System of a Down: Vicinity of Obscenity Meaning

Vicinity of Obscenity Lyrics

Liar!
Liar!
Banana banana banana terracotta banana terracotta terracotta pie!
Banana banana banana terracotta banana terracotta terracotta pie!

Is there a perfect way of holding you baby! (Liar)
Vinicity of Obscenity in your...

1. anonymous

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   Aug 19th 2010 !⃝

   I think this song is about how we see the world. All we notice is sex. SOAD sings something random, and you all think it's about sex (vicinity of obscenity IN YOUR EYE). That's my opinion.
2. anonymous

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   Jul 21st 2010 !⃝

   dude seriously you guys are nuts. just listen to the song and love it. good song, good band. just take it as it is. seriously don't give yourself a hernia. yes, they said he song are open for interpretation, but don't think to hard about it.
3. anonymous

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   Nov 15th 2009 !⃝

   After looking at the lyrics, it seems that the song could either be totally random; or be about sex. The only I could never figure out was all the references to feet. But then it occurred to me....maybe Serj Tankian has a foot fetish. This might explain the line "Treat the feet, to the sweet, milky seat." If the 'sweet milky seat" is semen anyway. Just my thoughts :)
4. anonymous

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   May 13th 2009 !⃝

   He is talking about masturbation! This song wasnt meant to be a message hidden song. They just got a bunch of random words together and made it sound cool.
5. anonymous

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   Apr 7th 2009 !⃝

   To me, the song means that anything can sound obscene when said in a suggestive manner.
   
   I mean, there he is talking about random stuff (banana's, terracota, beating meat, milky seat's) and half the interpretation here are about sex and whores. This emphasizes the point, which is that anything, no matter how random, can seem dirty or "obscene" depending on how you say it.
6. anonymous

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   Apr 19th 2008 !⃝

   I dunno if anybody's said this or not, but in interviews that system of a down does, they never say what their songs mean, and that they are all open to interpretation.
7. anonymous

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   Apr 9th 2008 !⃝

   This song is talking about how small the "Vicinity of Obscenity" is. Men are programmed to have certain views on women. Whether it's finding a dirty magazine on the playground as a kid, or Paris Hilton trying to sell you a sex-burger during a Teletubbies commercial. No matter where you look, obscenity is "In Your Eye." It's unavoidable and in your face, just like the guitar and vocal styles when they scream, "Banana banana terra cotta...". its a political song. Every song they have can seem random and pointless, but they all have a deeper meaning. (Ex. Chop Suey, It may seem pretty random; though it's not one of their more random songs.) It's about 911 and that America had it coming to them in someway, there are probably other meanings to this song and Vicinity of Obscenity as well.
8. anonymous

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   May 4th 2007 !⃝

   Terracotta is ITALIAN for earthenware
   
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_cotta

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
9. anonymous

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   Apr 17th 2007 !⃝

   songs about people fucking and having kids
   i think the song names is what you see is what you like.....
   whores with bad feet means chicks with bad kids or just bad feet (._.)
   
   beat the meat means why make babies when you could always...
   
   he wants to love a chick but no have to have sex with her...

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
10. anonymous

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    Feb 25th 2007 !⃝

    Personally, I think this song has nothing to do with sex or drugs...I think it has a deeper meaning.
    BANANA is an acronym for "Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything (Anyone)"
    
    Terra Cotta is a direct Italian translation for baked earth or hypnotized earth.
    
    Pi is an irrational number.
    
    The yells at the beginning is the earth claiming liar, liar, telling SOAD to get off stage due to their obscene and vulgar materials.
    
    SOAD is saying build absolutely nothing anywhere near anything and we still won't leave. We're hypnotizing the earth. Hypnotizing unlimited numbers.
    
    Then they're saying "vicinity of obscenity in your eye," meaning that we're keeping our obscenity in your face.
    
    "This may require you to hold still, baby" is SOAD telling someone to keep still for the hypnotizing, while the moans and yells are that person protesting their disinterest. Then it repeats "vicinity of obscenity in your eye," followed by hypnotizing earth, hey and then "does that require loving you, baby," which means do you love me now.
    
    Now moving to "Do we all learn defeat from the whores with bad feet." This means does all of mankind fall to the euphoria caused by SOAD. "Beat the meat" means defeat all people. "Treat the feet" is saying give SOAD your unrequited love and then "to the sweet milky seat" means crown them king and offer them the throne....and then it repeats.
11. anonymous

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    Feb 4th 2007 !⃝

    The refrain is actually a tongue twister that I heard a VERY long time ago. It forces you to enunciate, or sound retarded. This song is just random. enjoy it for the entertainment value.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
12. anonymous

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    Jan 22nd 2007 !⃝

    I agree with both camps.
    
    It is random and I think it is written without a huge amount of thought but a random song with a few references to sex. 'beat the meat' - c'mon this is a common term for masturbation. It also has whores and feet and milky seat (semen?). I don't think this song is intended to have any clear meaning but I do think that it does have two or three very clear references to sex.
13. anonymous

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    Dec 16th 2006 !⃝

    bannana-penis
    terracotta-sperm
    pie-sex
    and vicinity of obcinity is like a dude running around in his underwear and obscenity is some dude running around naked and maybe this couple having sex and they are doing it in public and she is a hooker and she is standing around trying to get a guy to fuck and like I said up there she gets pregnant and they have to get married.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
14. Darkangel_X

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    Nov 5th 2006 !⃝

    In the heavy instrumental bit, you hear, like, a crying screaming sound.
    This is taken from the computer game populous.
    Just something I noticed.
    
    (play early 'command and conquer' games then watch cheap movies like kung pow: enter the fist. Same sound effects!)
15. anonymous

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    Jul 31st 2006 !⃝

    Maybe no meaning, but it often uses the word "liar", and the phrases "vicinity of obscenity in your eye" so if you see sex in this song...

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