adam jones actually said himself that the song is about a friend of theirs (tools) who only did his best work when he was on drugs...what do you guys think?
Location: Adrian, MI (North of Ohio/South of Heaven)
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Re: adam jones quote on sober
This is my own personal interpretion of Sober. Only recently did I come to this because this song is most often correlated with drugs/alchohol. I believe this song is about religion however.
There's a shadow just behind me,
shrouding every breath I take,
making every promise empty,
pointing every finger at me.
*The shawdow being religion. Not showing anything in return for faith. Blaming for mistakes/sins.
Waiting like a stalking butler
who upon the finger rests.
Murder now the path called "must we"
just because the son has come.
*We must following everything, even murder, just because religion tells us to? The "son" referring to Jesus.
Jesus, won't you fucking whistle
something but the past and done?
*The faq on this page says this line is not a direct reference to Jesus. More of an exclamation (Jesus! How could you do that!!!) kind of thing. I don't neccesarily agree. Why can't it be a reference directly to Jesus and religion. This line seems to say "Won't you stop telling me these things on faith, isn't there something else out there?"
Why can't we not be sober?
I just want to start this over.
Why can't we drink forever.
I just want to start things over.
*Why can't we be free? Live our lives void of guideline. Start over with a new attitude and belief.
I am just a worthless liar.
I am just an imbecile.
I will only complicate you.
Trust in me and fall as well.
I will find a center in you.
I will chew it up and leave,
I will work to elevate you
just enough to bring you down.
*From the perspective of Jesus or a religous figure making promises. Nothing will come of it though.
Trust me.
Mother Mary won't you whisper
something but what's past and done.
Trust me.
I want what I want.
*Religion wants and needs its followers and believers.
This could be way off but I think this interpretation makes sense when you look closely. There is certainly a deep meaning behind these lyrics, why it's a great song.
I think you've got some good points "ignore-reality"
I like your interpretation of the first two stanzas.
But I've listened to the song and found that the rest of the song sounds almost like a plea for forgiveness and tolerance.
"Jesus, won't you fucking whistle something but whats past and done"
It sounds almost like an angry or desperate cry out for something new. Then it's followed by "Why can we not be sober" which reminds me of someone falling to their knees looking at the ground, pitifully mumbling these words which say "I want a second chance."
"I am just a worthless liar.
I am just an imbecile.
I will only complicate you.
Trust in me and fall as well.
I will find a center in you.
I will chew it up and leave,
I will work to elevate you
just enough to bring you down."
True, this could be told from a straight forward, honest perspective of a religious figure, or the pure intent of a tainted religion.
But somehow it wouldn't be fair to simply pin this down to religion or christianity.
This reminds me of the basic human instinct of being the best, being on top, even if I has to use my fellow man as nothing more then a step ladder.
Lots of things could replace religion in this. Similar to how the Blind Faith theme in Judith by APC can be interpreted. Someone's faith in a cheating, an abusive, or perhaps a disrespectful partner for example.
One way to look at this stanza would be as if talking about advertising/marketing or mass-media.
Another way to look at it is with the second time you hear this stanza with "trust me" replacing the last two lines.
How can you be expected to trust someone like that? The human race is just like that to each other. Who would want to trust that?
But going back to what I said about forgiveness, it's like a confession.
"This is what I am. I will not deny that, but I, and the human race, see the mistakes we've made. We just want to start this over."
You could also look at jesus "whistling" like a guilty man might, and Mary "whispering" as though conspiring. Though that may be reading too much into it.
Well thats the way I see it today. But tomorrow I'll probably see it completely differently. Thats the beauty behind great poetry. But today I couldn't help but feel the emotion of shame from the song.
A thing just occurred to me while reading these posts. I'm currently reading a book called "The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross" by John M. Allegro, which is one of the books recommended by Blair. It attempts to connect Christianity with an ancient fertility cult with the common denominator of magic mushrooms. Actually a newsletter a while back (last Easter, I believe) discussed this subject briefly.
Now, my new view of this song is maybe, assuming it has to do with religion like you've said, that the reason why it's called Sober is because of the whole mushroom reason. There are not only references in tool to drugs and religion (Opiate) but also on many Simpsons episodes. At least that's a connection I made.
I read more than once in old magick books about the state of the addict. There were these referrances to demonic/non-human entities that feed off of the energy of the addicted. Arguably because they are too weak from the addiction to ward them off instinctively. They are supposed to reside on or just behind one's shoulder! Hence:
There's a shadow just behind me,
shrouding every breath I take,
making every promise empty,
pointing every finger at me.
I don't believe that the song is only about addiction or only about religion. The two make fairly decent bed fellows. Religion is the "OPIATE of the masses" after all!
__________________ Change IS coming through my shadow.
