The Fibonacci sequence can be found in various artworks throughout history, perhaps the most well known is in Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Others might not be so well known or that obvious. For instance, “Lateralus“, a song by American progressive rock band Tool, the Fibonacci sequence in infused in the music and the lyrics. The song is the third single and title track of their third studio album Lateralus. A lot of interpretations for Tool’s Lateralus can be found on the internet, and for some this song carries a larger than life meaning.



Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must feed my will to feel my moment drawing way outside the lines.” brings to mind a passage from Frank Herbert’s Dune:”Do you wrestle with dreams?

Do you contend with shadows? Do you move in a kind of sleep? Time has slipped away. Your life is stolen. You tarried with trifles. Victim of your folly. -Dirge for Jamis on the Funeral Plain, from “Songs of Muad’Dib” by Princess Irulan”. It also echoes themes from other Tool songs, including The Grudge and Ænema. It deals with the human tendency to become too immersed in trifles which, in the end, matter very little on a cosmic scale.

” “I embrace my desire to feel the rhythm, to feel connected enough to step aside and weep like a widow, to feel inspired, to fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain…””

Next, “I embrace my desire to feel the rhythm, to feel connected enough to step aside and weep like a widow, to feel inspired, to fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain…” again may refer to the human “experience”, and the possibilities it presents.



The following lyrics:

“To swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be a human.”

“To swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be a human.” point toward the belief of human ascension towards divinity expressed in alchemy, or possibly describe pushing the limits of ingenuity and imagination, while retaining humanity.



The final, climactic verse:

“With my feet upon the ground, I lose myself between the sounds and open wide to suck it in. I feel it move across my skin. I’m reaching up and reaching out. I’m reaching for the random or whatever will bewilder me, whatever will bewilder me.

And following our will and wind, we may just go where no one’s been. We’ll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one’s been. Spiral out. Keep going, going…”

These lyrics may be interpreted as reaching a higher state of consciousness, or otherwise bettering oneself in a profound way.

Read more about: