“Die Eier Von Satan” by Tool ft. Marko Fox

Tool’s “Die Eier Von Satan” is a song which for the most part is a parody of a mass-political gathering.  That is to say from a lyrical perspective it is comedic in its approach. But auditorily it is dead-serious and gives the perception, via the utilization of a hard sound and samples of a crowd cheering in the background, that there is actually a very-important message – at least in the eyes of the singer – that is being put forth. Moreover even in terms of the aforementioned light-hearted words that are used, there are still people who believe that they really allude to more serious, even racial, matters.

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Marko Fox's Die Eier Von Satan at Lyrics.org.

Meaning of “Die Eier Von Satan”

First let’s start off with the facts. The title, “Die Eier von Satan”, is in German and translates to “The Balls of Satan”. Now the word “Eier” is actually a double entendre. This means in this specific case that in its native language, it can be translated as either “eggs” or “balls” (as in a certain organ of a man). Thus from a colloquial perspective the title of this song can also be interpreted as “The Eggs of Satan”. Thus it has been theorized that the title is actually a play on words which may refer to deviled eggs, which is actually a quite-delicious hors d’oeuvre with eggs, of course, serving as the main ingredient.

Lyrical Content of “Die Eier von Satan”

And that brings us to the actual lyrical content. What Marko Fox is singing about throughout, despite sounding otherwise, is actually a recipe for cookies which his grandmother used to bake. And these particular snacks, contrary to convention, were made with “no eggs”, as the track explicitly points out.  And in fact the lyrics of “Die Eier von Satan”, in their entirety, read like something you would more or less find in a cookbook.

The one notable exception though is that shortly before inserting the mix into the oven, the baker is advised to chant a “magic” phrase in German. And this term, “sim salabim bamba sala do saladim”, is actually derived from a German children’s song dating back to the 19th century. As far as its English equivalent, it would be something along the lines of the ubiquitous incantation ‘abracadabra’. And this spell serves as the substitute for the eggs in Marko’s grandmother’s recipe. Why this was so is unspecified. However, just as a general hypothesis, maybe at the time the family was in a situation where eggs were unavailable, and she more or less used these words to have fun with a child while simultaneously acknowledging this lack.

Moreover this song being a recipe also does not explain why the word “Satan” is in its title. Indeed the Dark Lord is never mentioned nor referenced in the lyrics. However, if we really want to swing for the fences, we can say that since this recipe is calling for “one knife tip of Turkish hash” (which of course was not a part of Fox’s grandmother’s original recipe) is its way of introducing a sinister, as in satanic, element to the food since, as many of us already know, ‘hash’ is actually a very-potent drug.

But there are those who contend that this shoutout to Satan runs deeper than that.  Theories flying around concerning the possible subliminal meaning of the track include the idea that the term “cookies” stands for Jewish people, as well as the “eggs” also possibly alluding to this group or even African-Americans.  Keep in mind that, from an auditory standpoint, “Die Eier von Satan” is meant to replicate a political rally circa World War II, i.e. National Socialism. Indeed if someone is not familiar with the German language or the translation of this song, they would likely interpret it as having such a meaningful connotation. However, even if ingredients for “The Balls of Satan” are analogies for specific groups of people, it is not clear who or what overall message it is trying to convey concerning these collectives.

Conclusion

But all things considered, we have to go with the general understanding of this song, as in it being based on a recipe. Whether or not some of the ingredients and procedures contained therein are metaphors for more-serious matters is a subject of debate. But also, the reader should be advised that actually following the recipe to create your own “Balls of Satan” isn’t necessarily advisable, at least not from a gustatory perspective.

So in the end, we can conclude that Tool are trolling fans, if you will. They present a song with a very heavy, even historical sound. But if one were to listen to it without understanding the words, he or she could logically conclude that it is based on grave subject matter, perhaps even Germany’s dark history. But to the contrary the topic discussed, at least on the surface, is very light-hearted, as it is rare you come across a hardcore rock band making a song about baking snacks.

Facts about “Die Eier von Satan”

  • Marko Fox handles lead vocals on this track. He is better known as a member of the rock band Zaum. Furthermore, he is also considered somewhat of a de facto member of Tool.
  • Tool rarely performs this song live. As of the publishing of this post, there is only one recorded instance of them doing so in its entirety. And that was during a 1996 show in Los Angeles.
  • Danny Carey, Justin Chancellor, Adam Jones and Maynard James Keenan, all members of Tool, wrote this song. And the track was produced by their regular collaborator, David Bottrill.
  • Zoo Entertainment released “Die Eier von Satan” on 17 September 1996 as part of Tool’s second album.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may also like...