System of a Down: Tentative Meaning
Tentative Lyrics
Mimes overtaken by the signs of the right.
The bombs are falling overhead with no say
While you were talking all detached.
So tell us where you going? To the bottom.
Do you hear us? We are...
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1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:This song is about the end of the world and SOAD pleading with the governments of the world to solve their problems before we end up blowing ourselves and our earth up.
of course the new theory of the end of the world is pretty obvious that nuclear and atomic bombs will destroy the world. World War III is going to happen eventually and SOAD is saying that when it does we are all fucked. Scientists say that the human race and all other life can be killed off if SIX atomic bombs are dropped ANYWHERE. The explosions will make a dust cloud big enough to block out sunlight for long enough to stop photosynthesis. This would mean eventually the world will run out of oxygen and animals including people that are still alive will die of suffocation. evolution will start itself all over. It will be like we never even existed.
"where do you expect us to go when the bombs fall?"
are the best lyrics to a war song that I have ever heard. This is the simplest statement, but carries an endless amount of meaning. where are we supposed to go when the bombs start falling? there is no where for us to go. awesome song and great lyrics. -
2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation:"superstition taking all of us for a ride"
everyones fears are beginning to become true about where the world is going to now.
"mimes overtaken by the signs of the right"
the people who are supossed to be taking care of us (the government) are failing in their job to protect us like they should.
"the bombs are falling overhead with no sight"
the government are no longer going to acknowledge the whereabouts of bombs that may be intended to destroy parts or all of the us.
"while you were talking all detached"
everyone is oblivious to the oncoming events.
"where are you going to the bottom"
the leaders of the government are going to hide away in their bunkers leaving the rest of us to stay unprotected from enemy missles.
"do you hear us, we are rotting"
after the bombs had fallen, the ghosts of everyone who was on the planet are crying to the leaders 'why did you leave us there to die like that'.
"we're going down in a spiral to the ground"
the peoples ego is beginning to crash to the ground.
"no one, no one's gonna save us now"
it is too late for any rescue attempt, we are all screwed.
"ceremonies have killed religions for they provide the masked comforts of delussional"
the government is doing away with the religions so no one can pray to any of their gods any more.
"they're all in fright, the true believer's head was bathed in sunlight"
everyone is afraid now that their government is doing away with all their religions and the leaders are now being 'blessed by the gods' that they had taken away from the people.
"while you are walking all detatched"
the leaders are now the only ones left and are wandering around the desolate world alone.
"so tell us, where you going, to the bottom, do you hear us, we are rotting. We're going down in a spiral to the ground, no one, no ones's gonna save us now."
same as before.
"not even god, no one saved us, no one's gonna save us."
now that god is gone, no one can pray to what they believe in any more.
"where do you expect us to go when the bombs fall? Where do you expect us to go when the bombs fall? Where do you expect them to go when the bombs fall? Where do you expect us to go when the bombs fall."
the government is now hiding in there bunkers and the people are now left defensless and this is there last plea for help to the government. -
To me this song is about the lebonese civil war (which Serj was born in the middle of) the chorus is about the bombs falling down on the cities and the citizens are saying that the goverment couldnt save them. When the song says where do you expect us to go when the bombs fall is from before the war where the citizens ate asking where well they go when the war starts
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Love people who just think that every song is about the genocide...
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I seem to think that maybe SOAD's song Tentative is another song about the Armenian genocide, which of course we all know is a topic they cover in several of their songs. The songs states that "No one's gonna save us now", indicating that maybe it is during the genocide that a victim is saying this, that "not even God" is gonna save them now. I'm sure that many people thought that during such a catastrophic time. "We're going down in a spiral to the ground" could be referring to bombs that were dropped, and of course the same with "where do you expect us to go when the bombs fall?" What else can we do when the bombs fall, especially when there's no one here to help us? I think that's what the song is about. And by the title of the song, Tentative, which means that something is not final, I believe that SOAD believes that history will repeat itself, like it always does, and another country will be the victim of a genocide just like Armenia was. Thoughts?
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I have heard two completely different meanings for this song and there's no way you can mix the two. I'm just going by the line "spiral towards the ground." Is that referring to the third plane on September 11th? or bombs. The plane didn't really spiral did it? I know it got turned upside down. But since ive listened to this song, up till this day, I thought it referred to bombs whirling towards the ground, because then the rest of the song refers to bombs falling and so on. Well email me with any support.
srg1109@gmail.com My names Shawn. -
I think the part where it says "superstition taking all of us for a ride, mimes overtaken by the signs of the right" means what that one dude said for the first line, but in the second line the "mimes" are the people who blindly follow a religion, and mimic the others.
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Talking about the fallacies in religion. Well where do you expect us to go where the bombs fall, the band is saying how religion is an opiate for the masses (Karl Marx), and is saying how when bombs start to kill people, everyone will realize god doesn't exist and no one can save us, and everyone is foolish for these false delusions called religion.
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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It's about the bombs falling here becuase of Iraq and how President Bush isn't making the situation better...
"Where do you expect us to go when the bombs fall..." It's the people of America asking Bush... HELLO? What are you doing about this situation and why do we have to suffer because of you?
*It's defentely related to the war of Iraq - in my perspective. -
-SOADlover is completely right.
-With one Exeption.
-The DC Air National Guard at Andrews Air Force Base has fighter jets set ready for ANY emergency.
-Possibly they all slacked off and were not able to respond. UNLIKELY..........but unless you want to go into conspiracy theories we won't discuss that.
-When a flight headed for the WHITE HOUSE. It had to be shot down.
-The government had to cover up the fact that the plane heading for the white house was the only plane shot down.
so their cover up:"Ceremony circum relatives of sacred lifes."---The government
"The mask are understooding illusion of they're in the fight"
-The mask(cover-up) is implied(understooding) illusion of they are in the fight(passengers fighting back)
-The govermnent made it sound like they had no idea why that plane crashed so they "implied" that passengers fought back.
-"The true believers have whats faded and sunlight"-people who believe that have whats faded(blurred)and sunlight(a brighter story than what actually happened)
umm yeah
that was just my interpitation sooo yeah -
This song is refering to the 3rd plane on september 11 that crashed in pennsylvania. This plane was "going down in a spiral to the ground" and "no one, no ones gonna save it now." "mimes overtaken by the signs of the right" is referring to how the passengers took back the plane and crashed it. "no one saved us, not even god." is telling how the government(air port security) couldnt do anything to help them. Most of the other lyrics refer to iraqis and how they thought "the true beleivers head would bathe in sunlight"mainly after crashing the planes. "while we were walking all detatched" is referring to while we were preocciupied with the 2 planes crashing into the twin towers. This is just my interpretation and I encourage feedback.
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This song is about how religion leads us to pain.
"Superstitions taking us for a ride
mimes overtaken by the signs of the right
Superstitions means religion and I'm not sure what the second line means, but I think it's a reference to right as in right wing. The second verse makes the meaning even more evident.
"Ceremonies have killed religions for they provide The masked comforts to delusionals
The church killed god. Masked comforts are ideas like heaven and hell, and good and evil, and other ephermeral and irrevocable human concepts, delusions, are, sorry to say, those who follow religions. Remember, System of a Down is very far from being a Christian band. "No one is going to save us now, not even God" is sarcastic. The bombs falling without sights is just an example of something wrong with the world today. -
(continuing my interpretation of the Iraqi series)
6. Tentative - bombs continue to fall in the Iraqi setting. "no one's gonna save us now" is answering the question soldiers have in "Soldier Side" about Jesus coming to save them, "not even God." and, as they so adequately put, "no one saved us." consequently, much blood as been shed, even that of the innocent. In fact, where DO you expect them to go "when the bombs fall down?" -
This song also is about armegedon, it's saying that mostly when the wars are over the world might end, and that not god is going to save us this time and only how we are the only ones that can save ourselves.
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