Just a thought: do you think he may be singing about Maynard? He's gone through so many changes in both his music and his personal life, and so many people hang on his every word and action ("demanding prophecies when you speak" and "they hang on every word that you speak"). I can't tell you how many times I've heard people declare "Maynard is god," but Mr. Keenan is really a private person with his own life that, like everyone else, is constantly stating. As he has said before in an interview, some "fans" complain that Tool's music has changed over the years, and his reply was, "Of course it has, because the people who write the music (he & his band-mates) have changed."
Billy knows Maynard personally, and I've got to wonder if this song wasn't directed towards him, as he watches his friend try to grow and develop in the confines of the spotlight.
Just a thought: do you think he may be singing about Maynard? He's gone through so many changes in both his music and his personal life, and so many people hang on his every word and action ("demanding prophecies when you speak" and "they hang on every word that you speak"). I can't tell you how many times I've heard people declare "Maynard is god," but Mr. Keenan is really a private person with his own life that, like everyone else, is constantly stating. As he has said before in an interview, some "fans" complain that Tool's music has changed over the years, and his reply was, "Of course it has, because the people who write the music (he & his band-mates) have changed."
Billy knows Maynard personally, and I've got to wonder if this song wasn't directed towards him, as he watches his friend try to grow and develop in the confines of the spotlight.
I have to admit, I thought of Maynard when I read the lyrics to this song, too. People do tend to raise Maynard on a pedestal.
I have to admit, I thought of Maynard when I read the lyrics to this song, too. People do tend to raise Maynard on a pedestal.
But it can also have a more general meaning. I suppose we'll never really know.
But it can also have a more general meaning. I suppose we'll never really know.