"3 Libras" is a song by American rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band A Perfect Circle

A Perfect Circle

A Perfect Circle is an American rock supergroup formed in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. The original incarnation of the band also included Paz Lenchantin on bass, Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar, and Tim Alexander on drums...

, included and released as a single from their debut album, Mer de Noms

Mer de Noms

- Symbols :Inside the insert the track names appear to be randomly spelled out in symbols. One way to decipher the symbols is to match the song titles using the normal alphabet with the song titles inside the insert....

. It approaches with a different type of tempo and approach than the other tracks featured on Mer de Noms, an opening with an acoustic guitar

Steel-string acoustic guitar

A steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound...

 and violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

 is present as well as a conversely powerful chorus, making it something of a ballad

Ballad

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...

. The song was written solely by members, Maynard James Keenan

Maynard James Keenan

Maynard James Keenan is an American rock singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, winemaker, and actor. Originally from Ohio, Keenan spent his high school and college years in Michigan. After serving in the Army in the early 1980s, he attended Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids...

 and Billy Howerdel

Billy Howerdel

Billy Howerdel is the founding member, guitarist, songwriter, and producer for the bands A Perfect Circle and Ashes Divide. He has recorded three acclaimed studio albums with the former, and in 2008, Ashes Divide released their debut album, Keep Telling Myself It's Alright.-Early life:Howerdel was...

.

Interpretation

• Maynard James Keenan, in the A Perfect Circle EPK stated, "It's about being overlooked."
• In the liner notes to the single, Keenan said: "Up until the mid twentieth century the mountain gorilla was considered a myth. Oddly enough, a legend not unlike Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster. The chance of actually seeing/experiencing this elusive shadow was as likely as finding one's soulmate. Rare. Precious. Even once discovered they seemed unapproachable. The only way to get close to this magnificent creature was to become empathetic. Abandon all pretense and preconceptions. To bare an open throat. To collapse into the arms of vulnerability. All but extinct, these beings/moments are threatened by the black hearted. The cold and oblivious. The empty eyed profit seekers that overlook these. Rare. Precious."
• Keenan shed some more light on this song in their aMotion DVD, where he explained that this is a song about parasitic-like people seeing something different or special about a person. Instead of nurturing that quality or helping that person grow, the "3 Libras" feed off of the energy in a bad way instead of using it for good.
• On aMotion, Keenan also mentioned that he wrote the song for about 9 or so people in his life that have birthdays around the same time, hence the name "3 Libras." He titled it so the people with the Libran birthdays could battle it out to figure who he wrote the song about.

Video

The video, directed by Paul Hunter

Paul Hunter (director)

Paul Hunter is a music video director known for his high-budget, visually distinctive videos for popular music singles. He has directed over 100 music videos, many television advertisements and was nominated for an Emmy for Nike's Freestyle commercial...

, features Maynard James Keenan

Maynard James Keenan

Maynard James Keenan is an American rock singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, winemaker, and actor. Originally from Ohio, Keenan spent his high school and college years in Michigan. After serving in the Army in the early 1980s, he attended Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids...

, Billy Howerdel

Billy Howerdel

Billy Howerdel is the founding member, guitarist, songwriter, and producer for the bands A Perfect Circle and Ashes Divide. He has recorded three acclaimed studio albums with the former, and in 2008, Ashes Divide released their debut album, Keep Telling Myself It's Alright.-Early life:Howerdel was...

, Josh Freese

Josh Freese

Josh Freese is an American session drummer and songwriter. He is a permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, having formerly played drums for Nine Inch Nails from late 2005 until late 2008, and for Guns N' Roses from mid-1998 to 2001. Freese has appeared on close to 300 records....

, Troy Van Leeuwen

Troy Van Leeuwen

Troy Dean Van Leeuwen is an American musician and producer. Van Leeuwen began playing music at young age and started playing guitar at age 13. Soon Van Leeuwen was playing in various local bands such as Jester, 60 Cycle and later Failure...

 and Paz Lenchantin

Paz Lenchantin

Paz Lenchantin is an American musician of French ancestry. She came to Los Angeles, California with her family at the age of four....

. The video is included on the aMOTION

AMOTION

-Personnel:* Christopher Abbas – Director* Josh Abrahams – Remixing* Tim Alexander – Group member* Ken Andrews – Mixing* Wes Borland – Remixing* Brothers Strause – Director* Jerry Casale – Director...

DVD. Maynard James Keenan

Maynard James Keenan

Maynard James Keenan is an American rock singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, winemaker, and actor. Originally from Ohio, Keenan spent his high school and college years in Michigan. After serving in the Army in the early 1980s, he attended Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids...

explains the meaning on a commentary on the DVD.

Track listing

1. 3 Libras
2. Magdalena (Live)
3. 3 Libras (Feel My Ice Dub Mix)
4. Judith (Live)
5. 3 Libras (Live)

3 Libras, Pt. 2

1. 3 Libras (Live in Phoenix)
2. 3 Libras (Feel My Ice Dub)
3. Sleeping Beauty (Live in Phoenix)
4. [Untitled Track] [Interactive Picture Gallery] [CD-ROM Track]