10,000 Days (Wings Pt. 2) Lyrics
How we'd follow the path of the hero.
Boast about the day when the rivers overrun.
How we rise to the height of our halo.
Our way into the arms of the savior,
Feigning all the trials and the tribulations;
None of us have actually been there,
Not like you...
Gather around spewing sympathy,
Spare me.
None of them can even hold a candle up to you.
Blinded by choice, these hypocrites won't see.
Who could deny you were the one who illuminated your little piece of the divine?
I'm gonna let it shine to guide you safely on your way,
Your way home ...
Without you to guide them all to Zion?
What are they going to do when the rivers overrun,
Other than tremble incessantly?
You were the light and the way they'll only read about.
I only pray Heaven knows when to lift you out.
Ten thousand days in the fire is long enough;
You're going home.
Shake your fists at the gates saying:
"I have come home now!
Fetch me the spirit, the son, and the father.
Tell them their pillar of faith has ascended.
It's time now!
My time now!
Give me my, give me my wings!"
Give me my!
Give me my!
Give me my!
Give me my!
Give me my wings!
Burden of proof tossed upon the believers.
You were my witness, my eyes, my evidence,
Judith Marie, unconditional one.
Difficult to see you in this light.
Please forgive this bold suggestion, but,
Should you see your Maker's face tonight,
Look Him in the eye, look Him in the eye, and tell Him:
"I never lived a lie, never took a life, but surely saved one.
Hallelujah, it's time for you to bring me home."
First, people really need to listen to TOOL, APC, and Puscifer and realize that Maynard Keenan, although very spiritual, is not a fan of organized religion. The 10,000 Days album is not about religion, but a variety of topics, such as vicarious being about vicariously living out violence through TV (eye on the TV...cause I need to watch things die from a distance), The Pot being about hypocrisy (every line in the song pretty much being an analogy for hypocrisy), and Rosetta Stoned being an overdose from X and DMT (10 to 2 AM, X and yogi DMT and a box of krispy kremes). The song Wings for Marie, and 10,000 Days (Wings pt. 2), these very beautiful and powerful songs, are about Maynard Keenan's mother, Judith Marie, who suffered from a stroke that left her paralyzed and wheelchair bound until she died 27 years later, which is about 10,000 days, rounding up. He also makes a specialty wine named after his mother.
Listen to the tales as we all rationalize Our way into the arms of the savior, Feigning all the trials and the tribulations; None of us have actually been there. Not like you.
Many people spend their life rationalizing, trying to make a logical decision of what to believe in. Maynard respects his mother for going by her true feelings, or intuition, instead. people try to convince themselves to keep faith or believe in this or that. she actually experienced the "light" described by so many different schools of thought through her faith in Jesus. Even though maynard doesnt like the stories of jesus he cant help but respect and admire this "light". christianity isnt the only way to achieve it, probably the least likely way actually. all the more reason to respect his mother for it.
This is what maynard learned from his mother. to seek that light and live for it. he just chooses to seek it in a different way... "a gift you passed on to me"
the feeling most people only "read about"
she never lived a lie, she actually felt this spiritual connection to jesus. her set of beliefs says that in doing this she will be saved, go to heaven or whatever. thats why maynard says she can look god in the eye and demand her wings. Its an assurance that she did her part.
she saved maynards life by teaching him to trust his spirituality.
I'm a 16 year old guy, and a huge fan of TOOL.
I just want to say that this song has the most powerful lyrics of any song by TOOL. Hell, it has the most powerful lyrics of any song by anyone. In all honesty, after reading the lyrics along with the music, I was crying. Like actually crying. Don't get me wrong, but I've never been religious. But religious or not, this song truly sums up life and death. This is a beautiful tribute to his mother that delves into the unknown deeper than anything ever before. Producing a poetic masterpiece like this is an achievement no one should ignore. The time, the effort, the emotion that goes into creating something like this: it all just adds up to song that is nothing short of monumental.
@dhgrossman92 wow, you must be 22 or 23 by now, has aging changed that view a bit over the years?
@dhgrossman92 wow, you must be 22 or 23 by now, has aging changed that view a bit over the years?
@Aragotton LOL i'd say my comment from 7 years ago is nothing short of dramatic
@Aragotton LOL i'd say my comment from 7 years ago is nothing short of dramatic
@dhgrossman92 i know you are much older than 16 now lmao, but i am currently 16 and i CANNOT stop listening to this song i completely agree with everything that you said lol. This is a beautifully written song.
@dhgrossman92 i know you are much older than 16 now lmao, but i am currently 16 and i CANNOT stop listening to this song i completely agree with everything that you said lol. This is a beautifully written song.
Haha...all the people that posted back in 06 thought this was a fake. Nope. Anyways this song is obviously written to Judith Marie, Maynard's mom. She was paralyzed for 27 years, or 10,000 days, but you already know all that. This song serves two purposes: 1. As a eulogy to his mother and 2. as a way to call attention to the hypocrisy within the christian church. Judith was heavily religious and dedicated her life to God despite her being paralyzed. Maynard calls her a savior in herself because she is the only one, it seems, in the christian faith to follow the teachings so devotedly. He also says that the rest of the "ingorant sinners" are lost without her. The song also includes an account of what it would be like as Judith approaches the gates of ST. Peter.
Nailed it.
Nailed it.
@drds63 - I think you may have taken the lyrics a bit too literally, from lyrics from this song and other it would seem Maynard is probably an agnostic if not an atheist outright (Set in my ways and my arrogance, burden of proof tossed on believers). What I think hes saying, interpreted from that perspective, is that he hopes his mother is rewarded for her lifetime of hardship, belief, and faith, that if anyone is deserving of a reward it is her.
You're definitely right that he is holding her high on a perch, but come on it's his mom. In other songs hes seemed to allude to her saving him (Reflection: "I have come curiously close to the end" "Within my darkest moment, feeling weak" "As full and bright as I am, this light is not my own, A million light reflections, pass over me") so she probably was very special to him, and this is his send off to her.
Trexor.... you think that there's no way an artist would dedicate a song to his dead mother???? did you not see the APC site after she died? the site was turned into a rather touching memorial to her for almost 2 weeks...
(the song) Judith... MOCKING HIS MOM??? dude, you don't honestly believe that do you? the opening line being... 'you're such an inspiration for the ways that i will never ever choose to be'...
even if 10,000 Days is a decoy (note: NOT A HOAX, but a decoy) it was made to sound as convincingly like a Tool album as possible...
^ theres prolly a "shortage" in you pants....and I.Q.
Then again every girl deserves a fairytale... A Cinderella Story... the end.
On 10,000 Days, Keenan wanted to explore issues more personal to him:[95] the album name and title track refer to the twenty-seven years during which his mother suffered from complications of a stroke until her death in 2003.
Who cares if its a hoax or not, it's still new music from tool. If its a hoax then its even better becuase then theres another album coming out in a month. But this album is really good in my oppinion.