Album: Undertow (1993)

License This Song 

• My compassion is broken now
  My will is eroded now
  And my desire is broken now
  And it makes me feel ugly
  
  I'm on my knees and burning
  My piss and moans are the fuel that set my head on fire
  So smell my soul burning
  
  I'm broken, looking up to see the enemy
  And I have swallowed the poison you feed me
  But I survive on the poisons you feed me
  And leavin' guilt fed, hatred fed, weakness fed
  And it makes me feel ugly
  
  I'm on my knees and burning
  My piss and moans are the fuel that set my head on fire
  I'm dead
  Inside
  
  Shit adds up
  Shit adds up
  Shit adds up
  Shit adds up at the bottom
  
  (If I let you, you would make me destroy myself)
  (In order to survive you, I must first survive myself)
  (I can sink no further, and I cannot forgive you)
  
  (There's no choice but to confront you, to engage you, to erase you)
  (I've gone to great length to expand my threshold of pain)
  (I will use my mistakes against you, there's no other choice)
  (I'm shameless now, I'm nameless now, I'm nothing now, I'm no one now)
  (But my soul must be iron 'cause my fear is naked)
  (I'm naked and fearless and my fear is naked)
  
  Dead inside, dead inside
  Dead inside, dead inside
  Nameless now, shameless now
  Nothing now, no one now
  
  Shit adds up
  Shit adds up
  Shit adds up
  Shit adds up
  And you see me naked now
  Fearless now, naked now
  Fearless now
  
  Shit adds up
  Shit adds up
  Shit adds up
  Shit adds up
  It leaves me dead inside
  Dead inside, dead inside, dead inside
  
  Hatred keeps me alive
  Lowliness keeps me alive
  Weakness keeps me alive
  Guilt keeps me alive at the bottom Writer/s: Adam Jones, Daniel Carey, Henry Rollins, Maynard Keenan, Paul D'amour
  Publisher: BMG Rights Management, IMAGO MUSIC
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 6

• Hex Omega from Wa StateHonestly, I think this could be a song confronting God himself. I know Maynard isn't a fan, and it doesn't seem unrealistic. This song expresses feelings that I myself feel, and I can only imagine others do. I mean, if you listen to Judith he does with A Perfect Circle, you know his spin.
• Orion from Independence, Mo These are such great lyrics, about such a great subject, which is overcoming the ego, as much as possible, anyway! That's what Maynard and Henry Rollins are both referring to, in lyrics such as, "if I let you, you would make me destroy myself". Undertow is one of my favorite albums, due to lyrical content such as this, Maynard's voice, and just all around great music, with a ton of emotion. Tool is one of the only bands that has both hardcore music and extremely intelligent lyrical content. Tool is a spiritual experience, and they quite simply kick ass!
• Alexandra from Dillon, MtI love henry rollin's part in this song. it is enthralling. in order to survive you i must first survive myself? what a line!!! Hell, makes my vajayjay wet thinking about how lyrically sound it is! Like, hello, you've beat me down so much that i am having a hard time dealing with myself let alone you. Ha! I love it. Truly something that was destined for a tool song.
• Sebastian from Rostock, GermanyAt the Lallapalooza in 1993, Zack de la Rocha sung Henry Rollins part.
• Michal from Bydgoszcz, Polandin my view it's about a soul destroyed by some idiot. It is about how hate creates only even more hate.
• Thoughtlessmind from Denver, CoWhenever you don't like somebody its you that has the problem not them.

More Songfacts:

Enter SandmanMetallica

The original "Enter Sandman" lyric was about crib death, with the "sandman" killing a baby.

The Most Beautiful Girl In The WorldPrince

Prince released "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World" on his own label to prove he could generate a hit song whenever he wanted. He made his point: It was a big hit around the world.

Paper PlanesM.I.A.

"Paper Planes" was inspired by M.I.A.'s hassles trying to get a visa to enter America.

Nothing Compares 2 USinéad O'Connor

Two tears roll down Sinead O'Connor's face toward the end of the video for "Nothing Compares 2 U." They were shed because she associated the song's lyrics of love and loss with her mother, who was killed in a car accident in 1985.

Twilight ZoneGolden Earring

"Twilight Zone" by Golden Earring was inspired by the Robert Ludlum novel The Bourne Identity, not by the TV show.

Stand By MeBen E. King

Rob Reiner named his 1986 movie "Stand By Me" after the song, since he thought The Body, a Stephen King story on which it was based, sounded like a horror movie.

Editor's Picks

Petula ClarkSongwriter Interviews

Petula talks about her hits "Downtown" and "Don't Sleep In The Subway," and explains her Michael Jackson connection.

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Danny KortchmarSongwriter Interviews

Danny played guitar on Sweet Baby James, Tapestry, and Running On Empty. He also co-wrote many hit songs, including "Dirty Laundry," "Sunset Grill" and "Tender Is The Night."

Gary LeVoxSongwriter Interviews

On "Life Is A Highway," his burgeoning solo career, and the Rascal Flatts song he most connects with.

Michael Sweet of StryperSongwriter Interviews

Find out how God and glam metal go together from the Stryper frontman.

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.