Eulogy

If you have an anti-Christian bias, then this song will be about Jesus to you. However, "get off your fuckin cross" refers to anyone who is playing the part of the martyr for the attention, of which there have been hundreds since Christ. Also, Christ was not surprised to hear his own eulogy, he prophesied it and talked about it frequently, and even stated it was his purpose to die. So, I don't think it's about Jesus. One thing I love about Tool is their songs make people think.. well some of them anyways... if all you can do is bash Christians that doesn't take a lot of brainpower, just repeat what you hear in the media. However, for those of us who have a truly open mind rather than an empty mind filled with nonsense... just hit play.

The idea of the martyr is metaphorical. The tone is sarcastic, and at the same time grudgingly true. If you read carefully, no one dies. The miss him is that the recipient of the "Eulogy" has stepped down from his cross or pulpit.

<He had a lot to say He had a lot of nothing to say We'll miss him We'll miss him We're gonna miss him We're gonna miss him>

The set up. A person who talks a lot, but what he talks about has now import or merit ("a lot of nothing to say"). Followed up with the refrain "We'll miss him"... he isn't here anymore, and the sarcasm is immediate, since the line "We'll miss him" immediately follows "He had a lot of nothing to say".

<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>

The speaker speaks for some group that the eulogized was a part of. They are sending him off with a "eulogy", but he is not dead. "Don't cry." Don't cry refers to the eulogized and not the group. The group "We" is wishing a the eulogized "you" well. The martyrdom the speaker refers to seems to be how the eulogized must have spoken of and attempted to represent some ideal, the "divinity", but couldn't actually realize or perhaps even follow this ideal (the martyr that fails to see divinity).

<Standing above the crowd, He had a voice that was strong and loud We'll miss him We'll miss him Ranting and pointing his finger At everything but his heart We'll miss him We'll miss him We're gonna miss him We're gonna miss him>

Here is the real beef the speaker has with the eulogized. The person seemed persuasive and showed conviction, but in the end, the eulogized only pointed fingers, in essence, blaming and finding fault, but not with himself. Again the refrain of "we'll miss him", maybe they will miss his theatrics, but the sarcasm is fully there. The speaker points out the negative of the eulogized, and follows with "we'll miss him".

<No way to recall What it was that you had said to me, Like I care at all>

Another mention of how the song's target had nothing of merit to say.

<But it was so loud You sure could yell You took a stand on every little thing And so loud>

This sort of paints the eulogized as being so self-delusional as to be a lunatic, ranting about everything, but not in any meaningful way.

<Standing above the crowd, He had a voice so strong and loud and I Swallowed his fa�ade 'cause 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>

And now for heart of it. This points to the speaker's ultimate disillusionment of the eulogized. The speaker believed what the target had to say, because he was under sway of the eulogized person's charisma. He was a voice above the crowd, he stood out. The speaker was eager to identify, as he had similar feelings. It could even be assumed that the eulogized person tapped into the speaker's and others' feelings and sentiments, focused their dissatisfaction, and intimated that he "would die for me". In other words, this eulogized person, by speaking to and for the crowd, persuaded them that he felt as they did, that he was a part of them, and that he would make sacrifices for them. This, of course, was a lie. A facade is a false face.

<Will you? Will you now? Would you die for me? Don't you fucking lie

Don't you step out of line Don't you step out of line Don't you step out of line Don't you fucking lie>

The sarcasm is replaced with anger. By saying "don't step out of line" and "don't lie", this has already been done. The eulogized DID step out of line with what he said. He did lie.

<You've claimed all this time that you would die for me Why then are you so surprised when you hear your own eulogy?>

You said you would make whatever sacrifice, the sacrifice is your death, and yet you are surprised. The speaker is telling the eulogized that he is dead to the group now, the sacrifice is his role in the group. But the eulogized man is surprised by this. This was not intended, even though he kept claiming that he was a part of them, and that he would "die" for them, make whatever sacrifice. He never intended to make any sacrifice.

<You had a lot to say You had a lot of nothing to say

Come down Get off your fucking cross We need the fucking space to nail the next fool martyr>

Get off the cross. A metaphor that people are tired of hearing the martyr attitude, the woe-is-me. Perhaps here, the nailing of the martyr to the cross was forcing the eulogized person to publicly suffer for the group, some sort of calling out or shaming, and now get the hell out of here. You're dead to us.

<To ascend you must die You must be crucified For our sins and our lies Goodbye... >

The speaker is telling the eulogized that he had promised to sacrifice, that in order to be the true martyr he made himself out to be, he NEEDED to make a sacrifice, so the group made him, perhaps not in the way that he intended, and his use is over to the group.

One could make the case that the speaker is subtly angry at himself and the group as well. He makes mention how he wanted to believe, how the group will miss the eulogized (perhaps missing a martyr, as they need that), and does make mention "for our sins and our lies". Still, he may be saying that last line as a way of throwing it back into the eulogized man's face.

So to recap. The eulogy is for a living man, a man who could hear his own eulogy. A eulogy is supposed to be about the deceased person's merits, but this is about a non-deceased person's ultimate failings. The "goodbye" is the group forcibly sending someone off and away from them.

This song isn't about religion. It uses religion as a metaphor to get the information across. This song refers to someone who thinks they are better than everyone else. It emphasizes the trust that people take in others or the lack of it. Tool is not a religous band. By this I mean they don't promote their beliefs to try and persuade others to think the same. They want everyone to be their own person and not conform to the "usual" because that's the way it was done in the past.

Danny from the band eluded to the fact that Maynard wrote this as an attack upon L. Ron Rubbard. Although there are paralels to Jesus in this song and we know that Jesus isn't Maynard's hero, (Opiate), this song can very simply be anyone we want it to be... "think for yourself, question authority, strive to be different, strive to be unique, Never repeat things other people say"-Maynard's Non-Conformist's Pledge

I love how people try to over think and over analyze Tool songs. This song is about L. Ron. Hubbard. Check out the interviews with Danny Carey. They are available all over the web.

If you actually read the lyrics and think about them it's obviously NOT about Jesus, that's obviously a metaphor. If it's literally about Jesus it makes no sense. It's about people who "proclaim themselves as the 'next messiah'".

I believe it is about an Ego Death. The entire album Aenima seems to encorporate alot of Jungian Psychology. The term Aenima is a combination of the words 'Anima' an aspect of the unconscious in Jungian Psychology, and 'Enema' a medical procedure where fluid is administered into the rectum. It supposedly means 'a cleansing of the soul'. 46 & 2 is about mergind with the shadow, Third Eye is obviously about the goal of this whole process, being whole, discovering one's 'self', opening one's third eye. I feel as though most of the other songs are about realizations about one's self or the world around them, helping them move onward on their psychological journey. The ego is the outer layer, consisting of all of our life experiences. It tells us how to act and react, what is right and wrong (the ego is always right in its own mind), it basically controls us. To move forward and further discover one's true 'self' an Ego Death is a manditory first step.

L. Ron Hubbard and his followers

This song, if you examine the lyrics on the surface, is about evangelistic preachers. He is complaining about the way the want all your money yet are not willing to suffer for you or commiserate. Maynard is basically saying if you're not willing to die for me get the fuck out of in front of the microphone.

It's not about Jesus, Bill Hicks, Layne Staley, Kurt Cobain, or anyone in particular. It's about the people who walk around acting like they are Jesus come again, always ranting about what they consider right and wrong to any idiot who will listen and bludgeoning you with self-righteousness.