System of a Down: Toxicity Meaning
Song Released: 2002
Toxicity Lyrics
Looking at life through the eyes of a tire hub
Eating seeds as a pastime activity
The toxicity of our city, of our city
New! What do you own the world?
How do you own disorder? Disorder!
No! Somewhere...
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this song is so obviously about the nwo engineered genocide in armenia and it goes 'you why do you own the world how do you own disorder. its virtually all nwo driven 'a tired hub could be outdated forms of control, ie media music tv scare mongering and toxicity has too be about aspartame poisoning and creating ms,lupus,and adhd. just a few thoughts
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The Armenia interpretation is almost certainly correct. I was unaware of the sunflower seed thing and it didn’t occur to me to consider SOAD’s origins, so my original interpretation was completely different. I guess what I did was apply the song to myself, and what’s closest to me; instead of the social disfunction of a foreign nation, I thought of the social disfunction of a certain small, middle-class mountain town.
Even though this almost certainly isn’t the TRUE meaning of the song, it fits, and makes for a good allegory/alternate interpretation. So here goes:
In my town, modern middle-class society has created a sort of black-hole for the socially troubled child. They are in pain but in a sort of hiatus, with nothing important to be done, everything made perfect for them already, and without the care to strive for self improvement. So, what do these kids do? Simple--they trip balls.
A common drug in my town is LSA, found naturally in the seeds of the Morning Glory flower, available at virtually every Walmart and Safeway in America.
Night adventures and crimes are also common among kids of all ages, both the druggies and the clean ones. Drugs or otherwise, night adventures are very dangerous, and it would be all too easy to imagine one’s self standing scared-still in the lights of an oncoming truck, flashlight in hand.
Suicide is not uncommon, either.
So, in spite of (or even as a result of) our elders’ attempts to establish a controlled, peaceful society, chaos and disorder lie silent in the children, especially those in pain. And are the ones in pain not the most important of all?
How can those who try to administer control think that they own this world? Can’t they see the disorder underneath? Modern technology and advancement in civilization has made this world possible, and perhaps that is the greatest irony of all.
It seems to me that the city is quite toxic. -
This song I honestly think is about doing opiates because when it says eating seeds as a pastime activity its the seeds of the opium poppy plants and its talks about the delusions of what happens and about how it changes you and how you see things differently "looking at life through the eyes of a tire hub" and the toxicity is about how opiates are rising rapidly as an abused drug because people are taking opiates such as hydrocodone oxycotton vicodine and others
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During a concert daron said This song is about A.D.D (Attention deficite disorder)
So its about A.D.D
Disorder Disorder -
"Flashlight reveries caught in the headlights of a truck" - This line really threw me in a pond of ponder. The reverie or the daydreaming situation will come into picture when you are thinking about something which is very nice and very good for you but may be either you are almost doing nothing in-order implement that or that achievement itself is almost unachievable.
But why the flash light reverie caught in the headlights of truck? May be the headlight of trucks are blinding and so as our thoughts. Still I could assimilate the actual though behind this thought. Can anyone please suggest what else it could be? -
I believe the line "eating seeds as a pass time activity" has two meanings. One, the literal interpretation (Armenian pass time). And Two, the symbolic meaning. A seed is symbolic of life. An individual life. Those behind the Armenian genocide were literally devouring lives as a pass time activity. As if life did not matter. Destroying lives was just a normal everyday thing to them. Thats just my take on that line.
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I completely agree with msdoctor I also believe this song is about corruption in police forces around the world.
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Conversion software version 7.0 isn't that the big AOL upgrade about a year before this album was released? Looking at life through a tired hub might be the internet.
http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,669019,00.html -
Ok so
"looking at life through the eyes of a tired hub"
is like the person who is tired with life because they have wasted it.
"eating seeds as a pastime activity" is a metaphor for taking drugs.
"the toxicity of our city" means that so many people are hooked on these drugs.
"now, what do you, own the world, how do you own disorder"
part is talking about how when you're high you feel like you can do anything, but really you have no control over what happens now.
"somewhere between the sacred silence and sleep" means the risk of dying of overdose.
"more wood for their fires" means the constant demand of drugs.
"Loud neighbors, flashlight reveries" is probably parties?
And of course, the last part:
"When I became the sun I shone light into man's hearts"
I think this means that when addictive narcotics were invented, they showed man for who he truly is. -
please don't be mean but i think it has something to do with the armanian genocide. i read your ideas and already thought this but kinda used your guys ideas to form a better base. the person who said toxicity is extremely hammered because the armanian people had no idea what was about to happen. eating seeds because they have nothing to do while they hide. i think it says "new, what do you own the world how do you own disorder" because the armanian people were wondering why the turks (or whoever attacked them i dont remember exactly) could own them and cause so much disorder in the population. where pople said reverie as in not knowing whats going on, they were still confused and "dazed" as to what was going on. also i thought of toxicity of being waste as in the turks thought of the armanians of the waste of the city. nore wood for their fires to execute people. loud neighbors that tell where people are rather than die themselves to save others. please dont be mean. its my opinion.
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You know, I haven't really figured out EXACTLY what this song means, but the ,"Now, what do you own, the world? How do you own disorder, disorder?" part is pretty clever other than the New World Disorder thing. I think he's talking to all those people who think they "own the world" and who can do whatever they want, but then asks how can they can "own disorder", talking about how corrupted and disorderly the world is today.
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Kids, get it right its 'looking at life through the eyes of a TIRE hub' I have the album and lyrics so get it straight before you go off about your nonsense
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For me, sacred silence is the nothing we come from and sleep reprensents death. So between this is is life, your life specifically. 'Disorder disorder disorder' is all that lies between these states. Unhappyness comes from trying to impose order on the events that happen around us. The worlds natural chaotic state constantly breaks our expectations of how things should be working out for us causing us to lament on our failures and worry about future fantasised problems, that once again prompt us to try and control events. Release from this comes from accepting the disorder. This allows you to bring your consciousness into present time where happiness is our natural state. This affects everything from personal and family life to the workings of government and big business. The reversal of this process happens on a personal level though and not by protesting against government. Sorry for the preaching but I felt a positive persepctive on the word 'disorder' changes how the song is interpreted.
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well, for the part "flashlight riveries caught in the headlights of a truck" that we are are caught up in our daydreams about how we think america is such a great place and that there is nothing wrong with it and the headlights of a truck is the fact that it is not and that it is so obvious and blinding (like the headlights of a truck) yet we still cant see it. (and when i say "we" i mean society)
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I don't know if anyone has addressed this but I'm fairly sure its 'looking at life through the eyes of a tire hub', and I could be wrong but I'm gueessing its refering to lower class. thats all I wanted to say
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