Tool: Sober Meaning
Song Released: 1993
Sober Lyrics
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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Here in 2011, we have this thing called Wikipedia. :P Just kidding, but seriously, check out the wiki page for this song. It will tell you that the song is about a friend of the band. But it can also mean whatever you want it to!!! I like to think of the subject of the song as alcohol. Think about it.
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The profound sense of despair that this song so perfectly encapsulates is the pain of an ancient demon forced to lament on his own fate as one who once enjoyed basking in the light of God and who now is condemned to an unimaginable eternity of sorrow in the shadow of the Devil's hell. He is bitter and twisted and deeply, tragically sad and the worse part is he knows it's all his fault for making one wrong choice in his past.
"Just because the son has come"
The son here is Jesus Christ who the dark angel feels incredibly bitter towards, as an only child feels jealous towards a newborn brother who gets more love from their mutual parents.
"Jesus won't you f*cking whistle something but the past is done"
Jesus is again mentioned here in bitterness, as if to say, "I know I screwed up, I know I am cursed with an eternity of twisted sorrow for being an evil bastard, change the tune already, whistle something but what's past and done".
"I am just a worthless liar. I am just an imbecile.
I will only complicate you. Trust in me and fall as well.
I will find a center in you. I will chew it up and leave."
The biblical fall of the dark angels is mentioned here, and the process by which a demon tempts a man to make the same choice he once did and join him in falling from grace is chronicled perfectly in this section of the song.
"Why cant we not be sober? I just want to start things over.
Why cant we sleep forever? I just want to start this over."
This demon really does mean "forever". He is cursed with an eternity of suffering and sorrow, why can't he just sleep forever instead of having to endure it? Or have a chance to start things over and make a different choice?
This deeply tragic sorrow and abject hopelessness is one that the demon does not want to experience alone, it is his duty as an agent of his master to drag as many of us down with him as he can, so we too can be damned and share in his eternal suffering.
I have not found a song such as this one anywhere else, that it posits the POV of a fallen angel so perfectly cannot be a coincidence, to some extent, something made sure it turned out the way it did. It is a deliciously dark song and a tremendous piece of music, I would honestly say it was demonically inspired and these parallels aren't mere coincidence. -
Sober is about religion. I stand with Maynard and his views.Chistianity preaches that one should be drunk in the spirit of Christ, this way a person does not think for themself and excepts what they are told to believe.I am against all religions, they are just tools used by man to control the minds of the week and the ones born to follow.Even though Jesus as well as Budda , have some very wise words of wisdom,they where just men that shared the same flaws as you and I..religion takes words and ideas out of context and uses it for it's own purpose of control. It's not Jesus that is pointing the finger at you, It is religion, society, our peers, and even ourselves.We all feel we must be a part of some kind of group ,gang, party , orginazation, klan or what have you, and except their belief. When you do this you loose self and the ability to think on your own.You are now controled by that group that now takes on a life of it's own devoring everything around it just for self preservation. Self no longer exist. We should all stand alone as individuals, together.
The past and done part I believe is just about the preaching of the bible and how it always try to make it's point by telling stories or paraboles. The same way we do today -
It is entirely about religion. It is specifically the Last Supper. Jesus is speaking a lot. According to the lyrics:
He is speaking to himself "There's a shadow just behind me". The shadow is God.
The apostles are asking him for guidance,for some other way, "Jesus won't you fucking whistle something but the past is (and) done..." We all know that Jesus was following prophesy when he rode the donkey into Jerusalem that day. That night He was telling the apostles that their hands were tied now, all of their hands, by what has been foretold, ie: "the past is (and) done".
He is speaking to himself, his doubts at this time are also well known, "I am just a worthless liar...".
Jesus represents/becomes religion itself, "I will find a center in you. I will chew it up and leave " and "Trust in me and fall as well".
He speaks to himself, to God, the apostles, to anyone who will listen, "Why can't we not be sober", why can't we just party and forget all of this? The dictionary.com 4th definition of sober: “marked by seriousness, gravity, solemnity, etc., as of demeanor, speech, etc.: a sober occasion.”
"I want to start things over" he wants to avoid what's coming, to start things over and try another way. His doubts and equivocations are well documented.
It is religion, ladies and gentlemen.
Religion is addictive. Religion is a drug. It is insidious, and it is religion speaking when, "I want what I want... " -
this is my favorite Tool song.
in my opinion this song is about one of the band members, or one of their friends, who could only be productive or forget about his past when sober (smoking pot). like other songs by Tool there are some religious meanings also.
differrent people have different opinions, and u dont have to judge mine. -
Heard the same thing "YourFan" heard. That in an interview, they said that this song was written for a friend that had died of an overdose of Heroine. I believe that friend was layne staley of Alice in Chains. I think the song is originally from the point of view of the Heroine, and can be interpreted by any listener as from the point of view of anything that they may think is a way out but is not. For some that may mean religion. Others it may mean drugs. Others drinking, etc. It's a song, like most tool songs, that are open to mean whatever you need the song to mean to be able to get through what you're going through.
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First of all, the guy sitting here fucking calling everyone an idiot and moron YOUR THE FUCKING MORON. Tool is constantly saying how their songs are YOUR OWN INTERPRETATION, your interpretation is probably completely different from someone who believes its about ones past he can't escape. Not everyone sits on their ass and decides whether or not "why can't we be sober?" means, it may not be plain as day you prick. So shut the fuck and let people enjoy their interpretation. Kept your rude ass fucking comments to yourself.
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I honestly don't think that this song is about anything in particular. It is known that they enjoy hearing their fans interpretations of songs and often have multiple meanings. Maybe they wrote a song just to see what the fans thought. This song in particular has so many different ideas for what it is about (I would say what I think it's about, but apparently if I don't think its about religon im not a true tool fan so... )
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Quite simply this song is about alcoholism...anybody that knows and has loved an alcoholic can identify. As for the religious overtones, I have a couple takes on that. First, pointing toward the 12-step programs and the "higher power" concept. The second I note in my interpretation.
"There's a shadow just behind me,
Shrouding every step i take,
making every promise empty,
pointing every finger at me."
The shadow is the addiction that encompasses everything an addict does.
"Waiting like a stalking butler
who upon the finger rests.
Murder now the path called "must we"
just before the son has come."
Indicates the hopelessness of addiction. An addict is looking for some salvation but none is forthcoming.
"Jesus, won't you fucking whistle
something but the past and done?"
Not so much of an indictment of religion, just the frustration that the addict is feeling that nobody can just make it go away but themselves.
"Why can't we not be sober?
I just want to start this over.
Why can't we drink forever.
I just want to start things over."
This is VERY common for an alcoholic. They make promises that things will be different THIS time. They want to start things over with someone, only to repeat the same things.
"I am just a worthless liar.
I am just an imbecile.
I will only complicate you.
Trust in me and fall as well."
"I will find a center in you.
I will chew it up and leave,
I will work to elevate you
just enough to bring you down."
This is so utterly true. An an alcoholic LIES to cover their addiction. If you love and trust an addict, they'll bring nothing but pain thereby bringing you down as well. Which is why friends and families eventually cut themselves off...it's too painful and they can no longer enable the addict.
"Trust me."
Obvious...addicts say this constantly.
"Mother Mary won't you whisper
something but what's past and done."
Back to the same point earlier.
"Trust me.
I want what I want."
Addiction is ultimately VERY selfish. An addict only cares about their next fix...everything else is secondary.
Unfortunately, I've known a few too many alcoholics in my lifetime. The ones that have maintained sobriety...they "get" this song. They basically said it's spot on with how they felt and acted while they were drinking. -
ok i have listened to tool many times on lsd.my experience and interpretation is a battle between God and Satan.here is god saying why can we not be sober i just want to start this over(the world)and the devil says(i am just a worthless liar i am just an imbecile trust in me and fall as well)he will find a center in you and he will chew it up and leave
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Every single one of you is right the point of tool's songs is to get people thinking and questioning their own morals and beliefs. They want you to question whether these beliefs are truly your own or are actually the people around you pressing you into the mold of their society.This answers all questions about Tool including if they're christian or anti-christian, etc....
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I am in agreement with the view that Tool is about individual choices. Anybody who opens up with a preamble that everybody else is 'f***ing retarded' and then jumps into an interpretation of their own, is simply looking for a talk piece to shut-out other people because their selfish ego is so massive, controlling and domineering. But all masters need slaves, I guess...
But more than that, in order to understand Tool, one need not look beyond the name of their band: 'tool' could refer to any number of things - it depends on the person.
However, I am convinced that most of their songs are about reflecting back the spiritual/emotional depth of the interpreter, back at the interpreter. You could look at most of their songs and say, "well, this song is about marijuana", or "this song is about love, or sex", and that's just the thing - your answer isn't wrong - but you have probably missed out on the larger meaning. The fact that you have missed out should prompt you to find that meaning, hence, you grow as a person.
Tool is always communicating deliberate messages through their music (check out 'Schism'), and is always trying to hint at you to start looking at things in focus from the larger picture.
And yes, feeling the music too, is important. But do not become so deluded by feelings that you do not, cannot, or will not grow. Otherwise, you have pointlessly and uselessly crippled yourself. But you should still listen to Tool anyway - they can help you.
Sober is a song about addiction in general. It speaks both from the perspective of the victim and the substance. The 'Jesus'/'Mother Mary' parts are the victims plea to the higher power for help/salvation but cannot find it because these are figures of the past and they offer no new working solutions on their own. There is a definite air of 'religion as the opiate', so to speak, here.
The 'I am a worthless liar' parts are speaking from the personification of addiction/substance. Essentially, the purpose of this substance is to destroy, or 'chew out' whatever center it can find within you. It will work to elevate, but only temporarily - eventually you will have to come down again & feel crappy, and that is for certain. The 'I want what I want' part is the addiction telling you that it needs you to thrive, and that it wants nothing less.
Occasionally you will hear 'Why can't we not be sober? I just want to start this over/Why can't we sleep forever?/ I just want to start this over' - This is the victim again. The victim doesn't like the fact that he/she/it is a victim, and pleas to the higher power (aka Jesus/MM) don't seem to work. So the he/she/it wants to be sober, because sobriety is clarity of mind and thought - not a hangover. This is the start-over point. Sleep is the only time when you are NOT tempted.
So this individual wants to start things over as though nothing ever happened, hence the denial. The vicious cycle begins: Victim takes 'stuff', feels better. Victim comes down, feels crappy. Victim does not want to feel crappy about themselves, so they lament about how the 'stuff' has betrayed them, and essentially seeks to deny the fact that a betrayal ever took place. So he/she/it covers it up, they want to pretend like it wasn't there so they can continue feeling sober. But substance nags at you... 'I want what I want'... -
I think it is about how we mess up alot and people watch for it and point it out and make us feel like crap. But we regret it and "just want to start this over". I also think when he says "something but the past and done" i think he means to say the they are saying "the past IS done" as in we cannot take it back. He looks to Jesus and Mary, who both are still only saying the "past IS done".
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The very name Tool suggests them to be but an instrument. The question is of what.Maybe something uses them like we use a tool. Maybe people have guilt because they deserve it. We need to stop confusing God with religion.These are not the same thing. Man has a tendency to butcher anything he interprets. Case and point, all of these bogus lyrics and opinions.I had an uncle who beat his wife and urinated himself every time he was "not sober", so go figure.WAKE UP before it's too late.Find your own path instead of following others to their destruction.
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