Tool: Rosetta Stoned Meaning
Rosetta Stoned Lyrics
All righty then... picture this if you will...
10 to 2 am, X, yogi DMT, and a box of krispy kreme's in my "need to know" pose just outside of area 51, contemplating the whole chosen people thingy when just then a flaming...
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To understand this song, we must first listen to the previous song, Lost Keys(Blame Hofmann). Granted, the first 3 minutes of this song is filled with guitar feedback, but we must listen to the very end. The vocals start with a Doctor, who after talking with an assistant of his, introduces himself to a patient, re iterates and tells an undistinguishable person to calm down, and tell him everything that happened.
Rosetta Stoned, in it's most literal translation, is a patient of a Doctor explaining his trip on DMT (Dimethyltriptamine). To prove this, we need only took to the look at the few beginning stanzas: "10 to 2 am, X, Yogi DMT..." -
If you look at the song before Rosetta Stoned, Lost Keys (Blame Hofmann), the spelling of the name "Hofmann" is not the traditional spelling. And I don't think that it's just a coincidence that Albert Hofmann was the chemist to formulate LSD. The patient in Lost Keys sounds like he is freaking out, like an acid trip, which is why he may be "blaming" Hofmann. Then Rosetta Stoned itself just sounds like a badass acid trip. :)
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Guys... Yall are over estimating the meaning of the song. This has no ties to religion other than the Hubbard reference, which the band is against Scientology as heard in Ænima.
The man goes on a trip using LSD and over the counter pills (Sudafed)and basicaly he is an unintelligent fella, as shown through not understanding what "somniferous" means or graduating High School. He then was told in the trip that he was the chosen one by aliens that he was the chosen one. He desperately wants you to believe him even though you know he is just seeing shit. He has problems remembering what was told to him due to the fact that he couldn't write it down. Then lastly he shits the bed...
Logicaly you can deduce that this all is emphasizing that drugs are bad for you. I think you are lead to make the assumption that he may have not passed High School from his drug habit and the way of showing how feeble minded the person is he not only needs a pen to remember the vision but he dosn't understand the word "somniferous". He not only wants you to believe that he is the chosen one. It makes it funny in itself to have a person so substandard as to where he even shits the bed and pisses his pants, to be something as important as "The Chosen One".
Honestly the guy tripping is very typical to a normal person that uses high quantities of drugs.
This songs purpose is to show the stupidity of illusionary drugs, which that is a very biased opinion obviously but what else is it? It shows how idiodic a person can be that is addicted to drugs. If you get past my silly rambling, you can see that is the meaning of the song.
P.S. Drugs are bad kids. -
I think you may be wright, and for some reason,it's one of my fav of the album, however I think that this song is like Mormonic religion. Because Joseph Smith had a similar situation, said that he was chosen and that sort of crap. I think that what Tool wanted to say here is that we can't only believe words of some random people who have no proof. And I think that Keenan despites the mormonic religion: have you reckognized that the 10,000 days album has that "south and north american tribes" wibe (Lipans: a tribe, Jambi: a tribe). It makes me think like that, now I don't know have I explained it very well but I think that's it.
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Ok here's what I think its a song that says a lot yes the guy is clearly high but he is told something so great that it could change the world it shows that just because he is an average guy he can do great things the quote they chose one they chose me and I didn't even graduate from f***in high school really effected me like yes this story is odd but here he is a teenager in the woods playing with drugs and he's probly tripping but he belives he has a purpose something to live for a message to spread in that split second he is the most important person alive he's just been contacted by life from another planet because they trust him to deliver a message he finally gets to tell someone and he forgets this song clearly to me says that you don't need to be a a doctor or scientist to be important every one has the POTENTIAL to be great the reason I say this is because say he wasn't high and remembered the key to salvation of the planet if he wasn't tripping he would have saved us all he POSSIBLY could have changed the entire world as we no it the drop out the one who people though would amount to nothing its all about what we as a single people can do when we put our minds to it and what can possibly happen if we do not take things seriously enough
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"Rosetta Stoned" is a play on the Rosetta Stone, an ancient Egyptian tablet that formed the basis of modern hieroglyphic translation. The theme of the song is centered around the main character who, while under the influence of MDMA and the psychedelic drug DMT, is abducted by extra-dimensional aliens. The aliens give the man a message for all of mankind but he is unable to remember or understand his experience.
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11:11 is how long the song goes for (11:11 for anyone who knows about the pinal gland AKA The Third Eye is a way too open your third eye look it up) As for this song there is two ways you can take it.Someone on a bad acid trip or someone who is at an end with what is really in front of him aliens and he wished he was on lsd or tripin on something because what they are telling him is too much to take (THE END OF MAN)and he forgot he's pen to write it down,how would you feel forgeting your pen when someone is telling you how to save mankind. And shit the bed means he fucked up not that he shit the bed
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This song is to my interpretation tools way of criticizing the whole idea and foundation of Scientology.
"And hovered above my bug-eyes, my gaping jaw,
and my sweaty L. Ron Hubbard upper lip,"
Claiming that L. Ron Hubbard on LSD had his revaltion of an alien religious figure, poiting him out as the chosen one to spread the word: "He said, "You are the Chosen One,
the One who will deliver the message.
A message of hope for those who choose to hear it
and a warning for those who do not."
Me. The Chosen One?
They chose me!"
Lastly they point out how crazy the whole notion of the incident and Scientology is:
"Strapped down to my bed
Feet cold and eyes red
I'm out of my head"
I.E being strapped down in an asylum.
Tool has criticized Scientology before, directly in Ænima:
"Fuck L. Ron Hubbard and fuck all his clones"
That's my take on this song.
- Jarod -
This is, in my opinion, the best song on the 10,000 days album. It seems for curtain this song is about a man using, what I think, is multiple psychedelics. LSD and DMT to exact. I say this because, well DMT is like the 6th word in the song and he then clear after states he saw an alien emerge in from of him, but he was uncertain of his reality and blames it on the "dead head chemistry" aka LSD.
For those of you unfamiliar with DMT, it is potentially the psycho-active drug known to man. Do your research if you don't believe me. But I have fortunately experienced it for myself and fully believe there's nothing more potent than DMT. It feels extremely real. Many people have believed to have sat in the palm of god's and or have gained a subconsionce understanding of life, but left speechless to describe what they experienced. This is what I believe the forgotten message from the encounter is all about. He feels like there's something there he needs to get out say but when he attempts it turns into nothing. At one point he says "it was so real, like a woke up in wonderland. also a bit terrifying, will I ever be coming down?" This just goes along with more trip talk... Feeling real in wonderland?? Doubting the chance of seeing sobriety again? Only from someone under the heavy influence of psychedelics. "Strapped down [to] my bed Feet cold [and] eyes red I'm out of my head Am I alive? Am I dead? Can't remember what they said God damn, shit the bed." I know I'm repeating myself, but this entire scenario could only come from someone trippin. Doubting your exsistance?? wow, fun, way out there! The rest of the song continues to refer to his forgotten message and is begging these sober folk to believe him and referencing his mysterious state of mind and what he is seeing and doing up there in that skull. lol..
Anyways, Rosetta Stoned is a knock your socks off song; vocally as well as instrumentally. Especially if you're big into psychedelics. I believe TOOL keeps this song on the top shelf and chances are, you'll be blessed with its journey at nearly every live show from here on out.
Please feel free to drop a line about what you think?? I've been anxious to know what people may think?? -
I haven't read every post, but most of them seem to be wrong...So I had to write this...
The song is clearly laid out, there should not even be any interpretation, it is very clear what this story is about... They may have started out tripping on acid (which many DMT users would) but definatly smoked some "Yogi DMT". The X refers to the person taking the drug. On many drug sites, users will post their experiences, and refer to themselves as X.
So, they are outside of Area 51, and see a spaceship, either real or in the DMT trip. And from there, he begins his interactions with a being (as many do on DMT trips). And starts to freak out, as many would... The being calms him down to tell him a message of our ending. (2012 ending, where we go through the "Dark Rift?") But as one would on a DMT trip, he cannot remember it all. After going into hyperspace, one usually cannot remember everything that happens, unless you write it down directly after and keep recalling it (Exactly like dreams, which is the result of our naturally occuring DMT being metabolized in out sleep)
If anyone were to actually experience this, they would shit their bed too. I believe Maynard, or someone he knows, had this experience. -
Ok i put up another submission, saying that maynards mother was paralyzed when he was 11 and rosetta stoned its 11:11 minutes long, but recently i thought of something and decided to add it. So we can all agree the main character of this song took drugs, it says "Yogi DMT, and a box of Krispy Kremes" krispy kremes are obviously donuts, and if you think about it don't donuts look like UFOS. also my friend was telling me, you know how they say don't go to the light because it will take you to heaven " well if your getting abducted by a UFO your going to the light.and then the UFO flys away with you.
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I don't mean sound arrogant by any means, but I can tell you exactly what the lyrics mean. In 1998 I saw Tool at Red Rocks. Maynard was dressed in full drag, but I immediately recognized him. He was trying to lay low so I didn't blow his cover. I said I was a big fan, and he tried to act like I'd mistaken him for someone else. I alluded to the fact that I recognized him and he immediately opened up. We talked for probably 10 minutes. I told him that he would be one of the worlds most respected musicians for years after his death. I said he was so good he could write a song about shitting the bed and people would eat it up. This is where it gets fishy for some of you and I'll probably lose them at this point. I also held his hand for a moment and described in detail, the attack on 9-11, A black half Muslim president, and a radical Islamic nuclear attack on us territories in 2012. Sorry. I've got a book I've written about it if anyones interested contact consideringsuicide@hotmail.com. Anyhow, I said he should remember this stuff so he'd know I wasn't full of shit. He said he didn't have a pen. So I sang jokingly, "But I forgot my pen, shit the bed again." I said again jokingly, "You have to include that in your new album to come stay in my fallout shelter." He said his next album(Lateralus) was already completed, but that he would try to include it in the next after that. He included those lines NOTE FOR NOTE as I sang them off the cuff years earlier. So I'm the alien. And I guess you can see why the LSD reference. I said a lot of things, hence the book with other claims to greatness. I wonder how much of it he remembers. Now ask yourself, "Why would he make that up?" Avoid major populated areas, Thank you and Goodbye.
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This song is about when Maynard realized how the world and society is while under the influence of drugs. He told people of how the world really was and they just shut him out, stopped listening to him, like he would be strapped down to his bed. He had to deliver the message of what he discovered but he couldn't put it in a way others would understand. He forgot his pen to write the message down, so he spoke it out of memory. and people believed him to be crazy, he got sent to an insane asylum, and now he wishes people would fucking believe him
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I think this song has been written only by occasion of a drug trip. The drug experience by itself is not the meaning of the song.
Mainly the song deals with a guy who was chosen for a purpose. Though the fact that he doesn't remember whats this purpose-target is, bothers him and even make him angry..
I think the artist, beyond all, would like to point the responsibily held by a minority of people who can change (with their minds and generally their "properties") some main aspects of humanity's future, evolution or condition.
Also, Maynard doesn't seem to take this guy so seriously as he sings that he fear so much shitin the bed, or he doesn't want to believe this and he even deny it and ask for help from Bob.
So, maybe this song is for power and how people are so afraid of power itself and from the purpose of being someone chosen or someone special like all humans are.
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