Well, there has been a lot of discussion about what or who Eulogy is about. Many of them, I feel, miss the mark, and the best one I have heard is the "Eulogy of the Ego"....basically killing a part of your self (ego), in order to advance your true self.
Now I am not saying that any of these are wrong, but here is something for you all to consider. This thought came to me last night....yes I smoked DMT....and some wonderful buds....but dont hold that against me!
I was watching an illegitimate bootleg of a Tool concert from 1997 (I am not proud of this fact, but its not like Tool tour to Perth, Australia every 6 months!), and as I watched the rear screens, this idea came to me....and it is pretty obvious I think (also, I should say my apologies now if this has been discussed).....the screens showed the slow evolution of the primate to modern man....very cool as they were walking in time to the music.
Eulogy, the song, is a eulogy from us, human-beings, to our great ancestors, the primate. It is a collective understanding and adoration of what they did, in order for us to evolve. Terence McKennas' theory involved the use of psychadelic experiences as a tool for our advancement, and suggested that the primates indulged in psilocybin during their quest for food, and this is the key to our current level of consciousness (and the "missing link" to the evolution chain). In addition, I suggest the primates knowingly ate these mushrooms to gain knowledge and a more intricate understanding of this life on earth...leading to startling revelations (eventually) in science, mathematics, geometry, astronomy, etc....
This also leads into the progression that mankind must do the same for the next generation of "beings" to grace the earth once our time comes....so in essence, it is also a eulogy of the Human-Race aswell.
So, with this in mind, let me go through the lyrics:
"He had alot to say.
He had alot of nothing to say.
We'll miss him. "
The primates had a lot to say, but no written language. The origin of language, and purpose of language was a hot topic for Terence McKenna, who suggested that language is the barrier we need to dissolve, and that there are much higher levels of communication. The primates deserve our gratitude, and this song is exactly that. We'll miss him.
"So long.
We wish you well.
You told us how you weren't afraid to die.
Well then, so long.
Don't cry.
Or feel too down.
Not all martyrs see divinity.
But at least you tried. "
It is an honerable "so long".....and sung loud enough for everyone to hear, from heaven to earth, including our ascended ancestors. The primates literally showed us that they were willing to become extinct to allow for the greater purpose, supposedly, being the Human-race. I take the last few lines with a hint of tongue-in-cheek Tool humour (scattered throughout their work). The primates were indeed martyrs.
"Standing above the crowd,
He had a voice that was strong and loud.
We'll miss him.
Ranting and pointing his finger
At everything but his heart.
We'll miss him. "
This stanza describes the division of the animal hierarchy, where there is the one big alpha male, standing above the rest of them and pointing his finger. Funnily enough, we have come round full circle to the point where we are living like this again. Although this is a destructive level of existance (the role of the alpha male), it is necessary in advancement, as this is the level where knowledge is aquired, the only problem is, at this level, we point at everyTHING except our hearts/emotions/intuition, etc.
"No way to recall
What it was that you had said to me,
Like I care at all.
So loud.
You sure could yell.
You took a stand on every little thing
And so loud. "
If there was any knowledge our primates passed on to us (and I suggest they passed on everything they knew), we are so arrogant about ourselves, that we can not recall anything from earlier beings, and, in fact, dont really care enough to try.
note: the whispers in this part reflect the thoughts of Tool towards the primate....things like "wish you could be the one to save me from my own existance".....
"Standing above the crowd,
He had a voice so strong and loud and I
Swallowed his facade cuz I'm so
Eager to identify with
Someone above the ground,
Someone who seemed to feel the same,
Someone prepared to lead the way, with
Someone who would die for me. "
Again, referring to the primates "standing above the crowd", we have actually adopted this way of life, or this facade mainly because we are externalising our own existance. This search for God.....the primates were looking for it in the mushrooms, and we are looking for it in space...."eager to identify with someone above the ground"....we, as a race, are totally side-tracked with finding this someone/entity/god/aliens/whatever....something beyond us. This is when we start to hear the primate biting back at us (bear in mind the "we are all one consciousness" idea, especially since we are in the same evolutionary line as the primates)....it is hard to explain, but look at this as a long line of "beings" in this evolutionary time-line....leading on to the next lines:
"Will you? Will you now?
Would you die for me?
Don't you fuckin lie."
Maybe this is Tool, or the primate (or both) asking the Human-Race whether we are ready to evolve once again (go back to the Bill Hicks idea of evolution...which is the evolution of thoughts). The problem is, we have no idea what we are doing, so no matter what the response is, its a lie.....how can we KNOW where we are going, when we dont know where we are now?
"Don't you step out of line.
Don't you fuckin lie. "
Again, think of the evolutionary line.....Tool are giving us a warning....dont fuck with nature.
"You've claimed all this time that you would die for me.
Why then are you so surprised to hear your own eulogy? "
Tool again (or perhaps the primates), putting it right in front of our faces.
"You had alot to say.
You had alot of nothing to say.
Come down.
Get off your fuckin cross.
We need the fuckin space to nail the next fool martyr. "
As our ancestors, the primates put it blatantly...."its time to forget your ego, its time to evolve, lets go already!!!" Theres another race ready to go, and we are holding this whole process up with our technological externalising of our minds.
"To ascend you must die.
You must be crucified
For your sins and your lies.
Goodbye..."
Like most Tool songs, the track is wrapped up in the final, rather literally interpretted stanza. It should be pretty obvious now what I think it means.
Please note, this only came to me last night, so more thoughts to develop. What are your thoughts? Bad? Good?
Take care,
Andy
__________________ Chasing the Trail of smoke and reason
Just out of curiousity, does anyone think anything Tool play on the rear screens relates at all to the song they are playing at the time? I think they do.
And if you do, what do you think is the reason for the primates being used during this song? If I am not mistaken, they use similar footage for other songs, I just cant remember which ones...back 1996-7.
I mean, I could be wrong, the ape-like sloping forehead and grazed knuckles could well be the image of L Ron Hubbard.....
__________________ Chasing the Trail of smoke and reason
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Re: Eulogy for our Ancestors...we are next.
that was probably some of the most profound musings i have read on a tool song and that u show exactly where you are basing from makes it a lot more sounder and thought out. kudos to the power of mind altering drugs. maybe they are the catalyst to show us the way forward.
Location: glasgow/a bad place/on a different plane to eveyone i know
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Re: Eulogy for our Ancestors...we are next.
that was possibly the best musing i have read on a tool song. the fact that you back up your ideas and let us see exactly were you are coming from make it all the more plausible. kudos to mind altering drugs, maybe they are the catalyst to show us the way forward.
maddox7777; Thanks for the input. I think there is some substance to this idea, probably not exactly, and definately not the only plausible interpretation going around. I would say that all of Tools songs have at least a few different themes running through them....hence the ambiguous lyrics, but there is always the same general feelings felt.
For example, this song can be seen as based on the original post, and when listening to the song, with main focus on the vocals (with the music enhancing the emotions) we get the general feeling of the passing, and honouring of a great entity/person/being/thing.
Having said that, this entity/person/being/thing didnt quite "make it". But they gave it a shot.And, not only did they give it a shot, they tried to do something for the bigger picture. For the Earth. I get the feeling this song is describing something big, which is why I tried to stand back and look at mankind as a whole, and what the main changes were, and what we are heading towards.
I am also starting to see how psychadelics can play a role in mankinds current problems. It is odd, but these drugs can actually help in overcoming serious drug addictions/problems. I know it sounds odd, fixing drug problems with drugs, but these drugs are not addictive, are natural, last 5 minutes, and you walk away with an experience you can spend years meditating on, with profound results.
They are also fun, and bring out child-like emotions, pure, love, sincerity, compassion, understanding, and at the same time acknowledge the depths, and complexity of our minds, and give us the power and willingness to venture to these other places.
Thats me out.
Andy
__________________ Chasing the Trail of smoke and reason
This is an interesting concept, but then what are we to do with "46&2?" I think "46&2" is heavily laced with evolution-type imagery, leaving behind our shadows (read: what is left in our wake) and stepping through them into a higher consciousness. Your post reads very much like this concept, and I think it has merit. I think it's also important to note the overriding concept of cleansing throughout the album, evident in its title. I wonder what would happen if we included "H." into this concept as well. "I feel this coming over like a storm again." One of the most common archetypes in literature is that water cleanses and can oftentimes act as a womb of sorts (think of the water imagery in Aenema).
I suppose what I'm saying is that each song of the album is about transcending the present and moving into something fresh and new (maybe with the exception of "Hooker," though I'm sure someone can do an intelligent reading of that song connecting it to the idea of cleansing)--consider "Something has to change" being the first line of the album. Even "jimmy" is about moving out of a place filled with "the dead and hopeless" and following the light "home."
Your reading of "Eulogy" fits into this mold, with the exception of the cross imagery. The cross imagery says that the people on the cross know they are there and hve gone there willingly, perhaps for some kind of sympathy. This doesn't work with primates. Cross imagery, martyrs, and primates don't sit well with me. I think that "Eulogy" still works as a song about cleansing in some sense, but primates don't have the consciousness you're ascribing to them. Whomever is being eulogized in this song definitely has a consciousness (he can lie, he can martyr himself, he tried to see divinity).
"Eulogy" is a direct address to a person or group of people who pledged towards something, and they could not deliver. They carried themselves so highly that they pledged their lives for an idea, but when they realized the true cost, they wanted to get down. In a sense, I see it as a warning to would-be evangelists and activists who claim their devotion to exist on a level it does not. These people need to be cleansed, with only honest men and women remaining.
Sorry for the length. Didn't intend it. Had too much to say once I got going.
__________________ "The Emperor is dead! The Emperor is dead! Good bye! To God!"
