Lateralus

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Track 9 on

May 15, 20011 viewer718.7K views

Lateralus Lyrics

“Lateralus” is one of the most overtly intricate songs by Tool. The predominant lyrical theme is that over-analysis leads to loss of control, linear structures don’t exist in nature and that we “should… Read More

[Verse 1]
Black then white are all I see
In my infancy
Red and yellow then came to be
Reaching out to me
Lets me see

[Pre-Chorus]
As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
Drawn beyond the lines of reason
Push the envelope
Watch it bend

[Chorus]
Overthinking, overanalyzing
Separates the body from the mind
Withering my intuition
Missing opportunities and I must

[Post-Chorus]
Feed my will to feel my moment
Drawing way outside the lines

[Verse 2]
Black then white are all I see
In my infancy
Red and yellow then came to be
Reaching out to me
Lets me see

[Verse 2]
There is so much more and beckons me
To look through to these
Infinite possibilities

[Pre-Chorus]
As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
Drawn outside the lines of reason
Push the envelope
Watch it bend

[Chorus]
Overthinking, overanalyzing
Separates the body from the mind
Withering my intuition
Leaving opportunities behind

[Guitar Solo]

[Post-Chorus]
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

[Bridge]
I embrace my desire to
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
To swing on the spiral, to
Swing on the spiral of
Our divinity and
Still be a human

[Guitar Solo]

[Outro]
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
Whatever will bewilder me
Whatever 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

About

Ironically, the song, as well as the entire album’s, structure was carefully planned; this specific song is based on the Fibonacci sequence:

The introduction section of the song is 01:12 long (0, 1, 1, 2 are the first four numbers in the sequence).
The first verse starts at 97 seconds, which is approximately 1.618 minutes – (The Golden Ratio)
Each verse is 55 seconds long (11th # in sequence).
The syllables in the verses coincide with the sequence, as the first part of the first verse goes 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 5, 3
The 2nd line “to swing on the spiral” finishes at 6:18 which numerically matches 1.618 – (The Golden Ratio)
The time signature of the main riff is 9/8 8/8 7/8, 987 is the 17th term in the sequence.

So as a sort of double-standard, this song wants you to embrace the random, but “embracing” could be interpreted as such for studying its anomalies, which in turn could be found as over analysis.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What math is hidden behind the instrumentation and lyrics?

What did Tool say about "Lateralus"?

Asked about the use of the Fibonacci sequence in the song, Maynard told Joe Rogan,

That was a complete accident. I think it was Adam, or Justin who had the riff, and at some point they were actually counting the riff, and it ended up being in 7/8/9… I think 789 is a Fibonacci number.

In fact, 789 is not a Fibonacci number. The time signature of the main riff is 9/8 8/8 7/8, 987 being the Fibonacci number, but Maynard’s point was that this was not originally planned in the song’s composition.

Who produced “Lateralus” by Tool?

When did Tool release “Lateralus”?

Who wrote “Lateralus” by Tool?