System of a Down: Aerials Meaning
Song Released: 2002
Aerials Lyrics
We're one in the river,
And one again after the fall.
Swimming through the void
We hear the word,
We lose ourselves,
But we find it all?
Cause we are the ones that want to play,
Always want to go,
But you never...
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The first guy did a good job explaining.
Maybe Daron did say it was about nothing. That's their way of saying it means whatever you want.
It can be about drugs if you see it that way.
It can be about politics.
It can be about ailiens.
It can have a complex meaning like the first guy showed.
In case you haven't noticed, almost all their songs have multiple meanings and are a bit trippy.
So to each his own opinion, eh? x) -
I think there is a possibilty when Serj says Aerials he means Aliens...I don't know why.Like life was created by them..
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I saw on a live video serj was talking during the intro about how its about in creaseing techinology and how that doesn't benifit the human race as much as it should.
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i would just like to point out that they say this song is about nothing, so im gonna gues the song has no meaning.
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While System of a Down has made it clear that their songs have no determinate meaning, this particular song seems to be concerned with existence and the nature of reality.
Tankian has stated many times that he believes that the pantheistic and monistic spiritual beliefs of tribal cultures is much closer to the truth than western religion. The song touches on many key concepts in Eastern spiritual traditions as well, particularly regarding Samsara, or the cycle of birth and rebirth.
Life is a waterfall
We're one in the river
and one again after the fall
The source of this waterfall is the source of existence itself. The river represents the infinite possibility and chaos of the universe where all things are one.
It is clear in this context that the waterfall represents life. We are born from the whole, spend a fleeting moment in this physical reality, then return to the whole. During the fall, the water spreads into millions of individual droplets. While we are all part of the same existence, we briefly experience individuality and separateness through our perceived consciousness. In death, as with the bottom of the waterfall, all of the individuals become one again rejoining the flow of the river.
This concept is further reinforced in the next verse:
Swimming through the void
we hear the words
we lose ourselves
but we find it all
The void represents the true reality, where all things are one. When we "lose ourselves" through death, "we find it all" by becoming part of the source again.
In essence I feel this song is about the cycle of birth and death. The next verse seem to reinforce this context:
Cause we are the ones that want to play
always want to go
But you never want to stay
This is similar to the Buddhist explanation of reincarnation. We are born into existence from a desire to exist. The line "We always want to go but never want to stay" represents the recurring desire and restlessness that causes us to re-incarnate after death, in an endless cycle.
Additionally, the next verse refers to the consequences of existence:
and we are the ones that want to choose
always want to play
but you never want to lose.
We "always want to play" means that we want to experience physical reality but we "never want to lose" as we all fear death, not being able to see beyond it from within our physical context.
The last lyrics seem to continue the Buddhist theme of the cyclical nature of our existence:
Aerials, in the sky,
When you lose small mind,
You free your life.
Aerials, so up high,
When you free your eyes,
Eternal prize.
The ultimate goal is to attain enlightenment and free ourselves from rebirth and suffering. The "eternal prize" could possibly refer to nirvana, the state of non-being achieved when you truly become one with the universe and are freed from reincarnation. -
You people are blind. This song is about abortion. "And we are the ones that want to choose, Always want to play, But you never want to lose" dah?
Aerials are little spheres of light (souls) floating from the surface of the earth to the heavans. 800,000 per year in China alone. I think it's wrong but I'm a liberterian so I don't care what other people do.... I'm just pointing out the purpose of the song. -
although we all have diffeent meanins i believe it to be abut life and death. Just consider it. "Were one in the river" (life)"And were one again after the fall" (the afterlife). Then you combine it with the next few lines"Swimming through the voidWe hear the word,We lose ourselves,But we find it all?" you get the message that you are yourself in life lost in the void but then someting greater in the afterlife.
Then thee are other messages. "Cause we are the ones that want to play,Always want to go,But you never want to stay,
And we are the ones that want to chose,Always want to play,But you never want to lose." We ar so willing move on we forget to live life. the next lines suggest we may want to chose our fate but we can't. Also hat we are always willing to risk our lives but we never wan to die as a result.
" Aerials, in the sky,
When you lose small mind,
You free your life.
Aerials, so up high,
When you free your eyes,
Eternal prize"
Those are my favorite lyrics. When we lose are small veiw of the wourld you "free you life. Then it goes on to say when you look around "free your eyes" You gain an eternal prize. -
Many of these reviews really need to "lose small mind". This song is not ABOUT aliens (extraterrestrials), but it clearly uses an alien-like child to represent their feelings/views in their official music video. Also, Aerials IS a reference to UFOs and not antennas or some other cliche objects that are in the sky. The point is to make reference of something much more advanced than ourselves, and the lyrics play as though these advanced beings were describing how they see humanity.(If you have not watched the music video, watch it now, it really helps in interpretation). The meaning is actually a lot simpler than some make it to be, here it is:
Life is a waterfall
We're one in the river
and one again after the fall
The song presumes we are "one" before we are born into the world and "one" after we die. Maybe referring to souls, that I'm not sure. But the point is that once we are alive, we are in the waterfall. The downward movement has nothing to do with the meaning. The point is that, like droplets of water, we become separated from one another. We begin to act on our own will and have no regard for others. This leads into the second verse.
Swimming through the void
we hear the words
we lose ourselves
but we find it all?
"Swimming through the void" is a reference to the waterfall. Again, as droplets of water (rather than being "one" stream) we are somewhat swimming through the void of air. This void, in human terms, represents our natural ignorance of our surroundings and purpose. "We hear the words" refers to us trying to gain knowledge (lose our ignorance) by informing ourselves, both through experience and formally (i.e. school, books, etc.). We begin to lose our true selves by applying what we learn and trying to obtain what is coveted in this world (i.e. wealth, sex, power, etc.). In doing so, we may obtain those things so we "find it all" but they use the "?" to give ponderance as to whether those Earthly desires are truly worth having. Again, we have lost our true selves in our search for these Earthly desires. The music video also makes reference of this.
Cause we are the ones that want to play
always want to go
But you never want to stay
This is in reference to our short-mindedness. We have little care for the long-term future. Plunder and move on. Nothing more to it.
and we are the ones that want to choose
always want to play
but you never want to lose.
This points to our selfishness and need for control. We want to choose whether we win or lose, but still we always want a piece of the action.
Aerials in the sky
When you lose small mind
You free your life.
Aerials imply a top-down view of the Earth. This is simply implying that we should "think big" by losing our small mind, and then when we do we will free ourselves. Perhaps we are freeing ourselves from the Earthly desires mentioned above, that is up to interpretation.
Life is a waterfall
we drink from the river
then we turn around and put up our walls
Again, we are droplets in the air that care about nothing except themselves. We take from the river (at the top of the fall) and then we do not give back. Although we do give back upon death (at the bottom of the waterfall), we take what we can in this life and care not to share it with others. We put up our walls.
Aerials, in the sky,
When you lose small mind,
You free your life.
Aerials, so up high,
When you free your eyes,
Eternal prize.
Aerials, in the sky,
When you lose small mind,
You free your life.
Aerials, so up high,
When you free your eyes,
Eternal prize.
Again, this is simply implying that we should think big. The Eternal prize is simply an enlightenment so to speak.
That's it. Simple, yet profound. -
Just for the first part...
"Life is a waterfall,
We're one in the river,
And one again after the fall"
Before and after the waterfall, all our souls are together as one (wherever that may be) until we are reborn into the physical world, where we "fall" through our lives. At the end, when we die, we all go back to that pool at the bottom of the waterfall. There, we exist as a whole, as one.
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If life is a waterfall, and we are one before and after the fall. Our journey as a whole is the path of the river and the waterfall is this short detour we call life. Before and after death we are all the same thing, as if each one of us is a water droplet making up a river.
Looking at the big picture of our "journey" and what comes next after this life frees your mind of fear because you understand that what we are in now is temporary. Death is not the end, but rather the end of a fall. Then we continue.
If you are confused, research DMT, and the Fibonacci Sequence, then it will start to become clear. -
Wel as a system of a down fan i have to correct u al about aerials.
firstly god is singing this song to humans frustrated by human nature.
u always wanna choose nd never wanna lose!
god mocking at humans.morover there is no mention of the word aerials in the song.
it says...
der we r (sounding aerials) in the sky,when you lose my mind you free your lives..
gods warning to humans. -
My interpretation of this song is that they are describing the nature of reality. There is many sayings along the lines of "all is one" or "made by the same source" so "life is a waterfall" is describing this plane of existance and making a metaphor at the same time. "we are one in the river and one again after the fall" Meaning we are one with the powers that be before life, during life our perspective is that of being isolated and apart from everything, then after the phase of life is over we return to the source. I am still unsure what the bridge "we are the ones who want to play etc..." means. the chorus "aerials in the sky etc" are meaning that once you recognize how reality actually is you will not only free your life of turmoil and strife gaining peace but also in doing so you will gain your inheritance which is eternal life and love. Just my interpretation.
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The lead singer during a live performance siad it himself the song has no meaning what-so-ever.
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I think that "one in the river" and "one again after the fall" means we are all connected in life and all connected in death. Maybe "aerials in the sky" refers to spirits or to people who want to disconnect from the "one?"
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life is a waterfall your one in the river and one again after the fall...
what this means is that your one in the river meaning the river of life....and then you use the information you get from the river of life to fall and not use it for the right things then when you die your one again....we drink from the river then we turn around and put up our walls...meaning we drink from the river something about religious truths ect. then we use these truths to put up our walls against other things all the while being hypocritical because we are using "knowledge from the river of life" for something "bad" in a way. swimming through the void of life the meaninglessness and despair the shitty things that you feel during the course of living, you hear the "words" the truths about life the thing you learn I tend to connect this to religious teachings in a way......you lose yourself....meaning you forget about you and your needs or your feelings and enter into a moment or area inside of truth ( but you find it all)
We ae the ones who want to play ( we all want to know about why we are here and all want to know knowledge and truths about life) you always want to go but you never want to stay( meaning you always want to go out feeling good in the world and know truths but you never want to stay within them and live a life of "goodness " or truthfulness rightness or whatever its called by following " the religion and truths of life" We are the ones who want to choose( we want to choose the way we live and which teachings we should follow and which ones don't meet our own ends in situations ect.- Always want to win - but you never want to lose-Sometimes when you follow religious teachings and stuff you have to sacrifice things and because of that you end up loosing in some areas of life...The message might be to stay within yourself and to live by truths maybe religious or not i dk what religion soad is.....you should stay within these truths not go outside of them ( hypocritically) to win....then again I thought of this meaning while walking down the street soda is an interesting band ...oh yeah as far as the chorus goes maybe that part doesn't have any meaning or yea like they say maybe none of it has any meaning like kurt cobain songs except I can come up with meanings to those pretty easily...
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