Born as Ghosts

for me this song represents children who are born in environments where their life is a hell...they have barely any education, they are beaten, and the rich people in this environment really don't give a shit...its like they dont exist, hence the term "ghosts"

this song is definatley about the rich/poor divide in LA

The hills find peace Locked armed guard posts Safe from the screams Of the children born as ghosts

refers to the rich in the hollywood hills stuck in their own happy little world, where they dont see the real problems kids in LA have to live with.

Where young run foaming at the mouth with hate Where burning batons beat the freezing who shake

those kids end up filled with hate towards racist police.

Under the toxic sunsets they dine and toast Their walls deny the terror faced by the children

LA is well know for having very polluted air. The Kids growing up in the oppresive atmosphere that comes with vast expanses of cheap housing.

One book and forty odd Stuffed in a room Ah, the school as a tomb Where home is a wasteland

describing the poverty

The tales that tear at the myth of the dream A suffering that shocks the lives off the screen

LA is more than happy hollywood. the rich and famous are ignorant to the suffering in LA because they are afraid of it

This is about the children born every day into poverty in America, the ones that you hardly ever hear about because no-one wants to hear about poor children. They are never seen or heard about, that's where the "born as ghosts" statement comes from. It is maybe more specifically about the class difference (poor-rich divide) in LA.

Initially I thought this song was about the children of illegal immigrants living in places like Southern California who are kept seperated to a large extent from society due to the illegal handicap. They aren't able to attend school and whatnot or ever get a real job if they weren't born in the U.S. and illegally crossed the border with their parents.

I've lived in LA all my life. This song is about LA's rich and/or famous turning a blind eye (or completely oblivious eye) on the impoverished children of LA.

The following lyrics have to do with the rich: "The hills find peace Locked armed guard posts Safe from the screams Of the children born as ghosts" The rich are locked away in their hillside mansions and have no idea what life is like in the inner city, literally just a few miles outside their doorsteps

"Under the toxic sunsets they dine and toast Their walls deny the terror faced by the children born as ghosts"

"A suffering that shocks the lives off the screen"

The LA basin (low income area) is the view you would have from The Hills (where the rich live). These areas are crime ridden and impoverished. Gunfire and sirens and whatnot ring out LITERALLY constantly.

The following lyrics are in regards to the lives of the poor living in LA: "Gates, guns and alarms Shape the calm of the dawn Peering down into the basin Where death lives on."

It also talks about the public school situation in LA

"One book and forty odd Stuffed in a room Ah, the school as a tomb"

These children are told of the American dream, and with their family situation:

"Where home is a wasteland Taste the razor wire"

and the desperate state of their impoverished lives, it seems like a cruel joke or myth:

"The tales that tear at the myth of the dream"

to me, this sounds a lot like censorship, "...their walls deny the terror faced...", "A suffering that shocks the lives off the screen..."

this song sound a little like cmmon folk who's screams don't matter to people "above them"

i think tornado has a point parts like safe from the screams of the children born as ghosts and ther walls deny the terror faced as the children born as ghosts point this out

for some reason this makes me think of L.A., and how the rich sit up in the "hills with locked arm guard posts", and how the children born into the "toxic" valley are never seen (ghosts) but they continue to struggle "where death lives on"

kickass song. love the lyrics. but wen de la rocha finishes a verse theres a voice sayin yeah. or at least think so. can anyone clear that up