Tool:Lateralus/Fibonacci

From LyricWiki

Jump to: navigation, search

This song is performed by Tool and appears on the album Lateralus (2001).

Lateralus/Fibonacci
was the Song Of The Day on

May 14, 2006

You can also view the normal line-breaks (much shorter, but you can't see the Fibonacci Sequence).

Send "Lateralus/Fibonacci" Ringtone to your Cell

| Syllable count for each line (see Interpretations below)
|
1 Black
1 then
2 white are
3 all I see
5 in my infancy.
8 Red and yellow then came to be,
5 reaching out to me,
3 lets me see.

13 As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
8 drawn beyond the lines of reason.
5 Push the envelope.
3 Watch it bend.

Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must
feed my will to feel my moment drawing way outside the lines.

1 Black
1 then
2 white are
3 all I see
5 in my infancy.
8 Red and yellow then came to be,
5 reaching out to me,
3 lets me see
2 there is
1 so
1 much
2 more and
3 beckons me
5 to look through to these
8 infinite possibilities.
13 As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
8 drawn outside the lines of reason.
5 Push the envelope.
3 Watch it bend.

Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition leaving opportunities behind.
Feed my will to feel this moment urging me to cross the line.
Reaching out to embrace the random.
Reaching out to embrace whatever may come.

I embrace my desire to
Embrace my desire to
Feel the rhythm, to feel connected enough to step aside and weep like a widow
To feel inspired to fathom the power, to witness the beauty,
To bathe in the fountain,
To swing on the spiral
To swing on the spiral
To swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be a human.

With my feet upon the ground I lose myself between the sounds and open wide to suck it in;
I feel it move across my skin.
I'm reaching up and reaching out; I'm reaching for the random or what ever will bewilder me.
What ever will bewilder me.
And following our will and wind we may just go where no one's been.
We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been.
Spiral out. Keep going.
Spiral out. Keep going.
Spiral out. Keep going.
Spiral out. Keep going.

Send "Lateralus/Fibonacci" Ringtone to your Cell

[edit] Common Interpretations

You might want to re-listen to the song while reading the line-breaks to make sure you agree that they are legit ahead of time. Otherwise, you may have a hard time believing this...

This song has strong ties to the Fibonacci Sequence as can be seen in this version of the lyrics. The Fibonacci Sequence follows the same growth ratio (phi) as the Golden spiral which almost certainly has something to do with the repeated references to the spirals in this song. When he goes up the sequence, then starts down and up again, he may be thought to be swinging on the spiral. Listen along as Maynard sings, and you can hear the pattern in the number of syllables in each line (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8...).

The Fibonacci Sequence is computed by starting with the two values "0" and "1", then each subsequent number is the sum of the two previous numbers (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21....).

The timing in the chorus ("Over thinking, over analyzing...") also hints at the Fibonacci Sequence: The bars have 9, 8 and 7 beats respectively. 987 is a number in the Fibonacci sequence. The song was originally named "987" while it was being written.

NOTE: Interpretation below isn't necessarily agreed upon by a vast majority since this song is so mysterious...
As for the meaning of the words (not just their arrangement), it seems to be saying that organized religion and the clergy's exploitation of it, dampens the ability to perceive reality and its glory and appreciate it for what it is. ("Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind. Withering my intuition, missing opportunities").

Later he says "I embrace my desire to feel the rhythm, to feel connected enough to step aside and weep like a widow to feel inspired to fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral (...) of our divinity and still be a human".In Maynard's words (not referring to this song specifically) "Life should be revered simply for the fact that we need to be thankful that we are currently able to consciously appreciate what we are going through right now."

If you don't like this interpretation, you're not necessarily wrong: Maynard believes that their songs have many layers, and are about self-reflection and discovery. He feels that you can (within limits) interpret their songs in various ways to help you understand life and create a self-identity.

External links