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  1. Tracks
  2. Tool
  3. Undertow
  4. Crawl Away

TRACK

Tool

Crawl Away

Release date: 6th April 1993

From Undertow
MetalMusic
Rock
Spotify More on Tool

About This Track

A portrait of emotional paralysis in the face of abandonment. 'Crawl Away' traces the slow dissolution of a relationship where one person withdraws while the other can only watch, rendered mute by the inevitability of it all. The song's repetition of "crawled away", "slipped away", "crept away" builds a suffocating sense of helplessness, each verb a small defeat. Tool's heavy rock framework gives the lyrical despair physical weight, the sound matching the emotional gravity of someone losing their grip. The chorus pivots to something uglier: a declaration of indifference masking deeper hurt. What you want and what you need don't matter anymore, the narrator insists, even as the imagery of a turning back and the fantasy of violence ("stick a knife in") reveals the lie beneath the bravado. The bridge's repeated mantra of "this is my love for you" transforms love itself into something coercive and strangling, a force that traps rather than sustains. By the final chorus, the song has collapsed any pretence of control into pure resentment.

"Crawl Away" is a track by Tool, from the album Undertow, released 6th April 1993. Full lyrics are available below. Dork has published 1 article about Tool.

About the Artist

Tool

Tool

Lyrics

Crawl Away

[Verse 1]

Crawled away from me

Slipped away from me

Tried to keep a hold

But there was nothing I could say

Slid away from me

Crept away from me

Tried to keep you down

But there was nothing I could say

[Chorus]

What you're trying to say

Is you don't wanna play

What you want and what you need

Don't mean that much to me

I can see your

Back is turning

If I could I'd

Stick a knife in

[Verse 2]

Crawled away from me

Slipped away from me

Tried to keep a hold

But there was nothing I could say

Slid away from me

Crept away from me

Tried to keep you down

But there was nothing I could say

[Chorus]

What you're trying to say

Is you don't wanna play

What you want and what you need

Don't mean that much to me

I can see your

Back is turning

If I could I'd

Stick a knife in

[Bridge]

This is love

This is love

This is my love for you

This is my love for you

This is my love for you

This is my love for you (My love for you)

This is my love for you

This is my love

Say you won't go

Get up stronger

Say it, say it

Get up

Say it

Get you in a stranglehold, baby

Get up, get up, get up, oh

[Chorus]

What you're trying to say

Is you don't wanna play

But what you want and what you need

Don't mean a fuck to me

I can see your

Back is turning

If I could I’d

Stick a knife in

Lyrics provided by LRCLIB

View full lyrics page →

Track details

From Undertow

1993
Listen
Album
Undertow
Undertow
Tool
6th April 1993
Release year
1993
  1. 1Intolerance
    4:54
  2. 2Prison Sex
    4:56
  3. 3Sober
    5:07
  4. 4Bottom
    7:14
  5. 5Crawl Away
    5:30
  6. 6Swamp Song
    5:32
  7. 7Undertow
    5:22
  8. 84°
    6:03
  9. 9Flood
    7:48
  10. 10Disgustipated
    15:47
  11. —Flood
  12. —4°
  13. —Crawl Away
  14. —Bottom
  15. —Swamp Song
  16. —Disgustipated
  17. —Undertow
  18. —Intolerance

More from Tool

Albums & EPs

Fear Inoculum
Fear Inoculum
2020
10,000 Days
10,000 Days
2006
Lateralus
Lateralus
2001
Opiate
Opiate
1992
Undertow
Undertow

Explore

More tracks by Tool

  1. 10,000 Days (Wings, Pt. 2)
  2. 7empestFear Inoculum
    15:44
  3. Calling Dr. Love
  4. Chocolate Chip TripFear Inoculum
    4:48
  5. Culling VoicesFear Inoculum
    10:05
  6. DescendingFear Inoculum
    13:38
  7. DispositionLateralus
    4:46
  8. Eon Blue ApocalypseLateralus
    1:04
  9. Faaip De OiadLateralus
    2:39
  10. Fear InoculumFear Inoculum
    10:20

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Credits

Production & Engineering

Writer
Adam Jones, Danny Carey, Maynard James Keenan, Paul D’Amour
Producer
Sylvia Massy, Tool
Engineer
Sylvia Massy
Drums
Danny Carey
Guitar
Adam Jones
Vocals
Maynard James Keenan
Assistant Engineer
Bradley Cook, Chris Olivas, Robert Fayer
Bass Guitar
Paul D’Amour
Mixing Engineer
Ron St. Germain
READ MORE ABOUT TOOLREAD MORE ABOUT TOOLREAD MORE ABOUT TOOLREAD MORE ABOUT TOOL
READ MORE ABOUT TOOLREAD MORE ABOUT TOOLREAD MORE ABOUT TOOLREAD MORE ABOUT TOOL
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