Tool: Eulogy Meaning
Song Released: 1998
Eulogy Lyrics
He had a lot of nothing to say.
We’ll miss him. (2x)
We’re gonna miss him (2x)
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...
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Thank you, anonymous guy above this...
The whole point of Tool, the lyrics and the music, is to bring us together and destroy the hate and negativity around the world. You can't call yourself a Tool fan if you're going to argue with other Tool fans and not be the least bit open minded about what other people have to say. Part of Tools message is to believe what you want to believe, be open minded... It doesn't matter because if we all learn to love one another then everything is all good.
Do not over analyze the songs. Thats is clearly stated in Tools works of art. Maynard stated in an interview with Mtv that he releases the lyrics of the songs a month after the album is released because he wants the people to feel the music before they actually start dissecting the song. A lot of the message is in the music, if you would step back and listen, you might find something out you never knew before. I did. -
Tool has nothing against christians, they do on the other hand have a problem with people who follow something blindly and do not think or question it. Maybe you guys need to put your ego aside for a minute and try to feel what the music is saying... And this song is in no way about bill hicks
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To see some of these discussions by Tool fans is really disapointing. I was expecting to read some open-minded discussion about possible interpretations based on reason and legitimate information they have heard from the band, or other reliable sources.
But its just a bunch of telling people what they think they know. Stop telling people how obvious the answer is, because it isnt. Keep an open mind. Accept the fact that you just might not know. And maybe more importantly, accept the fact that just because you don't know, doesn't mean there isn't a right answer.
Maynard(or just Tool in general) is extremly unclear/symbolic, and at the same time deliberate, with every word meaning something. Have fun trying to figure out what it all means. I think that's what he/they would want.
And don't try to make Tool your shepard. Thats just as bad as being a sheep under anyone else.
________
so people keep saying the target of the song is bill hicks. Maynard's, the band's, friend. Someone he looked up to.
"he had a lot to say.
He had a lot of nothing to say."
"ranting and pointing his finger
at everything but his heart."
the entire song is negative. About someone who is insincere and self serving. You can say they were mad about his dying in a stupid way, but do you really think a band that is so intelligent and deliberate in their lyrics would write something so insulting about their recently departed friend because "they were mad." not realizing that this song might exist for as long as the human race? That doesn't make sense to me.
Jesus doesn't make sense either.
Someone said L. Ron Hubbard above. A few people, not writing much about it. If you have read much about scientology or about the man, it makes a lot of sense. -
First off, I am also a christian and a fan of tool. We're allowed to be both. The 'come down, get off your fucking cross' line never sat well with me, but like every other Tool song ever, the words Maynard's using are metaphorical. I don't know if he's talking about Cobain, or Rollins or Hitler, but I'm sure it's not Jesus.
-
"come down
get off your fuckin' cross
we need the fuckin' space
to nail the next fool martyr"
it speaks for itself, it's 100% obvious that it's about jesus christ, you guys are being too complex, it's simple and right infront of your face. -
Well no kidding it's about bill hicks.. On the surface.
But it's about much more than that. It's about what
he represented to many ppl. About what many figures
in society have represented throughout the centuries.
Productive or otherwise.. Please refer to my previous
post
-antismob -
This goes way back to the christian guy who listens to Tool but not the lyrics.
Tool is all about the message and the music and if your not listening to the message then you arent listening to the music and you arent a fan of tool -
Oh for cryin out loud. It's so obvious that it's about bill hicks. If you just check out some of his material, and listen to the lyrics of the song it will be clear to you.
"standing above the crowd,
he had a voice that was strong and loud.
We'll miss him.
Ranting and pointing his finger
at everything but his heart.
We'll miss him."
bill was known to go into these wild rants whenever he went on stage.
"no way to recall
what it was that you had said to me,
like I care at all.
So loud.
You sure could yell.
You took a stand on every little thing
and so loud."
bill would often yell and scream on stage. Here Maynard also takes a shot on people who went to his shows wanting nothing but dick jokes and straight forward humor, and not caring about all the important stuff he was trying to say.
"standing above the crowd,
he had a voice so strong and loud and i
swallowed his facade because 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."
we all know that Maynard looked up to bill and that bill was a huge inspiration to him.
Toilet duck (norway) -
This song is about futility.. Nothing we do matters but
we long for it to. Nothing we say matters.. The dust
from our bones will be gone soon.. While you live.. While
your still alive you must transcend all set beliefs formed
from fear.. Fear and insecurity is the root of all counterproductive behavior... "swollowed his facade cause I'm so eager to identify with someone above the crowd, someone who Seemed To feel the same, someone prepared to lead the way and Someone who would die for me." everone longs for that kind of connection and nearly every religion, cult, society, business take advantage of it. "will you? Will you now.. Would you die for me.. Don't you fucking lie" look through it all
"you claimed all this time that you would die for me why then are you so surprised when you hear your own eulogy"
society is controlled with fear, corruption, or fake phucking relation. Kill that mentality... If you wanna die, if you wanna be a martyr, if you want your name to live on, die for your misguided beliefs fool .. Die die die lol
anyway something like that
-antismob -
I think maynard's lyrics are definitely about certain issues, but he is so genius with his lyrics that the words can be left open for numerous interpretations. None of these personal interpretations are "wrong" per say because a person will take from the song what they wish to perceive. As for the person who said "christianity is gay shit". In the future, this person should keep their mouth shut so they won't display their ignorance so easily. If you don't like christianity, that's fine, but the manner in which this person stated their opinion showed their immaturity. Anyway. I am christian and I love Tool. One of the best bests ever. It's not often that a band has great music and lyrics that make one think about things other than sex, violence, drugs, or any other trite issue that saturates popular music.
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I was watching a video on Alex Grey and it was showing like a slide show of his painting and a voice was speaking in the backround (not sure who's voice it was) but he said some really interesting things, and right after he finished saying these things the song eulogy played and it put the song in a whole new light.
I am still not 100% sure what every line of this song means yet but I figured I would post the things he said and you guys can reflect on them and maybe it will put the song in a new light for you as well.
(I would really like some feedback on what you guys think about these things said and what they could mean in the song) here goes...
"denial also forces one to block their opus of emotions to reach eternal control of deity"
"dismissal is emotional/spiritual suicide"
"to fear what is not understood is not an option for the spiritual realm"
"this decision is for the ignorant, arrogant, and the spiritually pigmented"
"the insecure are also on the list of the emotionally stigmatic"
"but realizing 85% of the brain is still attached to the physical body is the realization that 15% functioning is brainwashing"
"15% is a minor figure"
"15% is a minor figure"
"to avoid pushing our mental thresh holds would result in the mental regression"
"a mind regressing would result in discontinuing of evolving knowledge. the deprevation of evolving knowledge would conclude to the loss of elite divinity. no divinity terminates spiritual progression, without spiritual progression the soul is theoretically dead."
i hope you guys got something out of that and I can't wait to hear what new insights come out of this... -
Ok let me clear a couple of things up, they all together as a group write every part of their music/lyrics.
Second of all Maynard is not against christianity he might just be a christian himself, (qabala) which lateralus is about has a lot to do with god (christianity), along with a lot of other things, they are against the corruption and blind following in which most christians take part in.
Third I really don't think this song is about jesus or bill hicks, some stuff points to them yes but, here are my reasons
i don't think bill hicks was a martyr he didn't suffer or die for his beliefs. (not all martyrs see divinity, but at least you tried)
"ranting and pointing his finger at everything but his heart" bill hicks did a lot of self reflection so I don't see how this could point to him at all, though he did rant and point the finger alot/ this could also show a reason it wasnt jesus because did a lot of self reflection as well. This one line proves it wasnt either but I have more
"and I swallowed his façade" bill hicks wasnt fake he presented his true self to anyone no matter what they though.
"will you die for me" jesus did die for him so I don't see how that could point at jesus, and I don't think bill hicks ever said he would die for him and he didn't.
As for the interpretation... I really don't know, I don't think it points at any one person in particular, it might have something to do with christians because it talks about being a martyr and finding divinity (which some christians believe you have to suffer and sacrifice to make it to heaven), and it talks about getting off the cross to make room to nail the fool on it,
after all is said and done it has something to do with you finding your inner self to find divinity (heaven), not following somone or sacrificing yourself for somone elses beliefs. But hell if I know, this one still confuses me alot, but I do know most of you are very wrong -
Its about whatever you want it to be. Listen, music is beatiful because each person is inspired and touched differently from another. Trying to convey one meaning to the world as the song's "real meaning" is not what the band would have wanted. It's cool to share some points or interesting facts but it's not about shoving your opinion down someone's throat because their opinion matters just as much as yours. Thats the beauty of music.
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Why don't you get a life. Tool is a band that millions love, why? Because they ask questions, because they arent just like everyone else, and because they are astounding musicians. You are a bigger tool than any fan of this band. Fans of this band are at least encouraged to be open minded. Fans of jesus (aka: xians) are encouraged to be closed minded hypocrites. You get off on the belief that you are so much better than people of every other faith and religion. You pretend like you're the only ones who will make it to heaven, even though your god is so "loving and infallible." he is the light and the way, right? Mhmm. If he is so perfect, how come he doesn't see us all for what we are? We are all flawed. We are all fallible. If one of us ends up in hell, then all of us should be there beside him. If one person makes it to heaven, we should all be there. It doesn't matter by what name you call god, it doesn't matter if he is what you live your life for. If he exists, he is perfect, and he will see the good in all of us, and we will all end up at his side. Youre not any better than me, and I'm no better than muhammed. So open your third eye and take a look around. Maybe youll see things as they are for the first time.
-
It's baltently clear that Maynard and the gang aren't exactly fans of christianity. This song may be a jab at anyone who is "self-rightious", but it is mostly a clear jab at jesus christ. As if somehow jesus is just some crazed lunatic that managed to bamboozle billions of people for centuries after his death. How could you possibly call jesus a "good man" if you think he is a liar? If he really pulled the wool over all our eyes then he was at best a con man.
Anyway, put the pieces together. It may be about Kurt Cobain or l ron hubbard....But the main jab is so clearly against jesus. And even if it wasn't, it was still a sucker punch at him. As if god is possibly mocked by maynards hatred.
I am a christian and I have the cd...I skip this song and any other song by tool that are blatent jabs at my faith. Not because they offend me or god but because I choose not to hear them. Go ahead and yell at me. I don't care.
I have issues with anyone that idolizes any band so much that they literally get angry when someone doesn't like that band to the degree that they do...Calm down skippy...Go get a life!
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