Album: Fear Inoculum (2019)

License This Song 

Songfacts®:

• The word pneuma comes from the Greek word for "that which is breathed or blown." The term took on multiple layers of meaning for the ancient Greeks and later for Judeo-Christian theologians and philosophers, as it became a word for "spirit" or "soul."
  
  References to the "breathe" concept are found in the song's line We are born of one breath, one word, and the continued repetition of "spirit."
  
  In the case of this song, the reference to the word is clearly oriented towards the yogic tradition, with guitar synthesized to sound like the Middle Eastern sitar and the light playing of Arabic goblet drum. Breath, or "pneuma," is at the core essence of yogic practice, both literally and spiritually.
  
  This song basically is a yogic meditation rendered in music. It discusses how we human beings are bound to our flesh and the illusions of the material world, but really are called to return to the essential, egoless "pneuma" of the universe's underlying reality. The song is a call to spiritual freedom and oneness:
  
  Reach out and beyond
  Wake up, remember
  We are born of one breath, one word
  We are all one spark, eyes full of wonder
• "Pneuma" is the second song on Fear Inoculum. At 11:53, it's long compared to most rock songs, but six tracks on the album are over 10 minutes long, so it's pretty much par for the course.

Comments: 3

• Dr Meta from Texarcana Archon-sawPneuma means breath or spirit, and Tool's lyrics have arcane & occult references to Kaballah & Gnosticism which themselves are influenced by Greco-Roman philosophy (like Plato & the Pleroma) and their ancient Egyptian predecessors (ie Hermes Trismegistus). Indian & Eastern mysticism predates & informs Western esotericism. But Kaballah & Gnosticism is paramount to the Neoplantists & Hermeticists, and allegory is gleaned from the literal. For them the universe is created as a breath of God. It's the fiery exhalation that mirrors the Big Bang after which God's inhalation contracts the universe in a Big Crunch. This happens many thousands of times (called Aeons) before THIS universe, our imperfect universe, is breathed into existence. However not every vessel was prepared to catch this divine breath of light and the chaotic Qliphoth soon began what Isaac Luria called "the breaking of the shells."
  
  There are 3 major forms of being & knowledge in this universe: the lowest is hylics or material existence, psychics in the middle, and pneumatics (pneuma) at the top representing the spiritual. For example the Tree of Life corresponds to the flow from top to bottom from pneumatics to hylics. We are in what some consider an "aborted" universe created not by God but by the Demiurge otherwise no imperfection or evil would exist. So what are we too do at the very bottom of the sublunar realm amongst the hylics so very far from the heavenly pneumatics? The way to attain metanoia (true epiphany), spiritual knowledge (pneuma), or nirvana is through gnosis: knowing & recognizing this predicament, then waking up the the remnants of creation's long lost perfection within us. These remnants of the Ein Sof, the ineffable, or the Big Bang correlate to the divine spark of sophia inside us. This spark of creation
  refers to knowledge (sophia/ennoia). Through ritual or spiritual exercise we can awaken them and attain connections & oneness with the origin, the spirit (pneuma), the Monad.
  
  So why not wake others up as well & make the world a better place as hinted in the song. Meditation has long been an Eastern and Western form of not just relation but awareness and deep thought. Descartes and other philosophers wrote "Meditations" in which they tap into the fundament of being and reality to try to establish ontological tenets. Alchemy, Occult, Esoteria, & Magic along with their symbols are ubiquitous in art, music, & philosophy. It's the rabbit hole of all rabbit holes and leads to its own gnosis even without the rituals. Take a deep dive and see the universe with different eyes.
• Lovetheseguys from Usinescapably perfect.
• Stoopitnoob from Las VegasWhile your interpretation is a sound one, it's deeper than that if you open your mind. The music is a soul's journey. The times and sounds are simple at the begining like a child birth and progresses through complexity just like that of the experience of the soul. Tones are different (ways of seeing Life and perspective) as the song progresses.
  
  Lyrics are overlayed to deliver the message. Saying we are nailed down to this limited place but know where we come from and it's just out our reach.
  
  As the song progresses it gets richer and more robust. There is a luciousness to it. The timing and complexity increases like a person in their 30s and 40s.
  
  As the song gets deeper, it nears the end stage and the tones are that of a soul with much experience. The energy of the lyrics become bold as if a grandfather telling the child to be careful. Almost authoratative.
  
  Them as the song ends, it returns to more melodic harmonic less harsh sounds as the soul returns to source.

More Songfacts:

Midnight RiderThe Allman Brothers Band

A roadie for the Allman Brothers came up with the line "The road goes on forever" for "Midnight Rider," and got a songwriting credit for his contribution.

Invisible TouchGenesis

The Genesis song "Invisible Touch" was inspired by the Prince-written Sheila E. track "The Glamorous Life."

Jack & DianeJohn Mellencamp

Jack & Diane started off as an interracial couple; Mellencamp took race references out of the song at the request of his record company.

ChangesDavid Bowie

The movie The Breakfast Club opens with a passage from David Bowie's "Changes" ("And these children that you spit on...")

DynamiteTaio Cruz

Taio Cruz throws his hands up "sometimes" in "Dynamite" because the song was originally written about surrender.

Giving You The Best That I GotAnita Baker

Before the game when he hit a famous shot to win a playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Michael Jordan was listening to Anita Baker's "Giving You The Best That I Got."

Editor's Picks

Max Cavalera of Soulfly (ex-Sepultura)Songwriter Interviews

The Brazilian rocker sees pictures in his riffs. When he came up with one of his gnarliest songs, there was a riot going on.

History Of RockSong Writing

An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular.

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Michael W. SmithSongwriter Interviews

Smith breaks down some of his worship tracks as well as his mainstream hits, including "I Will Be Here For You" and "A Place In This World."

British InvasionFact or Fiction

Go beyond The Beatles to see what you know about the British Invasion.

Jethro TullFact or Fiction

Stage urinals, flute devices, and the real Aqualung in this Fact or Fiction.