Eulogy is a show case for Maynard’s talents. The singing pushes the boundaries of his vocal cords. I’m yet to hear a good live bootleg where Maynard really nails this – those high notes are just too high to hit consistently. And the lyrics are extremely quotable. Where you look at them as a reference to Bill Hicks, L Ron Hubbard or someone else, it’s easy for many of us to associate with them, and I’m sure for most of us hard to not sing along with!
Musically the track features a drawn out intro, as well as some tasty riffs which complement the catch vocals nicely. A worthy entrant to my top 10 list…
the SBD version from the infamous kalamazoo show is pretty tits and the 2/11/97 version from amsterdam comes close to being album quality. both of those versions feature the longer than normal ending, which is pretty badass and a little bit dizzying.
as far as the subject of the song, its something i think about probably more than i should. i have basically convinced myself it cant be about christ as that is too “on the nose” for maynard lyrically.
damn! eulogy crossed my mind for ur list but then i scratched it off a bit too quickly. i always thought it was about Jesus and not Hicks as i have heard. as far as it being on the nose too much its sure got some ‘on the nose’ lines in their that seem like are u kidding me that its not ? i still say it is. not that i overly got obsessed with it or anything. i just always thought of it as being about church people following jesus or whatever type of thing.
I remember seeing a bootleg of this song long before the album came out and was blown away by how creative and inspired their “new” songs were.
“as far as it being on the nose too much its sure got some ‘on the nose’ lines in their that seem like are u kidding me that its not ?”
…wut.
Great song. Kind of on board with you here so far… I’d like to have seen Bottom in this list but you clearly marked that one off as a no in your first entry for the top 10. I’ll just pretend it’s number 11 for you… assuming your amps go up to 11 that is. Since I didn’t participate in this from 10 down to 7 I’ll list my guesses from 6 down to 1… 6. H 5. Stinkfist 4. Parabol/Parabola 3. Disposition 2. Lateralus 1. The Grudge 0. Eon Blue Apocalypse/The Patient (guess my amps go up to 12)… Read more »
This is the song that got me hooked on Tool
This is the song that got me hooked on phonics!
Not much to say other than always thought it was about Jesus as well. If its about something else I’ll officially try to stop interpreting lyrics from this day on- I don’t have the patience or time to try and decipher every little thing and dig too deep. Would take the fun out of listening to lyrics/music.
He’s singing about himself, or at least the person that he was during Undertow.
That’s been my theory and I’m sticking to it.
Sticking to it. Like how Jesus was stuck to the cross? I’m picking up what you’re throwing down.
It’s probably a combination of all of the above mentioned in some way, and is a criticism of martyrs in general, using examples of Jesus and L. Ron Hubbard to further the imagery of the song.
I doubt it was written about Bill Hicks since he is held in such high regard by Maynard. Seeing as though the album is dedicated to him and all, and the character in the song (whether a specific person or not) is crucified (whether a metaphorical crucifixion or not).
I agree that it is about Maynard himself…
i would tend to agree that its about maynard himself. the very next song on the album is H. that features language like “considerately killing me” which is a reference to the birth of his son changing him for the better (at least, i think). so maybe thats why he needed a eulogy.
When was the last time Eulogy was played live? searching the setlists quickly i think it might be 10/24/01 Tool at Reunion Arena, Dallas, TX, USA. Anyone know for sure?
Love this song.
“sure could yell
took a stance on everything…..and sold out”
Since I thought it fun to see what others have announced as their own top 10, I decided to attempt my own* 1. Third Eye 2. Disposition / Reflection / Triad 3. Wings for Marie / 10,000 Days 4. Parabol / Parabola 5. Pushit 6. The Grudge 7. The Patient 8. Ænema 9. Lateralus 10. Flood *Obviously I took some liberties with multi-part tracks. Arguments can be made either way. This was tough to do. Ultimately I picked songs that and did any or all of the following; Inspired me on a creative level, motivated/changed me on a personal level,… Read more »