| Tool – Rosetta Stoned Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| He's supposedly strapped down in a hospital somewhere and he took a lot more than DMT, and the lyrics say he's brain dead. I think in the song he literally went insane and shit the bed. Just my interpretation. | |
| Tool – Third Eye Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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I'm going to have to disagree with popular opinion here and say that this song IS about psychedelic drugs, at least in part. What it's NOT about is encouraging drug use. In interviews, Maynard has said that while psychedelic drugs can help some people find inspiration and deeper meaning, this is only true if they prepare properly, have respect for the drug, and give themselves time to process the experience. He has said he knows dozens of people who used them improperly and, while not necessarily going insane, never quite came back from their trip. They spend so much time in their minds that they forget how to DO. The problem is that psychedelic drugs allow people to achieve these states of consciousness without doing the work. Force them, in fact. Again, all of this is coming from interviews with Maynard. I believe this song is, at least in part, about this. I think the choice of words "Prying open my third eye" is very relevant. He did not say "Opening up my third eye." He did not say "Peering out of my third eye." He said PRYING. This is a very violent choice of words for what should be a meditative, contemplative experience. Maynard has also always stressed the importance of the music itself, not just the lyrics, and this song has a very particular tone. It is perhaps their most dissonant song. It has a very aggressive, disturbing feel to it. The feel of this song is nothing like the calm, contemplative state of mind of, say, a Buddhist monk. If we interpret the people that he meets as his "other selves," I think that the line "Why are you running?" is again very relevant. This seems to imply that the narrator has no control of what is going on. In fact, everything about the song implies a state of confusion and unknowing. The narrator hasn't opened his third eye, he's PRIED it open, and he's seeing things he can't understand. Again, in interviews, Maynard has pointed out that psychedelic drugs allow people to achieve psychedelic states without doing the work to get there. I think that's what this song is about. In that sense, it's a lot like Rosetta Stoned. As an aside, I don't think I'd be living up to my principles if I didn't add this: * Quantum mechanics is not about universal consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There is nothing subjective about quantum mechanics, and it has nothing to do with consciousness. It is cold hard math. There is randomness in it, yes, but it's not subjective. Believe whatever spiritual/mystical beliefs you want, but don't conflate them with quantum mechanics. They are very different. I'm not being closed minded here. It's okay to believe in things that aren't or can't be proven. It's just not okay to call that science. * |
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