Costume For A Gutterball

I interpret it as a song about how a person whose failed at something covers up his failure with lies, creating a metaphorical 'mask'. The name of the song: "Costume for a Gutterball" implies as much. A costume hides your true identity and a gutterball is a failed attempt.

This song is about living life inside your head with the memories you've already collected. It implies that anything valuable that can be taken in, already has been before. There's nothing new to gather, and people aren't exactly impressing you with their intelligence. You juggle your thoughts and past experiences into different perspectives, trying to find something new and meaningful.

You've tried to pretend like you're a part of the world, and that things still excite you, but it's just a front that you're failing to maintain. People are beginning to see you for who you really are; a completely disconnected person due to lack of any external interest. They attempt to interact with you but they get nothing in return.

where the questions marks are, he say "caught in one more buried memory" .such a great song this is

I do love this song.. Probably my favorite on Tip, and one of my favorites..

I find this one of my favorite Finger Eleven songs. As for meaning, I think the subject of the song is doing something that I used to do. He doesn't experience the world around him because his mind is elsewhere. That's what he means by disappearing and wearing a mask. His memories are where he hides from the world of the present, but sometimes those memories aren't positve. That would be why they are "buried memories."

this song always puts me in the mind of Tool. i'd say it's about hiding from something even though you're always around it