Tool: Forty Six & 2 Meaning
Song Released: 1998
Forty Six & 2 Lyrics
Shedding skin and
I've been picking
Scabs again.
I'm down
Digging through
My old muscles
Looking for a clue.
I've been crawling on my belly
Clearing out what could've been.
I've been wallowing in my own confused
And...
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-K- for the IDIOT that said "males have 23 chromosomes and females have 23, that makes 46". You dumb ass! We all have 23 PAIRS of them. So we all have 46. Anyone who refers to jungians theory of the shadow is correct in my mind. And evolving into more than we are now.
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I've heard different things about this song. My interpretation is the chromosome interpretation. There are 23 chromosomes in each person ... put two together and it's 46. Add 2 to that and that's the next step to evolution. Maybe Maynard wants to see that happen before he dies but knows that it won't because evolution is a slow process.
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Hey, I read a really good explanation of the song somewhere on the web but I can't remember where it is, I can remember some of it so here goes;
the song is referencing to gaining two extra chromosomes and reaching a higher state of consciousness. we humans have 44+2 chromosomes. The step of evolution or whatever below us had 42+2 chromosomes, these are people like the early humans who see the whole human race as one organism, the next step is us, and the step ahead of us is 46+2 chromosomes, the step that human evolution is currently in is basically just a stepping stone between a state of basic existence and a state of realization of the world a.k.a. The stepping stone between 42+2 and 46+2, we are in a kind of limbo at the moment (supposedly), Maynard seems to think that the way in which we can move on the next step of 46+2 chromosomes is to understand our shadow, which is the unconscious part of our minds that holds possibly the key to releasing our minds and realizing our own existence. In other words, in order to take the next step in evolution we need to delve right into our unconscious.
iI'm not sure I got it all right or if it's understandable haha but that was one of the best interpretations I've heard.
peace out. -
Zaq said:
Scientifically speaking, chromosome number has nothing to do with spirituality or anything like that.
Humans have 46.
Apes have 48.
Cows have 60.
Chickens have 78.
Carp have 104.
Butterflies have 380 chromosomes.
FERNS have 1200!
So, unless you think ferns are 25 times more spiritual than us, don't take all this too literally.
I think you are missing a fundamental idea here. What is it that leads us to believe that humans are the most evolved being on this planet? This notion actually seems to me to be very ill concieved. According to Darwinistis theory (survival of the fittest) we are the weak link, the deviation from the norm. We lack the physical capability to survive as well as other instinctual creatures do (we make up for this with our intellectual capabilities). What leads you to the conclusion that thought, especially in the form we know it (separate, conflicting, non-uniform, destructive) is a sign of higher evolution.
Perhaps, as we continue to evolve, we will see the unity in everything
and thus become MORE like the fern. Co-existence, contentment, etc.
Now, I do not deem that this is neccesarily true, but consider the IDEA. I HIGHLY SUGGEST reading "Nothing in this Book is True, but it's Exactly how Things Are," by Bob Frissel.
Once again, only an idea, only my thinking... -
I was listening to the song and it dawned on me also that it was a song reflecting the liberation one may go through after becoming sober.
I wanna know what I've been hiding in - he wants to get to know himself
Change is coming.
Now is my time.
Listen to my muscle memory.
Contemplate what I've been clinging to.
Forty-six and two ahead of me.
I think this part shows how he feels triumphant that he got the gorilla that was clinging to his back off. and that the weight lifted from him will be as food as divine revelation.
here he is taking inventory
I choose to live and to
Grow, take and give and to
Move, learn and love and to
Cry, kill and die and to
Be paranoid and to
Lie, hate and fear and to
Do what it takes to move through.
I choose to live and to
Lie, kill and give and to
Die, learn and love and to
Do what it takes to step through.
I still am not quite sure what 42 and 2 mean other than the chromosome theory. I think it is great that Maynard came out with a great song that intrigues so many intelligent people.
I guess that's what rock stars do for a living. -
I agree with the previous interpretations that discuss this song being evolution related. I believe it is talking about human beings developing the skills needed over many years of evolution to become what we have today. The lyrics and song name talk about the "divine" chromosomes and our struggle as humans to evolve. I believe he has found and researched many links to science through religion. Tool, in my eyes, is the evolution of music in itself.
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This is just a guess but... "I" think this song is about herion abuse through the eyes of an addict. The scabs are from the needle. The shadow represents the other side or the spirit. That bring in the Jung theory. He is trying to chage himself make himself better as he battles with herion. This song is actually written from the perspective of someone while they are on it. The outside turing in is the drug which he views as his gateway to his shadow. For him its a cleansig yet he admits he end up on on the ground crawling on his belly. Words like insecure delusions, paranoid,
My shadow
Change is coming
Now is my time
Listen to my muscle memory
Contemplate what I've been clinging to
Forty six and two ahead of me
I assume he is tlaking aobut leeting the herion in and its him time now (drug narscicism) the muscle memeory represents the trained use of the needle which is also the reason for the scabs... and re reflects on what he is clinging to which is the needle.. prehaps he hopes devinity is right around the corner.
I could be wrong but the album 13th set was a drug reference.. as well as the song sober.... I think I might be onto somthing .... -
IT IS, IN MY OPINION, ABOUT SELF EVOLUTION. LEAVING THE OLD SELF, TRANsCEND INTO A NEW, MORE ENLIGHTENED STATE OF MIND(.)
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I am sure Maynard is like the rest of us posting here who haven't studied genetics and then 46 & 2 genes rumor has been around for some time. So while all of you are having a serious argument about genetics, you have failed to realize that maybe 46 & 2 is just symbolism for reaching a divine state of being.
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"Shadow shedding skin" The Shadow is a Jungian archetype which represents aspects of your self you do not wish to recognize. If the shadow is shedding skin than you are removing those negative aspects of the self. "I've been picking my scabs again" opening old wounds.
"Contemplate what I've been clinging to," think of the grudge. "Step into the shadow," recognize the worst aspects of the self.
terry.sandoval@gmail.com -
This is to SMRT:
I too am a doctor, although a different type, I am a PhD in Quantum Mechanics dealing primarily with quantum information and quantum fluctuation. I also hold a Bachelor's degree in mathematics and philosophy. One of my "extra-field" interest is the study of genetics. You state that the whole 46 & 2 theory of evolution is idiotic because 48 chromosomes because it produces Klinefelter's system. You acknowledge the relationship of the 44 autosomes vs. The 2 sex chromosomes, yet somehow fail to grasp the simple concept that Klinefelter's syndrome is caused by a situation in which a person has 44 autosomes and develops 4 sex chromosomes. The theory of evolutionary ascension can be stated to be 46 autosomes and 2 sex chromosomes, thereby negating the inevibility of negative effects. No, this would not be the same as apes having 48 chromosomes simply for the fact that, according to popular studies, the extra 2 chromosomes were fused together. So this would, in turn, be more like 48 autosomes, only 2 fused hence 46, so the dynamics would be extremely hard to predict. Another flaw in your hole-filled logic is that you stated that humans have had no change to their genetic code. That couldn't be more wrong. Look at the research done by the human genome project. It has shown, without a doubt, substantial changes in human dna over the past few millenia. Most impressive were the changes that has occured in the human brain in such time. Not to mention the development of digestive systems capable of processing lactic acids, do you forget we were originally all lactose intolerent? Basically summed up, you can't designate the karyotype of 46 and 2 in the same category as the standard 44 and 4 with its problems and dysfunctions. You really should brush up on your own field more.
As for the song, I feel, as others have stated, that this is a song of internal struggle with an external reflection. This song, to me, relates how we deal with both sides of ourselves and the constant turmoil we as humans go through as a race to deny our primal side and strive for ascension. Through spirituality, and now science, we are answering the questions that have been enigmatic to us our entire existence. As such, our struggles are bringing us closer to the realization that we are all of the same breath and that we may achieve our individual enlightenment through a heightened sense of our origin and destination. -
46 and 2. I like everyone's interpretation. But here is the real one. And if someone suggested this already, I apologize. I didn't read everyones post. As little as you would like to admit it, the sorrow that Maynard experiences comes from being an addict. I don't think he is anymore, but he did go through it. Take Sober for instance.
Anyhow, It takes 48 hours to completely withdraw from heroine, or for that matter, any opiate. He is saying that he is 46 hours into it, and has two hours ahead of him. -
No, no, no you are all looking too deep into the meaning of this song! Yes, the idea of 46 + 2 is an evolutionary concept and theory devised by scientist Dunvalo Melchizadek, which is inspired by Jungian theory. Melchizadek theorizes that in mankinds next evolutionary step, the leap from a chromosome composition of 44 + 2 will be made...
Maynard is going though a split from his signifigant other, and is holding on to the past(listen to my muscle memory)
As well as reliving his memories with this person(I've been picking my scabs again)
This person was his (shadow) which is often a slang term for a signifigant other.
And he can't wait to "get over" this person(I wanna feel the change consume me,Feel the outside turning in.I wanna feel the metamorphosis and Cleansing I've endured within)
And then he will be as will strong as the person who split with him,(Forty-six and two ahead of me)... This person handled the split better....
NERDS! -
46 & 2 is referring to a number of chromosomes. Humans have 46, and gorillas and chimps typically have 48. Some predecessors of man, who were less evolved than us also had 48 chromosomes. I believe Maynard is making reference to the unevolved reactions we often have (our shadow; the dark side) that make our instincts, thoughts and actions indistinguishable from an unevolved man. It is something we all experience. People often refer to evolved thoughts as "taking the high road", yet most people, whether they do or not, feel a particular void when not unleashing that dark side.
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WOW! some really good arguments here! the arguments about chromosomes genetics etc are all very interesting the only thing that I see lacking is personal experience and by that I mean PERSONALLY affected.(just because you have some changes in your chromosomes doesn't always make you different!)In fact most people don't even know there chromosomes are different. (for the doc - I lean more to translocations) I think the song is possibly about getting off drugs, trying to get back to the old you before and lose the JUnkie."Clearing out what could've been." Picking scabs Just gives me the vision of an edgy addict going cold turkey, your muscles ache and you wanna remember them "normal" before you craved. Wanting to feel human again I just think if you read the lyrics with this in mind, it makes sense. The 46 and 2 well as with all songs there open for interpretation every song will mean something else to somebody else, mostly you choose how best it relates to you! many situations although different in experience can be explained in the same song!! But my view is as an addict wanting to just feel like a person in control again and not controlled by drugs. Just food for thought! Cheers!
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