Toggle navigation. The Grudge by Tool. Album: Lateralus This is about a battle with Saturn ascending and teaching us lessons over and over again until we get it right.
Hang on or be humbled again" means get it right or Saturn will come around again teaching the same lesson until you do it. A lot of what Maynard Keenan is saying relates to characteristics of a Capricorn. They are known to hold grudges and be control freaks. Destruction is the only outcome for someone who cannot escape the deadly grip of a grudge — he has to let go. Crowns are usually seen as something glorious, brilliant, and beautiful; Keenan takes this symbol of power and authority and twists it into something dark and terrifying, but the idea of power is retained.
He is almost saying we are imbued with some sort of negative power when we allow this grudge to define us. With this false sense of power created by a grudge, the person becomes filled with a sense of being able to control everything around them. Typically, with the presence of a grudge comes a plan for revenge. A person wearing this crown of negativity is oftentimes so blinded by it they are unable see the limits of their power.
The antagonist in this book, Roger Chillingworth, is seeking revenge on his ex-wife. He believes that she has committed an act of adultery against him. His quest for revenge consumes him so much that it affects his external appearance. Chillingworth soon follows him. His life had become so intertwined with his grudge that they were interdependent.
When the source of power, the target, of his grudge was gone, the life drained out of him. He died with nothing. A cornerstone is the source of stability for any building. It needs to be solid and immovable. Friends around us may point out how silly we are, but the holder is blinded by power.
If the song ended here, we would be without hope — locked away in a prison cell, left to our own devices. The reference to Saturn ascending is an astrological idea of changes in life associated with the completion of a revolution by Saturn around the earth.
At this time in life, a choice has to be made. There is no middle ground; either the grudge is given up or held on to for another period of life. The one glimmer of hope here is the presence of a choice. Despite all of the power the grudge has, we can still choose to cast it away. Even though Keenan provides a way for escape, he does not want us to become complacent; he reminds us of the only outcome if we choose to hang on to the grudge. This begs the question, deeper into what?
I believe when a grudge comes to be, it is born out of reason. We were wronged in some way, but as a grudge lingers in our mind it begins to create a false reality. The truth we see with our eyes becomes distorted when it passes through the filter of the grudge. Our real self is buried away within our subconscious; seemingly powerless to regain control. So we continue downward. Now is the time to make a choice. This stanza is the first time in the song that Keenan refers to the grudge as a stone.
The process of separating ourselves from the grudge is not easy. We have to completely humble ourselves to the level of a child. He is saying there must be a return to innocence; all of the unnecessary weight in life must be eradicated. His imagery of the oceans and waters is an allusion to baptism.
A thorough cleansing is necessary for change, but with change comes reward. Perseverance breeds greatness. Keenan breaks down in the end of the song. He lets out a passionate scream — I envision him falling to his knees with his hands on his head. He knows he must let go, has to let go. Change is never easy, but he has to try.
A grudge begins in reason but transforms into a powerful entity capable of destroying lives. The only way to escape the endless spiral of increasing desperation to control everything around us is to choose to change. No matter how attractive the crown is, we need to take it off. In the end, it is up to us…it always has been.
I think this is a great paper! This is awesome, thanks for sharing! I agree it is awesome! Great job I think you hit the nail on the head with that! Thanks so much for sharing!!!! Working Tool into a school paper, kudos man. I legit made an account JUST to reply to this comment. That was the most well-written meaning of a song I've ever read. I was playing the song while reading this and I truly felt something powerful.
Let's transmutate these leaden grudges into gold. The crown chakra allows for the experiences of unity and universal connectedness, as well as the integration of the whole.
You are wearing the grudgd literally as your crown chakra. Also, someone else had brought up the idea of Saturn's full revolution taking about 30 Earth years So if it picks you up like a child, I think he's saying you pick this grudge up as a child and when Saturn comes back around in 30 years, it will have been just the right amount of time to have you get to the point where it is metaphorically dragging you down like a stone--"to consume you till you choose to let this go" ian on March 10, General Comment Maynard once said he used his music to get out frustrations he had of his past, and this I believe is him letting his past go.
About his Family life, his look on other people, and even God. He really sees his life of anger leading him no where. Tool's earlier records showed Maynard's and the bend's anger and frustrations to the point where they were called an anti religious band by many.
In ways they were Well Lateralus came and showed us a new side. Maynard sees the problem of hate and grudges, and the "Prison cell" it puts you in. As Saturn comes back around to show him everything, he sees it will consume him and spit him out until he chooses to let it go. The ending is so powerful. I just picture Maynard thinking of all the things he's mad about, and not just letting them go, but literally changing his mind set as he screams his heart out.
This song is an utter masterpiece. Plugged in online didn't give this album enough credit, cause I see more Christian lyrics in this song alone than I do in some songs on Christian Radio.
Funny actually. My opinion though -Zach indeed on March 19, Link. No Replies Log in to reply. General Comment People use grudges as a means of control and supremacy, to make other people feel lesser. Resentment is futile. General Comment Here is my interpretation of 'The Grudge' "Crown of negativity" The first thing that pops into my head is Jesus' crown of thorns, a burden.
The crown is thereby also a symbol of religion — but this is a negative symbol. Because these days Christianity is a controlling power, which has decided for us what we will and will not tolerate. We carry the crown on our heads, the highest place of our body, and it overshadows everything else. We stamp other people, judging them and refuse to forgive them.
This hatred of a foreign party - another person, another religion, another culture - most people have to maintain. Many people clutch their grudge as if it were a cornerstone, everything their unity if is a group of people is build on. Ultimatum prison cell. Saturn ascends, comes round again. Saturn ascends, the one, the ten. Ignorant to the damage done. Wear the grudge like a crown. Desperate to control.
Unable to forgive. And we're sinking deeper. Saturn comes back around to show you everything Let's you choose what you will not see and then Drags you down like a stone or lifts you up again Spits you out like a child, light and innocent. Saturn comes back around. Lifts you up like a child or Drags you down like a stone To consume you till you choose to let this go. Give away the stone. Let the oceans take and transmutate this cold and fated anchor.
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