Sober (Tool song)

"Sober" is a song by American rock band Tool. The song was released as the first single from their debut studio album, Undertow. Tool guitarist Adam Jones has stated in an interview that the song is about a friend of the band whose artistic expression only comes out when he is under the influence. "A lot of people give him shit for that," Jones explains. "If you become addicted and a junkie, well, that's your fault."[2]

"Sober"
Single by Tool
from the album Undertow
Released	May 1993
Recorded	1992
Genre	Alternative metal[1]
Length	5:05
Label	Zoo
Songwriter(s)	Danny Carey Paul D'Amour Adam Jones Maynard James Keenan
Producer(s)	Sylvia Massy Tool
Tool singles chronology
"Sober" (1993) "Prison Sex" (1993)
Alternative cover
Cover for the promotional single.

Writing

"Sober" is one of the earliest songs composed by Maynard James Keenan, with roots dating back to a 1987 live performance (released as Peace Day with his first band, Children of the Anachronistic Dynasty) in which the song was called "Burn About Out". The song contains some lyrics from the first verse of "Sober", with the same basic melody, although the melody is considerably faster and has an instrumental chorus.

The song was recorded by Keenan with Tool for the first time in mid-1991 on a demo tape titled 72826.

Music video

Screenshot of the Sober music video depicting the humanoid being.

A video for "Sober" was made in 1993. It debuted in May of that same year and was directed by Fred Stuhr.[3] It was filmed using stop-motion animation, with the characters' models designed by Adam Jones. It was the first of Tool's videos to be made in stop motion, the earlier promo video for "Hush" being live action. Whereas all four band members could be seen at all times during the previous clip, "Sober" shows only brief flashes of them. A live-action clay figure is shown twitching and vibrating violently.

The video's protagonist is a small, humanoid being, who lives and sleeps in an abandoned mansion, in a rusty room sparsely decorated with a table, a chair, and a bed with no mattress and a curtain as a blanket. He happens to stumble upon a wooden box, which he opens near the beginning. Its contents are kept hidden for the majority of the video's duration, but it seems whatever it is has had adverse mind altering effects – there are repeated shots of the humanoid levitating in his chair, and his head and arm vibrating wildly. While experiencing these effects, the figure ventures through his living quarters and its many corridors.

The climax provides a barrage of imagery and revelations: a figure attached to a wall behind a translucent screen, a sentry of sorts wielding a mobile, robotic cannon and an organic substance flowing through a pipe found in the house. At the end, the box is empty, leaving the viewer to determine its meaning. The video's style is inspired by the stop-motion animations by English filmmakers the Brothers Quay.

Formats and track listings

US single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Sober" (album version)	5:06

Australian and German single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Sober" (album version)	5:06
2.	"Bottom" (live)	6:24
3.	"Intolerance" (live)	4:43

UK 12" single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Sober" (album version)	5:06
2.	"Prison Sex" (album version)	4:55
3.	"Intolerance" (album version)	4:34

Sober – Tales from the Darkside

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Sober" (album version)	5:06
2.	"Undertow" (live at Lollapalooza '93 – 8/6/93)	5:42
3.	"Sober" (live at Lollapalooza '93 – 8/6/93)	5:10
4.	"Opiate" (live at Lollapalooza '93 – 8/6/93)	6:17
5.	"Flood" (live at Lollapalooza '93 – 8/6/93)	3:40
6.	"Prison Sex" (live at Lollapalooza '93 – 8/6/93)	4:50
7.	"Jerk-Off" (live at Lollapalooza '93 – 8/6/93)	4:18
8.	"Prison Sex" (live at Lowland Paradise Festival, Dronten, The Netherlands – 8/29/93)	5:01
9.	"Bottom" (live at Lowland Paradise Festival, Dronten, The Netherlands – 8/29/93)	6:24

Personnel

Tool

• Maynard James Keenan – vocals
• Adam Jones – guitar
• Paul D'Amour – bass
• Danny Carey – drums

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
Germany	1993	Zoo	CD	74321-21849-2
Australia			CD	74321-21849-2
UK			Vinyl picture disc	74321-22043-1
			Promo vinyl	TOOL 001
U.S.			Promo CD	ZP17121-2
Netherlands			CD	74321 22604 2

Notable performances and covers

• In August 2006, Kirk Hammett, lead guitarist of Metallica, joined Tool on stage while performing and jammed together with the band at a show in Hawaii.
• In January 2007, at the Big Day Out music festival in Auckland, New Zealand, System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian collaborated with Tool for an improvisational version of the song.
• Staind released a live acoustic cover version of the song on their 2006 compilation The Singles: 1996–2006.[4]

In media

• In an episode of Beavis and Butt-head, the eponymous duo provide commentary on the video. They mock the band's name, but give an otherwise positive review of the video.
• British electronica duo Orbital sampled the song in "Tootled", from their DVD album The Altogether.

Chart performance

Chart (1993–94)	Peak position
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[5]	13

References

1. Grierson, Tim. "Top 10 Essential Alt-Metal Songs". About.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
2. citing Guitar School, March 1994
3. http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=28107
4. Blackie, Andrew (November 16, 2006). "Staind: The Singles 1996–2006". Popmatters.com. Retrieved April 10, 2015. An unplugged replica of Tool’s “Sober” manages to conjure a sense of brooding even more evident than in the original, and amplify Adam Jones’ discordant riffage.
5. "Tool Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2017.