The hypocrisy in ink & lemons

Tool is one of my favourite bands. Their songs are not only great to listen to on a musical level, but the lyrics frequently have a deeper message that makes you stop, think and question. All good things I say. Their message is often spiritual in nature or about self-examination. No, not that kind of self-examination. Philosophical examination. You know, the meaning of life stuff? Sheesh.

The overall message from Tool regarding their music is to find your own interpretation of the songs and to not be a sheep. Sure there might be a consensus view about what a particular song means, but there are plenty of ambiguous references or words that the individual listener can interpret in their own way.

Even if you're not a fan of their music, I think their message is relevant to all and I urge you to read on.

This is my analysis of the meaning of "The Pot" by Tool, with specific reference to one line in the song that made no sense when I first heard it.

“The Pot” is from Tool’s 10,000 Days album, and is a song that generally examines the hypocritical laws and policies of the US government, an idea that is obvious from the lyrics and the reference to kangaroo courts. However, it seems the meaning of one line in the songs chorus has stumped many Tool fans (e.g at Toolnavy and others).

“Weeping shades of cozened indigo/Got lemon juice up in your eye”,

I think that line is used to illustrate the main theme of the song, that is hypocrisy of the US govt., by referring to the US ban on henna. A ban which causes more harm than good.

Henna is a plant from which a dye is prepared by using lemon juice (“Got lemon juice up in your eye”) and sugar. Henna dye is commonly used for tattooing. Although considered harmless, with a large dose, henna may be fatal for persons with a certain genetic deficiency. Around 0.6 - 2.9% of the US population have this deficiency. Based on this data, according to the FDA, henna is illegal in the US.

As a substitute for the illegal 'real henna', some tattoo artists use 'black henna', which is also commonly used to dye hair black. Unfortunately, black henna is more likely to cause harm than real henna, as black henna contains a synthesised compound that causes severe allergic reactions in 3 - 15% of the US population (compare this to real henna). So when someone gets a temporary tattoo, they may receive black henna, a dye that can cause severe blistering, sores and scarring, “Weeping shades”. In addition, although named “black henna”, it is not a henna product at all. It’s a misnomer, hence “cozened indigo”.

Black henna is a legal and readily available product in the US.

Moreover, those persons that are allergic to (real) henna are also allergic to fava beans. Needless to say, fava beans are a legal product in the US.

Talk about irony/hypocrisy overload.

Also, the “Please” in “Ganja! Please! You must have been out your mind” absolutely exudes sarcasm, and given the general tone of the song, I see “The Pot” as a rant from Tool. In my opinion, it’s a song that uses the henna/pot/other issues as devices to make us think about the inconsistent, frustrating and misguided policy of bureaucracy that we live with everyday.