"The Stone" is actually derived from a song done by Billy Howerdel during his time in A Perfect Circle.

It was done during demo sessions that yielded material from their first album, Mer de Noms.

It apparently wasn't deemed a fit for A Perfect Circle music, so Billy re-worked it on his own for years until it appeared in this form.

[2] Howerdel said he had most of the verses written, but was stuck on the chorus, so he reached out to Johnette Napolitano, singer of Concrete Blonde, who wrote a few lines in the chorus, adding a "maternal" touch to it, according to Howerdel.

"[3] "The Stone" garnered attention from U.S. rock radio stations and has been regularly played on the airwaves.