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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I think this song is about losing someone and being torn between feeling the grief and loss that comes with it and the indifference of never REALLY knowing them at all.
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Maynard was talking about his own eulogy-- The next martyr could be interpreted as himself or any other person in this world... If you are willing to die for anything that you believe in you are a martyr... You don't necessarily have to be Christian to become a martyr.
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I have read the lyrics carefuly, the song should be talking about the couple thousand prisoner Jews being killed by the Germans in WWII. It makes sense.
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The line that defines this song clearly to me is "dont you step out of line" don't you fuckin lie". It's about how religion (any religion) was made to keep people in line.Also it speaks about how people are so eager to identify with some belief specificaly in relation to god. and how religion plays and takes advantage of that fear of death that we all share . Yes there are references to Jesus(come down off your cross)but I think it's about any organized religion.It could be scientology it could be islam it doesn't matter. Its simply about false prophets and how they have shaped our religious beliefs.And how people fall into line to follow.
You are all sheep! think for yourself!! It is not about Bill Hicks. I don't understand how anyone who listens to this song gets that from it. Beside Hicks and tool were friends. Do you really think they would make a song about a dead friend in which they would say "he had a lot of nothing to say, or call him a fool martyr"? -
Anyone who has read just a little about kaballah and sacred geometry can clearly see that these are the influences in tool's songs. Just look at their album art work..Do some research on just these two topics.Consider who does their art work and research him and you will understand their motive..The fact that we're all discussing it means they've hit their audience upside the head pretty good. Well done. As for Maynard. He's just a front man..The best in the business? No doubt! Yet, a front man none the less. Kaballahists believe that Jesus was a master scholar in the kaballah. He also spoke in metaphor..Perhaps this is what they truly meant with the song. I dunno..Just a thought.
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This song is overwhelmingly dark and scathing. It is therefore highly unlikely that it was written about Bill Hicks, a close friend and inspiration to the band.
Whoever it is about, Tool go to great lengths to denounce this person's views:
"he had a lot of nothing to say"
"No way to recall, what it was that you had said to me - like I care at all"
They also attack his personal conduct:
"Ranting and pointing his finger, at everything but his heart"
"Come down, get off your fucking cross, we need the fucking space to nail the next fool martyr"
All evidence indicates that Bill Hicks was a close friend of the band. They respected his philosophy and make multiple references to him and his work throughout the album. As mentioned by other posters, Aenema was based on his concept of Arizona Bay, and he is responsible the quote at the beginning of Third Eye. Tool even invited him to open concerts for them.
Why would they then write such a brutal and dismissive song? There are certainly many superficial elements of the song that seem to fit Hicks; however the overall tone is such a mis-match when you consider their relationship with him that it is hard to believe that he was the subject (unless it started off about him, then morphed into a more general song at which point the negative parts came in).
Who it is about, I have no idea - but Hicks, it is not. -
You Know honestly I think that song is about himself, but some thing I've noticed with Aenima (Anima-Enima= 2 words) in general and the general theme of Tool is double meanings which is perhaps one of the many reasons no one will ever have figured out all the Tool songs or perhaps not even a single one. The reasons I think it's about him is just in the sense of the way he describes it as if he where a fan looking up how people make an idol of Maynard when he's just another guy, and once we're done with him we'll find someone else to worship and crucify, That just seems to be the human pattern and in the end it never really makes a difference because no matter what we say we don't make a difference. "He had a lot to say... he had a lot of nothin to say we'll miss him." I suppose on the other side you can go with the obvious view that it's about Jesus, L Ron Hubbard or Hicks.
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It's about the whole christian-martyr philosophy. Why do I need to die to prove something?
But I think they were inspired by Kurt.
Aenima isn't hard to figure out. The lyrics are still pretty raw. Come to think of it; neither is Lateralus or 10 000 days. -
Here's what I see as funny.
To me, Tool's distaste for organized religion stems from it's "my way or the highway (to Hell)" slant. This is reflected in their music. The ambiguity is intentional, and the possibility for multiple interpretations is purposefully engineered into each song.
So all people here who are saying "the answer is obvious" are essentially saying exactly what MJK loathes - "my way, or the highway".
As far as Keenan's stance on Jesus, I believe that he is irreverent, not because he reviles him, but because Jesus is so universally revered. If your intent is to tip over sacred cows, is there any "cow" more sacred than Jesus?
The messages in Tool's music are there, waiting to be gleaned from amongst the thorns by the patient listener. But most see only the thorns and are repulsed.
'Eulogy' always struck me as a song about revolution and enlightenment. The follower has opened his eyes. Whereas he used to be a bleating sheep, he has now seen the "shepherd" for what he really is, a manipulator and a deceiver whose aims were self serving. Now, the sheep have turned against him and are determined that he should pay for his abuses. The song has a sarcastic and mocking tone and the references to crucifixion are blatant.
But is he referring specifically to Jesus? I don't believe so. Anyone who has read the Bible knows that Jesus what not self serving at all. He lived very modestly and never demanded monetary tribute from his disciples. Though they believed him to be God incarnate, he often served them. He comforted the sick and touched the untouchables. He ate with sinners and befriended prostitutes.
He too shunned organized religion, and spoke in a way that infuriated the Pharisees to the point that they sought his death. He was accused of blasphemy and of openly defying Jewish law.
His messages were often cryptic, delivered in the form of parables that baffled the know-it-alls. Jesus' parables required careful, patient listening and often could only be interpreted by people coming from a particular point of view.
Sound familiar? -
Eulogy is a song that seems to be about someone who is/was very self righteous without any justification, and regardless of what the song means to the band, the lyrics get their power through personal interpretation if they only had meaning to the band, no matter how great the lyrics seemed to them, they will only have any power if they have personal meaning for the listener. So chill, the band does have an answer to this question, but being Tool, we will never know what they mean by it, so just sit back, crank it up and let yourself be engulfed by it, don’t quibble it only retracts from the real importance of music, personal enjoyment and the discovery. =I
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I've figured out some things about the different views of the song. The people who think it is about Jesus are only people who seem to hate him. The ones who seem to really know any facts about Tool and also the most responses I've seen on all the sights suggest that it is Bill Hicks. The song is, like most tool songs, fully and intentionally open for interpretations. Adam once said in a guitar world interview that he told a fan who said lateralus was about The Passion of the Christ that he was right even tho that movie did not come out till some considerable time after the albums release. They want us all to have our own views and to think for ourselves. On the other hand, Maynard had to have some basis for written such a powerful piece of work. So what I do believe is this. The song is not about Jesus (sorry wanna-be anti-christs) Maynard said on stage, and you can even get a crappy recording on Limewire I think, something to the extent that organized religions were defacing the good ideals that Buddah, JESUS, and ect. shared about humanity. This inclusion of Jesus' name suggests that Maynard respects what Jesus taught, that he thinks what the churches have made out of it is the problem. Also, with the release of 10,000 Days we see songs like "Right in Two" that seem to have some divinity in them. The albums title is of course dedicated to his mother, a Christian woman, the title comes from the rounded time she got cancer till the time she died. Maynards beef lies with the people who have corrupted the religion, not Jesus. From there, I have no idea what the song is about for him. Being a Christian I see it as the people who condemned Jesus, who were his supposed followers, but were so willing to forget his words in order to have their sins washed away. He was loud we don't care what he said he was fun to listen to and knowing he can free us from our sins lets go ahead and send him to die. I know this view doesn't fit the whole song, but that's just it, it doesn't have too, its my opinion and what I feel in my heart. I really don't think Maynard is talking about Jesus and the most likely purpose was to desribe L. Ron Hubbard or Bill Hicks.
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I find this song to be about the self-righteous in general, but increasingly identifiable with Jesus... particularly in the lines.
'You’ve claimed all this time that you would die for me.
Why then are you so surprised when you hear your own eulogy?'
The one that died for our sins, kind of a funny thought him listening to his own eulogy (which comments on the story of his resurrection).
'Come down.
Get off your fuckin' cross.
We need the fuckin’ space to nail the next fool martyr.'
This could still be applied to any self-righteous person, but I feel it more specific to Jesus Christ.
Me being personally.
To the one that said that this sight is about discussing the exact meaning as to the song-writer/s had when they wrote a song, I think you'd better read a dictionary... Here, I'll save you the trouble: 'http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/interpretation'
None of us are the ones that wrote it so we simply can't know. -
Ok dudes, I am a christian and I am great Tool fan. Tools songs can mean whatever I want them to mean. Maynard's songs are soo bad out that I would never want to listen to anything else. The way in which I interpret Eulogy is that its against any self righteousness and anyone that puts themself on a cross for others to pity them. The cross is a symbol nothing more! To think this song is about Jesus doesn't make sense to me because in the story of Jesus He rises from the dead and saves the people that crucified Him. Duh?
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Have any of you bothered to read Tool's Book of interpretations?????
(Here's the address to view it: [http://www.vanillacircus.net/book/tool_book.pdf] -
I find it interesting that anyone on this forum claim to know exactly what the author is talking about. You can't know, so you don't know.
Furthermore, those of you that are trying to pin this on Christianity, or say that he's talking about Jesus, need to read the Bible a little closer. Jesus himself warns about "false prophets" that would attempt to deceive us. Look at Jim Baker. Look at most of these television evangelists. Look at Hitler. Any one of these public figures are prime candidates for who Tool is singing about, thought it's LIKELY that the meaning is loose enough to encompass all of them.
And I know I'm wasting my time here, but I feel like I have to say it. For the idiot that said, "if you listen to Tool, you aren't a Christian" and "Christianity is gay", I'm amazed at how you can make such blanket statements, especially without backing them up. Next time you make a statement like that, why don't you think about what you're saying so you don't have a plethera of annoyed bloggers calling you what you are...a total and complete idiot.
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