Serj Tankian – Empty Walls lyrics

We all have our own box, some are huge, some are small, the size doesn't matter they all have walls.

I myself have a open box!

When you hear someone say "think out of the box" I believe you have to step out your box to clearly see what it is your going to think about.

I think it means that everyone, the young, especially, (as referenced here.) they are longing for more than they are getting. Their lives are stagnant, and there is "something missing. " I don't think it's specific. I think it's general. "... Don't waste your time on coffins... " I think references the fact that we are still alive. And so instead of wondering about dying, live. Make a difference. Do something to help people. I guess.

Mmm form behind those empty walls, from all your confortable way of life, to have a job, to eat only, to see growing up the kids, and to feel quite segure in a conuntry hich is heated erevyone else who live far way thoese enpty values, in chisc you live, all thoes empty discussions you make. All you unhapynnes can be absulute forgotten beleaving yourslef the powerfulls in teh world. Is an acussation? O f cours is it, culdn't you see that ypu are used by your govermentes of war?

When it comes to understanding the meaning of the lyrics I think its generally about lies, multimillion companies and the death of mankind.
The walls I think is a representation for the foundation (our house if you wish) that we have built up with the economic system, the corporations and the politicians we have voted for. The entire song is about how the earth is killing itself and the people on it (and animals) - "dont you see their bodies burning? " [. ] "choking from intoxication".
"when we decline, from the confines of our mind" - the awakening of mankind that what we are doing is wrong will lead the system to "left behind those empty walls".
That is at least my point of it all.

Me gusta la parte en la que dice "when we decline from the confines of our mind". Es esa fé ciega que apoyan mucho los religiosos: están las evidencias, están los hechos y pese a que sean divulgados, simplemente: rechazan.
Ahora imaginen eso con la guerra de irak, cuando ni siquiera las evidencias les son visibles, los hechos son opacados, y las personas e incluso el gobierno intentan convencerlos que la guerra está fundada en causas nobles. Pobres gringos.

Open your eyes and see behind these walls that the politicians made to block you from the truth, to hide you from it. Just try to see behind those walls, they'll build it higher, with every attempt they add another brick. Why don't I paint a beautiful mural on the side you can see, as long as the side you see is pretty there's no problem. You don't need to see what I'm hiding behind this wall, in fact, I taunt you to see behind these empty walls.

This was a great song. Serj was always involve in social-political matters. This song is no extensive difference from the songs that he had wrote before.
It's always about the reality that was happening in the world today. Those ambitious leaders who want to dominate and to become the most powerful in the world, causes the war. They are just hiding their hostile agendas, and make people blind from what they are doing. This song is dedicated to the two leaders of different nations, saddam and bush. Serj was trying to let our eyes see the reality on how this war gives a tremendous effect with gaining nothing and just spending lives of people who are involved.

I'm pretty sure hes talking about the armenian genocide. Armenians were killed in mass burnings and that's where I think he got 1. "dont you see those bodies burning". 2. "Desolate and full of yearning." Armenians' yearn for life and someone to help them. 3. "Dying of anticipation." armenians sadly anticipated their deaths. 4. "Choking from intoxication" there are reports of Armenians being poisoned in an attempt to kill them. Its very sad what he is refering to. Wikipedia 'Armenian Genocide' to look more into it its a disturbing read but I can understand his songs more now.

For K33g1n, I will have to disagree on the part "so yeah about the army they risk there lives for you and you don't care! Wtf
that's bullshit you should be kissing there asses instead treating them like shit". Cleary the song does represent war, but its usually talking bout how people have gotten used to war. When someone dies in the war, everyone is like: "Oh". We don't care anymore because we gotten so use to war that its like it never happend!

Ok I think 'empty walls' is a term used when a soldier has returned home from war and is changed they are no longer affected by things around them as easily or show emotion etc. Serj says "I want you to be left behind those empty walls" maybe meaning he doesn't want kids to see or be affected by war and he also says "Want you to be left behind those empty walls" could mean that the government wants you to go to war.
Just guessing.

Allow me:.
The twin towers had sirecomm security, which was in the hands of marvin bush (look it up). He's the family member you don't hear too much about no wonder why! Several of the Arabs in 9/11 that were framed were protesting the allegations in Saudi Arabia shortly after b/c they were not in the planes and were being framed as such, one of them was even dead before 9/11 even occured. The ny/Nj port authority ran the area's surveillance before Lewis Eisenberg became the chairman of the port and put it into the hands of Larry Silverstein and Frank Lowy, which are Zionist billionairres, for one is the chairman of the us/Israeli Jewish Appeal and the other was former Commando in Israeli Army. Look this up! Ironicallly, Marvin Bush terminated the wtcs insurance company right b4 9/11. There no reason Qurans should be involved when clearly 9/11 was a strategy to invade the middle-east and begin imperializing the region. This all makes if you truly understood who controls the power of the world (namely the zionists. Followers of illuminati, which strives for the new world order: a world under one government, one currency, and one religion). The war on Islam instigated the following: Afganstan would not have beenpossible without 9/11. Iraq would not have been possible w/out Afganastan. Iran would not be possible w/out Iraq. And America is transfering its bases from Saudi Arabia to Iraq, thus Saudi Arabia will go from ally to terrorist in a matter of time. Pakistan is already in a state of emergency and will continue to be so, so long as our elites keep funding the Taliban to ruin their government the same way we funded Taliban and Al-Queda to fight the Soviets specifically in Afganastan many years ago. And our fickle-minded citizens will take whatever cnn and fox propagate with a grain of salt.
Half of System of a Down is Lebanese, including Serj Tankian. A former member was Iranian, but the other two current members are Armenian. They are talking about everything, not just Afganastan. They show the twin towers, they show the bear being pulled down symbolic of Saddam's statue we pulled down, road-side bombs were present, not to mention the Summer 2006 Israeli invasion of Lebanon! It is all-inclusive, and I am loyal fan of Serj!
Btw. You all should check out immortal technique. He's an "underground hip hop artist." YouTube him and listen away. He is the definition of true rebel music. Revolutionary conceptuality spits out of him like nobody's seen before! =D
Peace brothers and sisters!

The two towers getting blown up has nothign to do with "america getting involved with wars that have nothing to do with america." the two towers got blown up because some people decided that we weren't living properly and thought we should pay for our corruption with death. Some murderers took a misinterpreted version of the kuran and used it to justify the killing of thousands of innocent people. For america, probably the worlds strongest country to stand by and let people behave like that would be irresponsible and destructive.

I believe that the song represents the overall childishness of the whole situation in iraq and 9/11. Granted the whole thing was no childish matter, but when we deconstruct the whole series of events it becomes apparent that the reasons are childish. I assume that the little girl is representing america, after her towers are knocked down she goes on the war path, etc, but if you look a little more carefully, you may notice that the child who threw the plane is not seen again, ie bin laden. Serj himself represents the american army recrutment poster for ww2, the one with uncle sam, who also uses the term, "i want you". The toppled teddy is naturally toppled bronze statue of saddam hussain.

This song, along with its absolutely brilliant video, is high art at its most relevant. By using children to depict real events (9/11, the Green Zone, Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, suicide bombings, Bush claiming Mission Accomplished and uncoventional war) he is framing the most disturbing things in the most innocent setting. The juxtaposition makes it all the more distressing and therefore moving. The overall message I get from it: this is not a game! People are dying, it is insane and until we stop turning our heads away it will continue.

Now that I have listened to the song more I knowbelieve this song is more about the soldiers than the war. I'm not taking back what I said before but idk it just seems more likely because the soldiers are being worked to death, they have to be in a great amount of pain both mental and physical, so their bodies would be burning, they feel desolate b/c they are lonely or from other factors, yearning to return home or just to see their buddies return to base alive. Dying of anticipation b/cany step they take could be their last orjust eager to foght or get home, and choking from intoxication is kinda obvious. I highly doubt the burning rubble cannot be good for you, maybe even the B. O. , rubble, smell of vomit or other things could have them gasping for fresh air.
This is just a kinda theory so don't yell and say I konw nothing ok please.

I completely agree with johnb7373. I beleive that the song is obviously about the wars waged by america in the middle east. The girl who builds the towers (twin towers) is bush. The boy who throws the plane is symbolic of bush's administration and the kids listening to serj play are the innocent people in the middle east. The girl(bush) proceeds to kill all of the children that had nothing to do with the destruction of her towers. The innocent fight back using (road side bombs) but to no avail. The innocent children all fall to the girl and her freinds.

This song is talking about a thing that seems to be a chain reaction, 9/11 at the start of the Video we see a plane crashing into two towers symbolizing 9/11. The walls mean Coffins, he taught you, the government of usa/Uk, to see from behind them, the coffins. When it says " we decline" it means people dying from wars, make the human race significantly "decline". He also says if they/ the government, saw from behind those empty walls they wouldnt waste their time "on coffins today." as they would experience war and death. "I love you yesterday, before you killed my family" ultimatly means that he/she loved the government, the country and is very patriotic, but when they kill his/her family its complete opposite, this is an outcome of war. The bodies that are burning, are from war it may be literal as in the victims of war or starvation how their body burns from starvation. Serj says that he wanted to interpret death and war through something innocent like children.

To Systemofadownchik13, you can't really say that it was the Muslims who did it. Yes a sect of Islam decided to attack the United States because, to them, we are evil and we're spreading our evil throughout the world. Tradition speaks for itself in places all over the world. When you are brought up to respect the traditions of your family and your people, you will protect it because you know it to be the right thing to do, regardless of how other people view it. Sure many Christians died at the hands of that sect of Islam, but it wasn't about killing Christians (more than just Christians died that day, they were all people) , it was about destroying the "Evil West." Religion only mattered in the fact that most of the us is not Muslim.