrenia, schizoaffective, bipolar, borderline personality disorder, psychosis) I related to tool's lyrics quite a bit

The opening lines
"what's coming through is alive, what's holding up is a mirror, what's singing songs is a snake, looking to turn the piss to wine"

Draw reference to the dominant mindset at the start of schizophrenia (I presuem that's what it is, I often get various symptoms confused)- you have one side of you, another side of you and a third watcher who comments on teh conflict- teh mirror/alive allusion links the two main personas- teh snake singing songs speaks of tehc ommon defence mechanism (or such is my experience)of using madness as an attention seeking tool, or it being seen as an attention seeking tool (when it isn't) or using the madness as a way to transcend the normal boundaries of thought (which it does). To clarify, a snake is symbolic of a threat (peopel fear that which tehy do not understand) as well as an alien, charming individual. Singing songs, is entertaining/commenting which it is teh third personas prerogative to do and to round things up turbning piss to wine means making what is in essence a bad situation, appear to be normal to the person- even beneficial.

NB teh snake can be seen in third person because as the sympotms increase- more personas arrive, so as a fourth persona can comment on teh three wya conflict

"They're both totally void of hate, but killing me just the same" }
speaks of teh pressures the two key personas force upon the third and tehd estructive tendencies they lead to, despite no conscious desire to harm the primary person

"The snake behind me hisses what my damage could have been. "
here the story shows the enxt step in the madness- the enxt level, anotehr snake. This refers to the fear of change, or the desire to remain apart from the norm, as the norm is infected (this is alter supported by 'Ticks and Leeches" on lateralus) and spekas teh menatlity "as bad as it gets, at least your not like THEM" the hissing could refer to teh fact taht the voice is never physically heard, but the words are spoken in ones head, and behind me merely depicts the snake as an observer, aside from the main action.

"My blood before me begs meopen up my heart again. And I feel this coming over like a storm again. considerately."

draws reference to teh ideology that there is only really one way out (despite implicitly referencing two) which is suicide, or let the infectors (society) back into one's world and teh latter line of coming over liek a storm again draws reference as to WHY one shoudln't be crazy (I prefer not to use that term, as it is inadequate) and taht is the moments when one fills physically sick, and starts hallucianting as armies and armies of different viewpoints assault ones mind and paralyses ones sense of normalcy. (Believe me when I sya tehre is nothing worse). teh considerately placed almosta s an afterthought displays the romanticizing of madness once again as in "as bad as this is, teh intentions are good" (which are questing for truth/insight- later supported by lateralus' title track)

if you want to hera the rest of teh abalysis, say so, its just I have written an aweful lot on a subject I fdon't even have to do, and I shoudl be analysing a play instead..