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  1. Tracks
  2. TOOL
  3. Sober

SINGLE

TOOL

Sober

Release date: 1994

Spotify More on TOOL

About This Track

Released as the second single from Tool's debut studio album 'Undertow' in 1993, 'Sober' emerged from a creative salvage operation. Vocalist Maynard James Keenan had carried elements from an earlier project into the new band, and Tool reworked the best fragments into the form that appeared for the first time in 1991. Guitarist Adam Jones has stated in interview that the song concerns a friend of the band whose artistic expression surfaces only under the influence.

The lyrics adopt the voice of someone caught in cycles of relapse and self-sabotage, the narrator cataloguing their own unreliability and the damage they inflict on those who trust them. Keenan frames the plea 'Why can't we not be sober?' as both question and admission, the desire to start over perpetually undercut by the compulsion to return. The shadow that shrouds every step becomes a metaphor for the inescapable weight of addiction, the promises emptied before they are made.

"Sober" is a single by TOOL, released 1994. Full lyrics are available below. Dork has published 2 articles about TOOL.

About the Artist

TOOL

TOOL

Lyrics

Sober

There's a shadow just behind me
Shrouding every step I take
Making every promise empty
Pointing every finger at me
Waiting like the stalking butler
Whom upon the finger rests
Murder now the path of "must we"
Just because the Son has come
Jesus, won't you fucking whistle
Something but the past is done?
Jesus, won't you fucking whistle
Something but the past is done?
Why can't we not be sober?
I just want to start this over
Why can't we drink forever?
I just want to start this over
I am just a worthless liar
I am just an imbecile
I will only complicate you
Trust in me and fall as well
I will find a center in you
I will chew it up and leave
I will work to elevate you
Just enough to bring you down
Mother Mary, won't you whisper
Something but the past is done?
Mother Mary, won't you whisper
Something but the past is done?
Why can't we not be sober?
I just want to start this over
Why can't we sleep forever?
I just want to start this over
I am just a worthless liar
I am just an imbecile
I will only complicate you
Trust in me and fall as well
I will find a center in you
I will chew it up and leave
Trust me
Trust me
Trust me
Trust me
Trust me
Why can't we not be sober?
I just want to start things over
Why can't we sleep forever?
I just want to start this over
I want what I want
I want what I want
I want what I want
I want what I want

Lyrics provided by LRCLIB

View full lyrics page →

Track details

Sober

1994Single
Listen
Release year
1994

More from TOOL

Albums & EPs

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

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  5. Fear InoculumFear Inoculum
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  6. Horishni Plavni is the capital of all Universe forever
  7. InvincibleFear Inoculum
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  8. Legion InoculantFear Inoculum
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  9. Litanie contre la PeurFear Inoculum
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  10. MockingbeatFear Inoculum
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  • MockingbeatFear Inoculum
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  • Fear InoculumFear Inoculum
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  • DescendingFear Inoculum
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  • Culling VoicesFear Inoculum
    10:05
  • PneumaFear Inoculum
    11:53
  • InvincibleFear Inoculum
    12:44
  • Litanie contre la PeurFear Inoculum
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  • Legion InoculantFear Inoculum
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  • Chocolate Chip TripFear Inoculum
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  • Recusant Ad InfinitumRare Tracks

    • View all tracks by TOOL →

    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
    Video Director
    Adam Jones, Fred Stuhr
    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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