Analyzing Aerials

Analyzing Aerials

“Aerials”, a song by the band System of a Down, has exceedingly in depth lyrics that provide countless interpretations. As in the novel “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury, “Aerials” contains themes that are profoundly deep and makes one think about themselves as individuals, and society as a whole.

“Aerials” is about life and the way people choose to live it. Many people become greedy and obsessed with material culture, and it is up to them to free themselves from this lack of open-mindedness. The song begins with the words, “Life is a waterfall. We're one in the river, and one again after the fall.” I interpret this line as a general statement of life and death. Being, “one in the river, and one again after the fall”, means that before we are born and after we die, we are all one in our own eyes, and in the eyes of God. The “waterfall” is, of course our life in between. The next stanza states, “Swimming through the void we hear the word. We lose ourselves, but we find it all.” As we travel through the course of our lives, we try to understand our purpose. We hear the “words” of others telling us what to do and what they want us to know. In the mix of becoming involved and obsessed with seeking a synthetic lifestyle, we become greedy and lose our values and who we really are.

The next lines are, “’Cause we are the ones that want to play, always want to go, but you never want to stay”. People become corrupted by the greed that takes over them, and become consumed with wanting more. They always want to go on to do more new superficial things, and never stay with one thing for a reasonable amount of time. “And we are the ones that want to choose, always want to play, but you never want to lose.” Working off the previous stanza, these lines are saying that in life, we all want to choose what do, and control our own destiny. But if we face any hardship, we back away for fear of making a mistake.

The chorus of “Aerials” introduces the title of the song for the first time. “Aerials, in the sky, when you lose small mind, you free your life.” This means when people relinquish their narrow-mindedness, and obsession with superficial things, they “free their lives”, and become at peace with themselves and with the world around them. The aerials in the sky are broad metaphors for anything that is beautiful and elegant in the world. By