This is my favorite Tool song. This song IS 'the poety that comes from the squaring off between'. The snake on one side, my heart on the other. Days away after the battle, I can still feel the snake changing me, killing me. This song is about the numbness, being blind. The need to wake up out of an apathetic existence. The third eye reality.
__________________ Calm these hands before they snare another pill
And drive another nail down another meaty hole
Please release me...
This is my favorite Tool song. This song IS 'the poety that comes from the squaring off between'. The snake on one side, my heart on the other. Days away after the battle, I can still feel the snake changing me, killing me. This song is about the numbness, being blind. The need to wake up out of an apathetic existence. The third eye reality.
I'm not sure there is any desire to "open the third eye" beyond what peopel feel motivated to do because of what someone told them of their "wakening" from using shrooms. "take some mushrooms and squeegie your third eye" and then post again your new thoughts.
and NO LESS than THREE CAPS! :-)
now, I'm not saying you're wrong about the meaning of this song, but a little proof to back it up would be nice. try to interpret the song line by line, or verse by verse (which may be better, so that you don't think at a level too deep, overthink it, and "wither away your intuition")
no really, I just typed this up as it all came to mind. I usually plan out my posts in great detail before I post them to avoid contradiction. and by avoidign contradiction, I don't mean so that I SOUND like an idiot, but so that I can go back to the drawing board if any miniscule idea is the least bit ludicrous.
What's coming through is alive
What's holding up is a mirror
-I'm in the reality. My reflection is being shown to me. My third eye is opened and I see me in this new light.
What's singing songs is a snake
Looking to turn my piss to wine
-Like of like in "intolerance" (sing your glory). The snake (or devil inside/internal monster). This part of me is looking to turn my shit to gold.
The snake behind me hisses what my damage could have been
My blood before begs me open up my heart again
And I feel this coming over like a storm again
-The storm is the squaring-off between. The monster on one side, my heart on the other. The observer is in the middle. All in me. All happening inside of me. This is what is contradictory about the third eye reality. It can be very good, but also can be very bad (if the snake wins). Very good if my heart wins. Just like in APC's "The Rose". Same fight described here. I'm here for one reason - to try and rise and escape the blind numbness.
Venomous voice tempts me, drains me
Bleeds me, leaves me cracked and empty
Drags me down like some sweet gravity
-The monster/snake's voice (in my head) does all those things. It tempts me and drains me (negative). But also allows me to bleed (positive). But overall, it drags me down (like described in "Sweat".
Without the skin here, beneath the storm
Under these tears now, the walls came down
-Without the skin (overthinking, overanalyzing seperates the body from the mind). I am all brain in this state; it's like my body does not exist. It's hard to explain. If I win in this battle on this night, the walls will come down. The walls that prevent me from living life as it's supposed to be; that keep me asleep.
As the snake is drown and I look in his eyes
My fear begins to fade
Recalling all of the times
I could have cried then
I should have cried then
-The walls that were built on lies come down. So, consequently, the fear was an illusion as well and fades away. I can look right in the devil's eyes. All the times I had no feeling and was numb that I didn't cry but should have; all the times I was killing myself but wasn't awake to it. I can see all that now, with this new awareness (third eye).
Recalling all of the times
I have died, I will die
It's alright, I don't mind
-I see all those times I was killing myself for the monster inside. The path of destruction I was on for him. I was so blind and asleep. I didn't even care I was destroying myself. I didn't even mind.
I am too connected to you
To slip away
Fade away
Days away I still feel you
Touching me
Changing me
Considerately killing me
-I'm trying to get away from this negativety but I can't. I can't release myself from the snake. And days away from the battle (the squaring-off) I can still feel myself being controlled. Being changed. I'm killing myself and I can feel him. I can feel him changing me.
__________________ Calm these hands before they snare another pill
And drive another nail down another meaty hole
Please release me...
thats pretty amazing. its not often that you read an interpretation that make sense throughout the whole song. do you think Maynard ever posts on these forums, maybe even being incognito? I wonder what he would think. they might even have to change the quote at the entrance of these forums ;-)
yes, well, thats all well and good, but why is the song called H? am i the onli one who cares about the title? same with parabol. what does parabol mean?
as you may already know, a "parabola" is a mathematical function that when used in graphing will create a curved line. You know what a Parable is, which is a story with a moral to it, most likely a reigious moral. but Tool is calling it a "Parabol", which I think is just sort of a pun.
Tool, or at least maynard, obviously has some kind of faith in numbers and number theory, and the story of Parabola, which is literally a story, at least with reference to the video, is his story in which he is tryign to teach a moral. the moral: "embrace this moment, remember we are eternal. all this pain is an illusion".
the spiral of which he talks about is commonly known, and is can be found everywhere in nature. galaxies, DNA, even sea shells have the same spiral in them (if you look at them from the top). the spiral can be graphed using the formula
"r/s = PHI", where PHI = 1.618, which is (sqrt(5)+1 / 2). the "Holy Gift" is Lateralus with rearranged tracks to make them all blend together into one virtual song, or story, or perhaps a "parabol". if I recall correctly, the track order is the same as the first some-odd digits of the fibonacci sequence, starting with the second, because the first two digits are both 1s. google that if you don't know what it is.
I believe H is supposed to be a vague reference to himself, and his son. As I comonly hear, both their middle initials are H. read my interpretation of that song in the H forum for my explanation.
