@@thematthatter1910 musically, because as a vocalist, it is in a different part of my register that I don’t use as often, and it just moves very nicely. Now as for the lyrics “if when I say I might fade like a sigh if I stay” to me that is a very lovely way of saying “I’m going to lose who I am and the man you know now will be gone if i stay. And it’ll be slow and gradual and you won’t notice until it’s too late” “You minimize my movement anyway” just another way of saying you’re holding me down “I must persuade you another way” I’ve got to find another way to make you understand Again these are just my opinions man. I hope I answered the question of why. Hell, I ain’t even sure it was directed at me. It just showed up in my notifications as someone commented on something you commented on so I thought I’d check it out. Have a terrific day!
It’s because psychedelics SHOUT them at you.. everything unsaid in your life.. all while a 8 hour long abstract & surreal “music video” of equal potency blasts your true-self into your face and into the back of your eyeballs… forever.. after that facing yourself and the world feels easy to do with the most raw honesty of our heart & soul
It amazes me how so many people miss the line "Rest your trigger on my finger." That is such a great line! Abusers almost always blame the other person. This line exemplifies that so well!!! My father actually did something like this to my mother. He put a knife in her hand and actually made her cut him.
I must be one of the few people who strongly feels that the album version is superior. Not that the live version is bad or anything, but it just felt lacking in a structural way. Felt more like a jam session (which is fine). The album version is structured so well.
I used to be in a relationship with a girl that would, occasionally, speak in baby talk. Not really my thing, but I grew to like it from her. She asked me, years after we broke up, why i liked it so much. I told her the truth. As long as she was talking baby talk, she wasn't bitching at me or saying she hated me, or wishing I would die in my sleep.
Well, this song just made me cry. I know the song very well, and I knew it applied to what I've been through in my life, but in this context it just hit me like a falling piano. He so perfectly captures the feeling of helplessness and frustration and aloneness that it all came rushing back.
omfg same. I've loved this song since '97, but I've never listened to and related to it so much until now. Three years after getting out of a 16-year toxic relationship. Dang.
Tool is exactly that. Their song writing is genius. You’ll take from them what you need and relate! There is no other band on the planet that has been their equal. Thanks for sharing your experience. For me this song represents the battle between a conscious mind and the ego. That’s the beauty of Tool. 🙏❤️
Yeah, it's been a while since I listened to the studio version of this track. The live version has become my goto. But this one hits harder. Right out the gate. TOOL is Pink Floyd for the new millennium. 🤘🧙♂🤘
OMG!!! Ahhhh I'm so excited I finished watching every one of your tool videos about 2 days ago and was super bummed after I realized that was it for tool! And here we go 38 minutes ago
I absolutely love your reaction videos. So many “reaction” videos are just people saying “Wow! That was cool!” Without trying to interpret or understand it. Just watching you listen to a song and let the music and the lyrics soak all in is refreshing. You can see the wheels turning in the back of your head just from your facial expressions. You genuinely indulge in the music and try to relate to it all while helping people who are struggling. It’s literally cathartic for me, it’s nice to know people like you exist.
The live version of this is possibly my favorite piece of music ever. Brings me to tears -- the music, the message, the delivery, everything hits me deeply. The spot at 5:00 is a killer. Salival dropped when I was in this kind of cycle of abused existence. When I find it in myself to sing this, I end up on the floor crying by the end. Feels so good. ❤
This helped me this morning, Thank You. I've been listening to TooL since way back, cassette/cd era, seen em live 3 times, recently some months ago in my hometown Biloxi. CHEERS TO ALL
Thank you for doing a reaction to this song. Your analysis is great, & having you be able to expertly navigate the world of abuse from your professional perspective adds to the song. I always want to suggest this song for friends I know who are in abusive relationships, but it would be kind of dropping them in the deep end of the pool when they may not be ready for it. So instead I highlight the phrase "There's no love in fear". It helps to cut through & reach people. As others have said, check out the live Pushit version from Salival - it's a great reworking of the song. There is also a video taken from a concert of this song where a fan jumps the stage, & Maynard is forced to subdue him. He keeps singing, adding yet another layer to this song.
This reminds me every single time I hear it of my journey with my ex-wife. My slow walk into survival mode, and everything that followed. It took YEARS to come to terms and admit that I was isolated in such a toxic relationship where s3x was our only way of being honest with each other. This brings so many different meanings to certain lyrics to my mind. The literal and allegorical implications in this song never cease to leave me amazed at human language and how some are so eloquent at using it. You can break down the different sections, chapters, or acts in the song as steps down the path to an inevitability.Thank you for doing this song. I have loved it for years, and since my divorce, I have only come to love it more.
I feel the exact same way. This song exemplifies my relationship with my ex-wife. Having remarried and been in a loving caring relationship has magnified my previous marriage and how absolutely toxic it was. Every time I hear this song I can't help but think of those feelings resulting from the toxicity. I remember feeling afraid of "what may come of this".
@markwalker7208 No. Just a B. I should have seen it. All the females on her side were of a sort. (Man haters) I thought she was the miracle, but alas. Love is blind.
As a victim of abuse from many family members I can relate. I have been a TOOL fan for years. I love your breakdowns of their songs, even if it brings me to tears sometimes. I recall my abusive stepfather and feeling safe knowing he would protect me from others, all the while beating me senseless. I feel sick looking back and calling him dad. It's so insane where we find comfort, even in the arms of the person destroying us. 😢
Listen to the last few moments of Danny's snare 'CLACKS' as Maynard's lyrics describe the worrisome and inevitable violence that can occur at the end of an abusive relationship. I've always interpreted that loud, repetitive snare as the terrible violence that brings the story to an end.
My favorite part is the absence of the snare in the backbeat but instead a series of ghostnotes. The backbeat for me always represents a musical breathe of sorts. It always felt to me like suffocating until the snare kicks back in and we can breath again.
Great videos! I recommend putting the lyrics in the description so others can read along too. Tool is my top 3 favorite bands, so I know all these lyrics anyway, but others may not.
One of my favorite Tool songs. The Aenima album does remind me of Halloween 🎃 I personally feel, one holds so muh in and takes so much, they then finally snap. All those pent up emotions they have been holding in comes out
It really embodies the highs and lows of abusive relationship and genuine efforts to avoid escalation (to no avail) until the lid just pops right out on a psycothic episode due to the sheer amount canned of pressure maybe of years on end.
Thank you so much for your unwaivering support for people who may have felt this on ANY level even if they were confused avbout what or why they were feeling these things during their abuse. It's so incredibly refreshing to know that there is at least one person out there (you) that can offer abd orovide support for things that others may make you feel like you have to "pushit, and shove it down" so we don't raise eyebrows or speak of anything remotely acceptable or "off color" about our lives. God bless and nothing but peace, health, love and happiness for you and yours. Thank you for helping me feel as though I am not an "outsider" or someone who doesn't "fit in" to every conversation as lightheartedly as others when discussing serious topics like this- meaning that we can "never share" our REAL experiences in those conversations in fear of the judgement and stigma that cones along with REAL experiences vs. experiences that are just lightly ir "figuratively" discussed "around the dinner table" uf you get my reference. Cheers to you so very much for NOT making me feel "different" or ashamed ir out of place amongst "normal" discussion about the mewning behind certain songs or feelings. Thank you and all my best and love and peace to you and yours. ❤❤
I've gotten so use to being in survival mode it's hard for me think about how it must be to be "normal." I think the only solace I've ever felt is in helping other people but it's been fleeting.
It's one of their more "universal" songs, one that envelopes everything Tool offers. Beautiful chord progressions, mix of presence and ambience from the bass, very technical drumming, Maynard's both light singing and hard screaming, and a journey within dark concepts to top it all off. One of my favs as well.
The updated or "evolved" lyrics in the live Salival version of this song make it even more clear that this is about a toxic romantic relationship: "Managed to push myself away, and you as well, my dear." "We're pushing, and I'm shoving, and you're pushing, and I'm shoving." He's very intentional about it having become toxic on both sides, his own side included.
The first time I heard this song in 96 it struck me like a thunderbolt. The music is unlike anything else I have ever heard and the lyrics are crazy. Still consider it my favorite song of all time. 'If when I say I might fade like a sigh if I stay here'... makes my hair stand up everytime
This has always been my favorite song and the live salival version moreso. It's the plight of the love of an abuser (I think this really speaks to the spiral in a narcissist/addict relationship). I absolutely cannot listen to this song without bawling cause it hits home too hard. And I know your jam is lyric analysis, but the depth of the music choreography that echoes the struggle, build, calm, struggle cycle is so impactful. To go through the musical journey of calm escalating to struggle and dissonance to calm again to the final climax of separation and solace on the outro is so powerful and such an emotional release. I guess it's hard to feel if you haven't lived the cycle over and over again. But definitely do take a listen to the salival version. And stay strong all you survivors!
At the start of the song, infants are also symbols of innocence, which I strongly suspect was the main intent there, as abuse can definitely strip away someone’s innocence, especially a child. Later in the song, I’ve always viewed the quiet section about 2/3 of the way through where he seems to be whispering to himself as a period of dissociation brought on by the abuse. Protecting themselves by going inside their heads so they can tell themselves that the abuse isn’t happening to *them*, it’s happening to this empty body they’ve separated from. That stage is then followed by the feral survival mode, where they know they cannot take any more, and will do *anything* to make the abuse stop.
people who hold a lot of anger often can't receive affection from their partners as it feels to them like suffocation --- it's why some people will go out for a pack of cigarettes and never come back, better that than choke out their loved ones the movie "Roma" is about some of these themes Alfonso Cuarón made the flick to process his own childhood --- his own father abandoned his family Cuarón struggled most directing the scene where the father drives away from his family it was the first time Cuarón had to think about the motives behind the abandonment, to think of his father as a flawed human --- but a human none the less --- and not a purely selfish monster
Salival version now! Same song but completely different. EDIT: Disagree. We all have a right to judge anyone and everything. "Their story" is just an excuse for their poor behavior. We still have moral expectations. Personally, I'm tired of the lack of accountability that mental health seems to be pushing 🤷🏻
There are those mental areas and therapists who do want to allow this stuff as an excuse for behaviors. Then, there are those who know this is a pathway toward responsibility through self-reflection, introspection, humility, etc.
@@thelemite935 Absolutely! That should be the goal. But it's hard to make anyone think introspectively if no one has "judged" them and told them their behavior is not acceptable.
This song is about confronting your ego and ego death. Obviously its tool and ppl have 100s of interpretations but its sll about slaying your ego. This is the best song ever written. The salival version is the best version of the best song ever.
You should do an Opeth song sometime. In My Time of Need might pull on the heart strings a bit. Sorceress, Ghost Of Perdition, or Deliverance are other good songs.
In Maynard's book, he talks about this song in general. He was the one abused in the relationship. It's one of many favorites, especially if you were in somewhat of the same situation. The live version is amazing. I legitimately cried the first time I heard it.
Reminds me when I worked with elementary kids. "If I act out at least I get attention." And any attention was good, even if it was not the kind of attention most of us desire.
In my humble opinion, I believe Tool’s “Pushit” is about the inner battle between the egoic self and the true self. Like, the whole song feels like this intense conversation going on inside one person, between the part of them that’s driven by ego (the need to control, fear, power) and the part that’s more authentic and aware. When he says, “What is this but my reflection? Who am I to judge or strike you down?” I think he’s realizing that the thing he’s fighting is actually himself. It’s like, we spend so much time struggling against ourselves, trying to maintain this facade or protect the ego, when the real challenge is letting go of that control and just being. But the ego keeps pushing and shoving him, like it’s afraid of what’ll happen if it lets go. There's this constant tension, like he’s getting pushed into places he doesn’t want to be mentally, and he just wants some peace of mind. I think the “gap” he mentions is the space between these two parts of him-the ego and the true self. When he says he saw the gap again today, it feels like he’s noticing that split inside himself, and it’s kind of terrifying because he knows if he gives in to the ego too much, he’ll lose himself. But at the same time, it’s hard to break free. And when he says, "It will end no other way," it’s like he’s resigned to the fact that this conflict has to come to a head. It’s almost violent, like he knows that in order for his true self to emerge, he has to completely destroy the hold his ego has over him. It’s a struggle we all go through in some way, but Tool just lays it out in the most raw and powerful way possible.
It's cool that people get lost in the ideas of inner reflection, but if you want to go that deep, just bypass Jung and go straight to the Bhagavad Gita. In this case, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Then again, tool often writes things intentionally vague for the listeners personal interpretation.
In my top 5 Tool songs. The break after he says "Keep my feet flat on the ground " is one of the dirtiest , most metal jams I've ever heard. Goose bumps every time.
My long-held assumption that this song told a story between romantic partners was uprooted recently. I found it applying fully to my relationship with my brother.
I'm so glad you did this song. I shared this song during one of my sessions with my EMDR therapist. This song helped me remove the negative critic that we all have. To me, this song is the relationship with the self and trauma. The infant and reflection are questioning the self-destructive ways in which respond to trauma. That vibe change you noticed in the song is falling into the abyss with your trauma after arguing, not wanting to be there. I always envision a haunted wooded area. The whole song for me is regaining back the self and allowing the self to heal. The song then climaxes with the self fighting back and telling the negative critic. Thank you, but you no longer serve me, so I'm going to need to remove your voice ("claw your f'n throat away").
If this song is paired with the previous on the album Jimmy. Both are about the inner child. Jimmy is about trying to figure out what happened to the inner child and try to heal. Pushit is about the patterns of self abuse by the inner child.
i think it also pairs with Prison Sex and on the flip side it pairs with H --- we go from fear to healing, the cycle of violence is dissolved and healing emerges through relationship with the child, both the one in front of us (via parenthood in H) and the one inside (Jimmy)
I remember the first day that I listened to this song when the album was released! Of all of Tool's music, this always has been and still is the one song, the one song that struck such a deep chord. I have played this song on my drums since with every ounce of feeling, every day at first and now once a week in the least. It encapsulates my life from the age of 6. That was the beginning of living with a verbally/physically/always drunk abusive step father. It robbed me of a childhood every single day until I could break from it and go live with my Dad at 18 years old. I lived in fear every second from 6 yo until the day that POS left this mortal existence. I focused on the inner work to be the person that I always should have. There are two lines of lyrics that I struggled with years before hearing them. I will not say though and sometimes still wish that I did one of them! My mother kept us there throughout whatever reasoning she had to do so, I do not speak with her now. I credit my Dad for always being there and always having a safe place when I could stay with him. He is the example that I try to follow.
From gravitykills24: @fastcars1173 Thanks for reaching out to us at HeartSupport - I am glad you found us through the Tool reaction video and I'm glad that PUSHIT could be the anthem you resonated with and could use to power through the abuse you suffered from your step-father. I have never understood what drives people to abuse children - certainly it must go back to hurt people hurting people, and alcohol abuse to that cycle and it just is terrifying for the child, since it seems like you never know what version of that adult you are going to get. I am so sorry you went through that for as long as you did, and I completely understand that you have no relationship with your mother after putting you through that for so long also. I am glad your father was always there for you and could provide a stable and safe place for you, that's huge. It sounds like you found a way to be mentally strong and prepare yourself for life by doing the work like you said on yourself and maybe modeling things after your dad and certainly not after your step-father, in fact, probably vowing to do the opposite of what he did. I completely understand how the lyrics of this song resonate with you and the abuse you went through, I hope that you continue to find music that fuels you to power forward and be the best version of yourself you can be. Take care and feel free to reach out to us anytime, peace be the journey.
So, after watching all 18 videos, you have rekindled and reminded me why I'm a TOOL fan. Loved your interpretation of the songs, and I feel I need to revisit the entire discography with this newfound perspective. Would recommend doing " 4° ", "Flood" and "Third Eye" at some point.
I think the song is self reflective and about the fear of evolving as a former version of ourselves hold us back. Like trying to get clean or sober or stop living a self destructive lifestyle. You have to always love who you were but you have to destroy that version of yourself that tries to keep you where you are.
Great take and how I interpreted this! The emotional roller coaster caused by abuse and the survivors return from understanding this is not how it has to always be and the bravery to step away.
This is probably the most powerful song from tool that affects me, having lived through this for 10 yrs till my wife had a stroke in my arms 5 months ago. I love her still but at the same time hate her for the abuse i suffered. There were many great times but also many dark times. Through it all i never called her a name or lifted a finger against her. Just took it all.
Tool will always have a place in my heart and on my skin, because this song helped deliver me. It inspired me to leave the abuse of my parents, which included moving me thru 3 high schools then mocking me for not graduating , and physically assaulting me and then calling cops on me when I fought back, leaving me with a juvenile record.
all through out this album he is adjusting to having a son, but through that also making peace with himself and his childhood. in this song, like several other tracks, hes facing himself.
I came across this channel tonight and I must say wow. I've been a Tool fan for nearly 30 years. They have definitely helped me through some hard times. Unfortunately now I'm fighting what seems like a endless war with myself. I will say another band to look into that has been helping me is a band called Imminence. Check out the song Come What May and another called Temptation. You will not be disappointed.
These videos are amazing! These were all my therapists, literally, and it is so validating to see them taken as the serious gospel they were. Please delve into Blind Melon when time allows. Shannon was a beautiful soul with a unique perspective on humanity despite his struggles with addiction, and many of the issues talked about in these videos come up in his lyrics, and his perspective is sweet, powerful, and sometimes extremely insightful. 2 x4 and Walk off Soup come to mind first. But if you'd rather ponder why Ed Gein was so into collecting things there's Skinned or if you want a real doozey look up info on their song Carseat (God's Presence)! I'm off to watch more of your reactions that I have yet to experience, thanks for all your efforts.
Havent watched but five seconds, I love it!!!!! I love the open mindedness and I will never stress that enough. I know you've done these kind of reactions before lol
I've been struggling on and off with alcohol abuse for four years now, and I recently thought of this song and the lyrics while I was going through withdrawal, and it felt like the love/hate relationship that I have with alcohol.
From DyllonKG: @marcuspearse1508 Good morning friend. Thanks so much for sharing what you're feeling and for taking a moment to be vulnerable. I know that, at least for me, that is sometimes the hardest part. You talked about struggling with alcohol abuse a bit here and how during a moment of withdrawal, you thought of this song and its lyrics and how they relate to your push and pull relationship with alcohol. Im sorry that you're struggling with that right now. It sounds difficult to have that type of relationship. I've never struggled with substances or anything of that nature but I imagine that there's a sort of reliance on it? Maybe it helps to cope or something. But there's the knowledge that it may be doing more harm than good? I could imagine the conflict and the frustration. Because once Im in that cycle, it isn't easy to just hop out. And when the current is so strong, I have to ask myself, is it worth it to fight it? I imagine that all feeling daunting and overwhelming. Terrifying sometimes. Im sorry my friend. I want you to know that Im not judging you. Or feeling any pity for you. I can absolutely understand how, in the world we live in, you got to where you are. And while I dont think this has to be your life forever, I also know that breaking that cycle can feel impossible. Like staring up at a mountain that you're expected to climb. Where do you start? How long will it take? Will i even make it? I believe in you, friend. We're strangers. But that doesnt matter. I believe in you and your spirit and your will. Whatever that means for you, for whatever next steps you choose to take. If you need us, we will be here. I hope we hear more about your progress. Hold fast
Please react to the live version off of Salival. They totally reimagined it. It's a MASTERPIECE. 🤞✌️
toastman knows whatsup
Dream theater needs to be here too
Please 🙏
This 👆
Toasty ain't lying. The reworked Salival version of this song is on a whole new level. I'm off to listen to it now. :)
“If when I say I might fade like a sigh if I stay…you’ll minimize my movement anyway…I must persuade you another way.” Favorite lyrics of all time.
Cannot agree more…
One of my favorite musical phrases of all time, and not just the lyrics. And so challenging to sing but so good when it’s done right.
Why?
@@thematthatter1910 musically, because as a vocalist, it is in a different part of my register that I don’t use as often, and it just moves very nicely.
Now as for the lyrics “if when I say I might fade like a sigh if I stay” to me that is a very lovely way of saying “I’m going to lose who I am and the man you know now will be gone if i stay. And it’ll be slow and gradual and you won’t notice until it’s too late”
“You minimize my movement anyway” just another way of saying you’re holding me down
“I must persuade you another way” I’ve got to find another way to make you understand
Again these are just my opinions man. I hope I answered the question of why. Hell, I ain’t even sure it was directed at me. It just showed up in my notifications as someone commented on something you commented on so I thought I’d check it out.
Have a terrific day!
And to be followed up with a powerful “There’s no love in fear” 🔥
The leap in songwriting between Undertow and AEnima is pretty stunning. Everything is so on-point. Flawless record.
Psychedelics.
@@dt90891 That and Maynard embracing his inner ID/Shadow reflection
@@dt90891 I don't think Maynard done drugs
I prefer Undertow, more raw/real.
No been very against them.@@TheEternalElir
My favorite TOOL song. I am here for anyone who could make use. Always here for my fellow brothers and sisters.
Pushit followed by Pneuma almost two years ago at the Boston Garden may just have been the greatest 25 minutes of my life
I flew from SC to Michigan solely because I saw they brought back this version of Pushit
@@cefhamsterthat was an amazing concert!
Plssss react to money ties by rennnnnnn plssssss
Lucky bastard.
If I could have only two songs from Tool, for the rest of my life, it would be Push it& Pneuma.
Maynard has a talent for putting words to situations and thoughts we dare not say out loud ourselves.
It’s because psychedelics SHOUT them at you.. everything unsaid in your life.. all while a 8 hour long abstract & surreal “music video” of equal potency blasts your true-self into your face and into the back of your eyeballs… forever.. after that facing yourself and the world feels easy to do with the most raw honesty of our heart & soul
It amazes me how so many people miss the line "Rest your trigger on my finger." That is such a great line! Abusers almost always blame the other person. This line exemplifies that so well!!! My father actually did something like this to my mother. He put a knife in her hand and actually made her cut him.
One of the best lines in the song imo
Truth. Whole and striking. It hit me too the first time I heard it.
Always been one of the most powerful lines in the song and always hit me hard. I feel there's so much of the song the that revolves around that line
The live version on the Salvial album is amazing
I must be one of the few people who strongly feels that the album version is superior. Not that the live version is bad or anything, but it just felt lacking in a structural way. Felt more like a jam session (which is fine). The album version is structured so well.
@@Asherekagreed
This song is an excellent example of all 4 finding a synergy that maximizes each other’s parts. Just elite
I used to be in a relationship with a girl that would, occasionally, speak in baby talk. Not really my thing, but I grew to like it from her.
She asked me, years after we broke up, why i liked it so much.
I told her the truth. As long as she was talking baby talk, she wasn't bitching at me or saying she hated me, or wishing I would die in my sleep.
😊
I appreciate the honesty
Well, this song just made me cry. I know the song very well, and I knew it applied to what I've been through in my life, but in this context it just hit me like a falling piano. He so perfectly captures the feeling of helplessness and frustration and aloneness that it all came rushing back.
omfg same. I've loved this song since '97, but I've never listened to and related to it so much until now. Three years after getting out of a 16-year toxic relationship. Dang.
"There's no love in fear". This made me tear up. Holy shit, what a song.
Danny's snare is tuned very uniquely for this song...i love it!
It’s so fucking good idk why it hits different on this song cause he always on point but yeah very profound
Tool is exactly that. Their song writing is genius. You’ll take from them what you need and relate! There is no other band on the planet that has been their equal. Thanks for sharing your experience. For me this song represents the battle between a conscious mind and the ego. That’s the beauty of Tool. 🙏❤️
There’s a lot to unpack in this song
Been waiting for you to do Pushit! My fav song varies between Pushit, Reflection, and Right in Two...so very excited for this one
Reflection is 🔥 As full and bright as I am, this light is not my own…
Hands down Reflection is such a great song. Love the others as well but that one just hits.
@@homer9k655 yup, and I know Taylor would love it as well. I LOVE the Eastern influence musically and lyrically!
Reflection my fave song for sure it’s truly incomparable
taste right there
They are just so cerebral and so effin good! The band of my lifetime....been listening to Tool fo rover 30 years!
Great reaction. This is one of my favorites. But, they're all my favorite. 🤪
IF i was forced to pick a favorite Tool song...this is it. LOVE IT
Same, or Rosetta
Favorite overall Maynard lyric - THERE'S NO LOVE IN FEARRRRRRRR
Mine too. Those are the lyrics I chose to surround my 3rd Eye tattoo. True words.
A re-write from a bible line, which is the other way around, there's no fear in love. No doubt influenced by the deep beliefs held by his mother.
Yeah, it's been a while since I listened to the studio version of this track. The live version has become my goto. But this one hits harder. Right out the gate.
TOOL is Pink Floyd for the new millennium.
🤘🧙♂🤘
OMG!!! Ahhhh I'm so excited I finished watching every one of your tool videos about 2 days ago and was super bummed after I realized that was it for tool! And here we go 38 minutes ago
I absolutely love your reaction videos. So many “reaction” videos are just people saying “Wow! That was cool!” Without trying to interpret or understand it. Just watching you listen to a song and let the music and the lyrics soak all in is refreshing. You can see the wheels turning in the back of your head just from your facial expressions. You genuinely indulge in the music and try to relate to it all while helping people who are struggling. It’s literally cathartic for me, it’s nice to know people like you exist.
You need to hear the Salival version of this song.
The live version of this is possibly my favorite piece of music ever. Brings me to tears -- the music, the message, the delivery, everything hits me deeply. The spot at 5:00 is a killer.
Salival dropped when I was in this kind of cycle of abused existence. When I find it in myself to sing this, I end up on the floor crying by the end. Feels so good. ❤
This helped me this morning, Thank You. I've been listening to TooL since way back, cassette/cd era, seen em live 3 times, recently some months ago in my hometown Biloxi. CHEERS TO ALL
I ❤️ your reactions! I can't get enough of opened minded people!
Thank you for doing a reaction to this song. Your analysis is great, & having you be able to expertly navigate the world of abuse from your professional perspective adds to the song. I always want to suggest this song for friends I know who are in abusive relationships, but it would be kind of dropping them in the deep end of the pool when they may not be ready for it. So instead I highlight the phrase "There's no love in fear". It helps to cut through & reach people.
As others have said, check out the live Pushit version from Salival - it's a great reworking of the song. There is also a video taken from a concert of this song where a fan jumps the stage, & Maynard is forced to subdue him. He keeps singing, adding yet another layer to this song.
This reminds me every single time I hear it of my journey with my ex-wife. My slow walk into survival mode, and everything that followed. It took YEARS to come to terms and admit that I was isolated in such a toxic relationship where s3x was our only way of being honest with each other. This brings so many different meanings to certain lyrics to my mind. The literal and allegorical implications in this song never cease to leave me amazed at human language and how some are so eloquent at using it. You can break down the different sections, chapters, or acts in the song as steps down the path to an inevitability.Thank you for doing this song. I have loved it for years, and since my divorce, I have only come to love it more.
I feel the exact same way. This song exemplifies my relationship with my ex-wife. Having remarried and been in a loving caring relationship has magnified my previous marriage and how absolutely toxic it was. Every time I hear this song I can't help but think of those feelings resulting from the toxicity. I remember feeling afraid of "what may come of this".
I've recently come to this realization and this song his way too hard
Was she BPD?
@@jasonspain3554BPD?
@markwalker7208 No. Just a B. I should have seen it. All the females on her side were of a sort. (Man haters) I thought she was the miracle, but alas. Love is blind.
As a victim of abuse from many family members I can relate. I have been a TOOL fan for years. I love your breakdowns of their songs, even if it brings me to tears sometimes. I recall my abusive stepfather and feeling safe knowing he would protect me from others, all the while beating me senseless. I feel sick looking back and calling him dad. It's so insane where we find comfort, even in the arms of the person destroying us. 😢
One of my all-time favorite Tool tracks!! And as someone else said, do check out the live version off of Salival. Absolute game changer!
I hooked up speakers all over room as a teen when this came out and played this cd constantly. So good
Listen to the last few moments of Danny's snare 'CLACKS' as Maynard's lyrics describe the worrisome and inevitable violence that can occur at the end of an abusive relationship.
I've always interpreted that loud, repetitive snare as the terrible violence that brings the story to an end.
Damn, never heard it that way but you're right. Wow.
My favorite part is the absence of the snare in the backbeat but instead a series of ghostnotes. The backbeat for me always represents a musical breathe of sorts. It always felt to me like suffocating until the snare kicks back in and we can breath again.
Great videos! I recommend putting the lyrics in the description so others can read along too. Tool is my top 3 favorite bands, so I know all these lyrics anyway, but others may not.
I'm sure if anyone needs the lyrics, they know where to get them. It's not rocket science
One of my favorite Tool songs. The Aenima album does remind me of Halloween 🎃 I personally feel, one holds so muh in and takes so much, they then finally snap. All those pent up emotions they have been holding in comes out
It really embodies the highs and lows of abusive relationship and genuine efforts to avoid escalation (to no avail) until the lid just pops right out on a psycothic episode due to the sheer amount canned of pressure maybe of years on end.
Thank you so much for your unwaivering support for people who may have felt this on ANY level even if they were confused avbout what or why they were feeling these things during their abuse. It's so incredibly refreshing to know that there is at least one person out there (you) that can offer abd orovide support for things that others may make you feel like you have to "pushit, and shove it down" so we don't raise eyebrows or speak of anything remotely acceptable or "off color" about our lives. God bless and nothing but peace, health, love and happiness for you and yours. Thank you for helping me feel as though I am not an "outsider" or someone who doesn't "fit in" to every conversation as lightheartedly as others when discussing serious topics like this- meaning that we can "never share" our REAL experiences in those conversations in fear of the judgement and stigma that cones along with REAL experiences vs. experiences that are just lightly ir "figuratively" discussed "around the dinner table" uf you get my reference. Cheers to you so very much for NOT making me feel "different" or ashamed ir out of place amongst "normal" discussion about the mewning behind certain songs or feelings. Thank you and all my best and love and peace to you and yours. ❤❤
I've gotten so use to being in survival mode it's hard for me think about how it must be to be "normal." I think the only solace I've ever felt is in helping other people but it's been fleeting.
One of my favorite songs of Tool
Same here
It's one of their more "universal" songs, one that envelopes everything Tool offers. Beautiful chord progressions, mix of presence and ambience from the bass, very technical drumming, Maynard's both light singing and hard screaming, and a journey within dark concepts to top it all off. One of my favs as well.
YES!! Same here!!!!
Last time Tool came thru Houston they did this. It was the pinnacle of the show for me. It was badass!
Same, I cried so hard lol
One of the greatest songs ever written
There is no love in fear. That line...
Extremely deep music. They were so ahead of their time. Amazing band .
🔧🌀⚙️🌀👁🌀⚙️🌀🔧
“Spiral Out Keep Going”
"...enough to step aside and keep like a widow..."
weep
The updated or "evolved" lyrics in the live Salival version of this song make it even more clear that this is about a toxic romantic relationship:
"Managed to push myself away, and you as well, my dear."
"We're pushing, and I'm shoving,
and you're pushing, and I'm shoving."
He's very intentional about it having become toxic on both sides, his own side included.
13:29 This song always makes me think of my friend who was strangled and killed by her boyfriend 😢
: (
That is awful, I would never listen again if I was you. Sorry for your loss.
✌️✝️
The first time I heard this song in 96 it struck me like a thunderbolt. The music is unlike anything else I have ever heard and the lyrics are crazy. Still consider it my favorite song of all time. 'If when I say I might fade like a sigh if I stay here'... makes my hair stand up everytime
This is probably my favorite tool song. You should review the live version. It’s “a different angle.. under a different light..”
Love the ending to this song. See this as man vs themself conflict. Ultimately he has chosen to change, grow, and face the unknown.
This has always been my favorite song and the live salival version moreso. It's the plight of the love of an abuser (I think this really speaks to the spiral in a narcissist/addict relationship). I absolutely cannot listen to this song without bawling cause it hits home too hard. And I know your jam is lyric analysis, but the depth of the music choreography that echoes the struggle, build, calm, struggle cycle is so impactful. To go through the musical journey of calm escalating to struggle and dissonance to calm again to the final climax of separation and solace on the outro is so powerful and such an emotional release. I guess it's hard to feel if you haven't lived the cycle over and over again. But definitely do take a listen to the salival version. And stay strong all you survivors!
At the start of the song, infants are also symbols of innocence, which I strongly suspect was the main intent there, as abuse can definitely strip away someone’s innocence, especially a child.
Later in the song, I’ve always viewed the quiet section about 2/3 of the way through where he seems to be whispering to himself as a period of dissociation brought on by the abuse. Protecting themselves by going inside their heads so they can tell themselves that the abuse isn’t happening to *them*, it’s happening to this empty body they’ve separated from. That stage is then followed by the feral survival mode, where they know they cannot take any more, and will do *anything* to make the abuse stop.
Thank you for this one!! And your stankface is absolutely adorable.
people who hold a lot of anger often can't receive affection from their partners as it feels to them like suffocation --- it's why some people will go out for a pack of cigarettes and never come back, better that than choke out their loved ones
the movie "Roma" is about some of these themes
Alfonso Cuarón made the flick to process his own childhood --- his own father abandoned his family
Cuarón struggled most directing the scene where the father drives away from his family
it was the first time Cuarón had to think about the motives behind the abandonment, to think of his father as a flawed human --- but a human none the less --- and not a purely selfish monster
I agree 💯 Pushit live is set emotionally deeper then this lyrically and sonically...another great tool reaction thanks so much 🙏
Excellent, i was looking forward to you covering this song. :)
Just a wonderful journey!!! Great reaction and breakdown!
The thing about most Tool songs i that they can be relatable to a vast number of people for many different reasons.
Salival version now! Same song but completely different.
EDIT: Disagree. We all have a right to judge anyone and everything. "Their story" is just an excuse for their poor behavior. We still have moral expectations. Personally, I'm tired of the lack of accountability that mental health seems to be pushing 🤷🏻
There are those mental areas and therapists who do want to allow this stuff as an excuse for behaviors. Then, there are those who know this is a pathway toward responsibility through self-reflection, introspection, humility, etc.
@@thelemite935 Absolutely! That should be the goal. But it's hard to make anyone think introspectively if no one has "judged" them and told them their behavior is not acceptable.
This song is about confronting your ego and ego death. Obviously its tool and ppl have 100s of interpretations but its sll about slaying your ego. This is the best song ever written. The salival version is the best version of the best song ever.
You should do an Opeth song sometime. In My Time of Need might pull on the heart strings a bit. Sorceress, Ghost Of Perdition, or Deliverance are other good songs.
In Maynard's book, he talks about this song in general. He was the one abused in the relationship. It's one of many favorites, especially if you were in somewhat of the same situation. The live version is amazing. I legitimately cried the first time I heard it.
Reminds me when I worked with elementary kids. "If I act out at least I get attention." And any attention was good, even if it was not the kind of attention most of us desire.
In my humble opinion, I believe Tool’s “Pushit” is about the inner battle between the egoic self and the true self. Like, the whole song feels like this intense conversation going on inside one person, between the part of them that’s driven by ego (the need to control, fear, power) and the part that’s more authentic and aware.
When he says, “What is this but my reflection? Who am I to judge or strike you down?” I think he’s realizing that the thing he’s fighting is actually himself. It’s like, we spend so much time struggling against ourselves, trying to maintain this facade or protect the ego, when the real challenge is letting go of that control and just being. But the ego keeps pushing and shoving him, like it’s afraid of what’ll happen if it lets go. There's this constant tension, like he’s getting pushed into places he doesn’t want to be mentally, and he just wants some peace of mind.
I think the “gap” he mentions is the space between these two parts of him-the ego and the true self. When he says he saw the gap again today, it feels like he’s noticing that split inside himself, and it’s kind of terrifying because he knows if he gives in to the ego too much, he’ll lose himself. But at the same time, it’s hard to break free.
And when he says, "It will end no other way," it’s like he’s resigned to the fact that this conflict has to come to a head. It’s almost violent, like he knows that in order for his true self to emerge, he has to completely destroy the hold his ego has over him. It’s a struggle we all go through in some way, but Tool just lays it out in the most raw and powerful way possible.
Solid take.
It's cool that people get lost in the ideas of inner reflection, but if you want to go that deep, just bypass Jung and go straight to the Bhagavad Gita. In this case, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Then again, tool often writes things intentionally vague for the listeners personal interpretation.
Thanks for playing my favourite tool song 🤘
your a totally a tool fan now ❤
Thanks for not stopping the end ❤
Thank you for this Taylor and David ❤
In my top 5 Tool songs. The break after he says "Keep my feet flat on the ground " is one of the dirtiest , most metal jams I've ever heard. Goose bumps every time.
Hell yea it's been a hot minute. Happy that you continue with Tool :)
My long-held assumption that this song told a story between romantic partners was uprooted recently. I found it applying fully to my relationship with my brother.
PUSHIT is by far my favorite tool song. So glad you reacted to it and broke it down.
I'm so glad you did this song. I shared this song during one of my sessions with my EMDR therapist. This song helped me remove the negative critic that we all have.
To me, this song is the relationship with the self and trauma. The infant and reflection are questioning the self-destructive ways in which respond to trauma. That vibe change you noticed in the song is falling into the abyss with your trauma after arguing, not wanting to be there. I always envision a haunted wooded area. The whole song for me is regaining back the self and allowing the self to heal. The song then climaxes with the self fighting back and telling the negative critic. Thank you, but you no longer serve me, so I'm going to need to remove your voice ("claw your f'n throat away").
"Right in Two" com'on you can do it.......
If this song is paired with the previous on the album Jimmy. Both are about the inner child. Jimmy is about trying to figure out what happened to the inner child and try to heal. Pushit is about the patterns of self abuse by the inner child.
i think it also pairs with Prison Sex and on the flip side it pairs with H --- we go from fear to healing, the cycle of violence is dissolved and healing emerges through relationship with the child, both the one in front of us (via parenthood in H) and the one inside (Jimmy)
I remember the first day that I listened to this song when the album was released! Of all of Tool's music, this always has been and still is the one song, the one song that struck such a deep chord. I have played this song on my drums since with every ounce of feeling, every day at first and now once a week in the least. It encapsulates my life from the age of 6. That was the beginning of living with a verbally/physically/always drunk abusive step father. It robbed me of a childhood every single day until I could break from it and go live with my Dad at 18 years old. I lived in fear every second from 6 yo until the day that POS left this mortal existence. I focused on the inner work to be the person that I always should have. There are two lines of lyrics that I struggled with years before hearing them. I will not say though and sometimes still wish that I did one of them! My mother kept us there throughout whatever reasoning she had to do so, I do not speak with her now. I credit my Dad for always being there and always having a safe place when I could stay with him. He is the example that I try to follow.
From gravitykills24: @fastcars1173 Thanks for reaching out to us at HeartSupport - I am glad you found us through the Tool reaction video and I'm glad that PUSHIT could be the anthem you resonated with and could use to power through the abuse you suffered from your step-father. I have never understood what drives people to abuse children - certainly it must go back to hurt people hurting people, and alcohol abuse to that cycle and it just is terrifying for the child, since it seems like you never know what version of that adult you are going to get. I am so sorry you went through that for as long as you did, and I completely understand that you have no relationship with your mother after putting you through that for so long also. I am glad your father was always there for you and could provide a stable and safe place for you, that's huge. It sounds like you found a way to be mentally strong and prepare yourself for life by doing the work like you said on yourself and maybe modeling things after your dad and certainly not after your step-father, in fact, probably vowing to do the opposite of what he did. I completely understand how the lyrics of this song resonate with you and the abuse you went through, I hope that you continue to find music that fuels you to power forward and be the best version of yourself you can be. Take care and feel free to reach out to us anytime, peace be the journey.
Thanks for this, was waiting a Tool Reaction for a long time, please don’t give up on them!
This song is powerful and I enjoyed your reaction. I also like your headphones
So, after watching all 18 videos, you have rekindled and reminded me why I'm a TOOL fan. Loved your interpretation of the songs, and I feel I need to revisit the entire discography with this newfound perspective.
Would recommend doing " 4° ", "Flood" and "Third Eye" at some point.
I think the song is self reflective and about the fear of evolving as a former version of ourselves hold us back. Like trying to get clean or sober or stop living a self destructive lifestyle. You have to always love who you were but you have to destroy that version of yourself that tries to keep you where you are.
Great take and how I interpreted this! The emotional roller coaster caused by abuse and the survivors return from understanding this is not how it has to always be and the bravery to step away.
This is probably the most powerful song from tool that affects me, having lived through this for 10 yrs till my wife had a stroke in my arms 5 months ago. I love her still but at the same time hate her for the abuse i suffered. There were many great times but also many dark times. Through it all i never called her a name or lifted a finger against her. Just took it all.
This is in my top 5 of favorite Tool songs. ❤
Yay! More Tool!
Go David!
One of their best pieces! Just unreal witting!
Maynard it's best vocalist!!! Cool live it's Puscifer indigo children V for versatile version!!! Incredible song😻
My fav song by Tool. Still gives me goosebumps after all these years. Everyone loves the Salival version. I don’t. Peace and love from Calgary.
Tool will always have a place in my heart and on my skin, because this song helped deliver me. It inspired me to leave the abuse of my parents, which included moving me thru 3 high schools then mocking me for not graduating , and physically assaulting me and then calling cops on me when I fought back, leaving me with a juvenile record.
Your videos are fucking amazing!!! You do a great job of breaking things down. Can’t wait to see what’s next
More tool ❤ your video helping me while my strong depression. Love you too (l)
The 'other' version of Pushit will blow you away. You've gotta do it!!
A timeless masterpiece❤❤
One of the strongest lines to me in the song comes near the end where he says terrified of what may come.
I saw this live in 95. Still get goosebumps.
I'll second what @PowderedToastMan420 (from Spümco) suggested. The live Salival version is a beautiful gut punch. A masterpiece.
all through out this album he is adjusting to having a son, but through that also making peace with himself and his childhood. in this song, like several other tracks, hes facing himself.
I came across this channel tonight and I must say wow. I've been a Tool fan for nearly 30 years. They have definitely helped me through some hard times. Unfortunately now I'm fighting what seems like a endless war with myself. I will say another band to look into that has been helping me is a band called Imminence. Check out the song Come What May and another called Temptation. You will not be disappointed.
Just found you. Love Tool. Great take. SUbbed!
These videos are amazing! These were all my therapists, literally, and it is so validating to see them taken as the serious gospel they were. Please delve into Blind Melon when time allows. Shannon was a beautiful soul with a unique perspective on humanity despite his struggles with addiction, and many of the issues talked about in these videos come up in his lyrics, and his perspective is sweet, powerful, and sometimes extremely insightful. 2 x4 and Walk off Soup come to mind first. But if you'd rather ponder why Ed Gein was so into collecting things there's Skinned or if you want a real doozey look up info on their song Carseat (God's Presence)! I'm off to watch more of your reactions that I have yet to experience, thanks for all your efforts.
My favorite all time song. Thank you
Havent watched but five seconds, I love it!!!!! I love the open mindedness and I will never stress that enough. I know you've done these kind of reactions before lol
I've been struggling on and off with alcohol abuse for four years now, and I recently thought of this song and the lyrics while I was going through withdrawal, and it felt like the love/hate relationship that I have with alcohol.
From DyllonKG: @marcuspearse1508 Good morning friend.
Thanks so much for sharing what you're feeling and for taking a moment to be vulnerable. I know that, at least for me, that is sometimes the hardest part.
You talked about struggling with alcohol abuse a bit here and how during a moment of withdrawal, you thought of this song and its lyrics and how they relate to your push and pull relationship with alcohol.
Im sorry that you're struggling with that right now. It sounds difficult to have that type of relationship. I've never struggled with substances or anything of that nature but I imagine that there's a sort of reliance on it? Maybe it helps to cope or something. But there's the knowledge that it may be doing more harm than good? I could imagine the conflict and the frustration. Because once Im in that cycle, it isn't easy to just hop out. And when the current is so strong, I have to ask myself, is it worth it to fight it?
I imagine that all feeling daunting and overwhelming. Terrifying sometimes.
Im sorry my friend.
I want you to know that Im not judging you. Or feeling any pity for you. I can absolutely understand how, in the world we live in, you got to where you are.
And while I dont think this has to be your life forever, I also know that breaking that cycle can feel impossible. Like staring up at a mountain that you're expected to climb. Where do you start? How long will it take? Will i even make it?
I believe in you, friend. We're strangers. But that doesnt matter. I believe in you and your spirit and your will. Whatever that means for you, for whatever next steps you choose to take.
If you need us, we will be here. I hope we hear more about your progress.
Hold fast