System of a Down

Ego Brain

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Ego Brain Lyrics

Life is but a dream
Drifting on a stream, a stream
Consciously it seems
All of what remains

Ego brain
That makes shame, shame love after it rains

You see my pain is real
Watch my world dissolve
and pretend that none of us see the fall
As I turn to sand
you took me by the hand
and declared that love prevails over all

I am just a man
Fighting other man for land, for land
while I turn to sand
In spite of the pain

Ego brain
That makes shame, shame love after it rains

You see my pain is real
Watch my world dissolve
and pretend that none of us see the fall
As I turn to sand
you took me by the hand
and declared that love prevails over all

All of what remains

Ego brain
That makes shame, shame love after it rains

You see my pain is real
Watch my world dissolve
and pretend that none of us see the fall
As I turn to sand
you took me by the hand
and declared that love prevails over all

(Love after it rains)

Submitted by

forbiddenbeat On Apr 11, 2004

Science (feat. Arto Tunçboyacıyan)

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forbiddenbeat

Submitter

2004-04-11 19:43:30

53 Meanings

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by wang_mayo_baker

22y ago

this song is about a ego driven man who finds out that all he beleaves in is wrong

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by ZAHNDANGER 17y ago

many of you are looking at it like its a vague song, its not. im into quantum physics, consciousness, religions, alchemy and Serj. 
to start the first verse states that life is a dream, which is saying reality is an illusion because everything is made of energy and we preceive it as full of solid things, but thats only real in a 3rd dimensional sense. ill explain...
1st dimension = length
2nd dimension = length x width
3rd dimension = length x width x depth (where our physical selves live)
4th dimension = length x width x depth x duration (what we consider as time)
5th dimension = the immense amount of (waves of) probabilities that arise from the previous dimensions...
everything you see as reality is just a dream, within a stream (the waves of 5th dimensional, indeterminate futures we collapse just by viewing the 4th dimension "time") anything besides this higher level of conscious awareness or thinking is just information our brain recieves from the senses (ego brain). an ego is a 3rd dimensional temporal (brain-made) personality construct that makes us "think" that what we see as our life is real.
the next part that gets repeated a few times isnt "that makes shame" its "man made shame" like soadict wrote. so think about it, the ego makes us have shame in our bodies and actions from media influences.
anyway, when Serj. says love after it rains he is literally telling you to make love after it rains cause when it rains the air becomes nitrogen rich and sexual intercourse should be better because when the human body is aroused it burns large amounts of nitricoxides in the blood, if you dont burn off the extra nitrogen in your blood your body (mostly women pay enough attention) seems bloated because your muscles get packed with the extra nitrogen...

the parts where he talks about turning to sand i say refer to the sing titled "dust in the wind". its more of a referance to the shortness of our lives and how meaningless things really are, which likely explains the "cant you see my pain is real" parts because when you are first becoming aware of your ego brain you get a sense of depression as you realize how fragile mortality is and how weak and meaningless our physical form really is.

once you know the truths your world dissolves as things like video-games, social networks and the like become pointless and the only thing that matters or last is love... love is a series of chemical reactions in the brain that gives off non-visible frequencies of energy (kinda like how a radio works) and loves frequencies last longer than any other emotion/thought or otherwise that is a result of those chemical reactions in the brain...

and remember in all religions, any worship of gods and in all of known history: it was man who made shame, so fu(k them and go with the flow of nature rather than letting your ego-brain feel like you have a patriarch power over it, make love after it rains.

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by GreenEyedLatinoHeat

22y ago

I dont understand most of the song but one of the verses stuck out to me and I will interpret as best as I can and you tell me what you think.

I am just a man Fighting other man for land, for land while I turn to sand In spite of the pain

He is a man fighting for what he believes is right.He is just voicing his opinion.He is arguiing with other people who dont see things the way he does.So he turns into sand,which means everyone steps all over him and doesnt care what he has to say.They are unaware of his pain and they continue to step all over him.

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by Angryllama

21y ago

This song is about some guy who finally figures out he has been manipulated for the past part of his life.He figures out that all his efforts were wasted. He was just trying to be like everybody else, but happened to lose a lot on this attempt

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by P.L.U.C.K.

21y ago

In my opinion, the song tells the bitter story of a man who dies in shame due to the egotistical state of his mind.

At the very beginning of the song, Serj says that life is merely a dream and that our material presence is insignificant. What is significant is one's mind. When one's mind is tainted by egotism (ego brain) then one's death shall be in shame.

The character has fought for land, and as he dies, a woman attempts to purify his egotism by professing that love pevails over all. Will he accept this and be pure, or remain egotistical and die in shame?

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by mimika 4y ago

@P.L.U.C.K. wow thank u

by unknown117

10y ago

'I am just a fool, searching for a stool, just a stool, trying to look real cool, now I'm just a man, fighting other men'

- - - - + I think that means the man is reflecting on himself, noting that he always wanted to look cool and didn't bother to really worry about emotional or problems that were happening by his significant other. 'now I'm just a man, fighting other men' can have 2 different meanings to it, since I couldn't decide which was more logical.
        
        The man joined the Army out of guilt, after his lover died.
        
        The man went on an outrage after his lover died, but still was highly self-confident so blamed the people around him; Resulting in m ass murder (I assumed this since System sung mostly about war and genocide.)
'You see my pain is real, watch my world dissolve, and pretend that none of us see the fall'
- - - - + This can tie with either of my previous ideal meaning of the last lyrics, so I'll divide it into Two again.
        
        After his lover dies he's obviously in pain, causing him to join the Army off of pure guilt, knowing that he can die in the Army makes him self assured that this is his plan (Since he wants to stay loyal with the lover). At the army his world dissolves; He no longer wants to be Egotistical, making that self confidence crumble, His lover is gone so he has nothing to rely or depend on. After this man becomes aware of things beside himself he sees that our Politics are falling causing unwanted deaths, his eyes opened by experiences of war. This also ties with being Egotistical; That this world doesn't realize what is happening besides what is happening in their life.
        
        After the lover's death his pain is obviously real, besides what he previously believed that Physical pain was worse than Emotional. His world crumbles apart after he realizes that the death of his lover might be his fault, but he doesn't want to believe this so he blames everyone who didn't tell him to stop being self confident. This last lyric piece can be divided into semi-categories. 1- Since he believes it's everyone else's faults he believes that the world is falling and that everyone realizes it is; making him go insane that people wont change it. He blames everyone else and he thinks that if he kills then people will get the memo that our generation is learning the wrong things about violence (Pretty much over saturation; making it seem as if it's not that serious). So he filled with hatred and decided to commit mass murder. 2- He thinks the world is falling because if he would have went crazy over the death of a loved one, that everyone would do the same. This gives him the idealism that if he kills a majority of people then their hatred would leak out too since people are dying (Since he believed that everyone had the same type of problem). So if he commits mass murder it will cleanse the earth of hate crimes.
'As I turn to sand, you took me by the hand, and declared, that love prevails over all'
- - - - + This lyric is also divided into 2 things! Oh god...
        
        This is when the lover dies. The man is becoming more aware, his self-esteem is turning to sand as he realizes what he's done. But the lover is loyal to their last breath, taking him by the hand and saying that their love over powered his Ego (Since he was still in-love with her).
        
        This is where the man dies. He ended up getting fatally wounded during war, and is visited by the ghost of his lover came to assure him that he died in honor. She took him by the hand and told him that his love overpowered his egotistical ways, while he died (AKA turns to sand).

'All of what remains, ego brain, shame, love after it rains'

- - - + THIS GOES BOTH WAYS ASWELL!
      1. This happens RIGHT after his lover's death. He took all of what hadn't been destroyed by his emotional breakdown to power off his egotistical side, even though he was overwhelmed with shame, guilt, and regret. (This last piece is divided into semi-categories) 1- After it rains means/symbolizes his egotistical brain (The sand), His regrets (The rain). The egotistical part of his brain is melted by his regrets. 2- This means his lover died in the rain?
      2. After his lover died, a part of him died as well. He felt shame as he had only realized how much he loved himself as to her, and how he felt guilt that he just now knew after the rain (After she passed away).. So he still loved her after she died resulting in him either going to war, or committing mass murder.

THE REST OF THE SONG IS SELF EXPLANATORY! THANK YOU FOR READING SUCH A LONG FUCKING INTERPERATATION!

My Interpretation

(Note: This is what I think in general)
   This song is about an Egotistical man. For most of his life he wanted people to see him as a higher class man, but greed got to the most of him. His lover ended up dying because of his selfish reasons.
  
   'I am just a fool, searching for a stool, just a stool, trying to look real cool, now I'm just a man, fighting other men'
           +   +    +   +   +   +
  I think that means the man is reflecting on himself, noting that he always wanted to look cool and didn't bother to really worry about emotional or problems that were happening by his significant other. 'now I'm just a man, fighting other men' can have 2 different meanings to it, since I couldn't decide which was more logical.
  1. The man joined the Army out of guilt, after his lover died.
   2. The man went on an outrage after his lover died, but still was highly self-confident so blamed the people around him; Resulting in m
ass murder (I assumed this since System sung mostly about war and genocide.)

'You see my pain is real, watch my world dissolve, and pretend that none of us see the fall' 
   +  +  +  +  +  +
  This can tie with either of my previous ideal meaning of the last lyrics, so I'll divide it into Two again.
  1. After his lover dies he's obviously in pain, causing him to join the Army off of pure guilt, knowing that he can die in the Army makes him self assured that this is his plan (Since he wants to stay loyal with the lover). At the army his world dissolves; He no longer wants to be Egotistical, making that self confidence crumble, His lover is gone so he has nothing to rely or depend on. After this man becomes aware of things beside himself he sees that our Politics are falling causing unwanted deaths, his eyes opened by experiences of war. This also ties with being Egotistical; That this world doesn't realize what is happening besides what is happening in their life.
   2. After the lover's death his pain is obviously real, besides what he previously believed that Physical pain was worse than Emotional. His world crumbles apart after he realizes that the death of his lover might be his fault, but he doesn't want to believe this so he blames everyone who didn't tell him to stop being self confident. This last lyric piece can be divided into semi-categories. 1- Since he believes it's everyone else's faults he believes that the world is falling and that everyone realizes it is; making him go insane that people wont change it. He blames everyone else and he thinks that if he kills then people will get the memo that our generation is learning the wrong things about violence (Pretty much over saturation; making it seem as if it's not that serious). So he filled with hatred and decided to commit mass murder.
  2- He thinks the world is falling because if he would have went crazy over the death of a loved one, that everyone would do the same. This gives him the idealism that if he kills a majority of people then their hatred would leak out too since people are dying (Since he believed that everyone had the same type of problem). So if he commits mass murder it will cleanse the earth of hate crimes.

'As I turn to sand, you took me by the hand, and declared, that love prevails over all' 
+  +  +  +  +
  This lyric is also divided into 2 things! Oh god...
   1. This is when the lover dies. The man is becoming more aware, his self-esteem is turning to sand as he realizes what he's done. But the lover is loyal to their last breath, taking him by the hand and saying that their love over powered his Ego (Since he was still in-love with her). 
    2. This is where the man dies. He ended up getting fatally wounded during war, and is visited by the ghost of his lover came to assure him that he died in honor. She took him by the hand and told him that his love overpowered his egotistical ways, while he died (AKA turns to sand).
 
'All of what remains, ego brain, shame, love after it rains'
  + +                        +                     + +
THIS GOES BOTH WAYS ASWELL!
   1. This happens RIGHT after his lover's death. He took all of what hadn't been destroyed by his emotional breakdown to power off his egotistical side, even though he was overwhelmed with shame, guilt, and regret. (This last piece is divided into semi-categories) 1- After it rains means/symbolizes his egotistical brain (The sand), His regrets (The rain). The egotistical part of his brain is melted by his regrets. 2- This means his lover died in the rain? 
   2. After his lover died, a part of him died as well. He felt shame as he had only realized how much he loved himself as to her, and how he felt guilt that he just now knew after the rain (After she passed away).. So he still loved her after she died resulting in him either going to war, or committing mass murder.

THE REST OF THE SONG IS SELF EXPLANATORY! THANK YOU FOR READING SUCH A LONG FUCKING INTERPERATATION!

Reason:

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by Lloyd-Giovanni666

22y ago

I don't Know what to think about this song.

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by Señor Pluck

22y ago

awesome song. dont kno why no one else has posted on it. sounds like drugs, but it;s prolly not knowin SOAD

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by unknown117 10y ago

@Señor Pluck System has done quite a lot of songs about Drugs, but this song is more of Emotion.

by SOADdict

22y ago

i think ''i am just a man fighting other man for land while i turn to sand'' is all about war. Where do the bodies of the dead soldiers go after they die? They sometimes get buried and therefore turn to sand... There is a minor mistake in the lyrics, instead of:

Ego brain That makes shame, shame love after it rains

Its: Ego Brain Man-made shame.

War is nothing but egocentric. It is created from fear... fear of loss of money, power, obsession. The system teaches us that we are nothing without money. I think the first verse is a very important teaching

Life is but a dream Drifting on a stream, a stream Consciously it seems

The many minds that are dominated by the system, believe that life is real. But what is reality and how can we tell real from fake? If anybody has deeply analysed 'The Matrix' then they might understand what im talking about. The verse:

You see my pain is real Watch my world dissolve and pretend that none of us see the fall

could possibly be about the pain created once an individual realises the fabrication of the world. Pretending that "none of us see the fall" is about the way people live their lives pretending to know what life is all about. I dont know the purpose of our existence and i honestly dont know what keeps my alive but im probably just insane. Oh and one more thing, if serj believes life is a dream, then when are we awake? When we die?....hmmm....interesting.

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by dandilynne 14y ago

I really like your interpretation of the song. Serj seems to have some strong political views that often intertwine with his symbolism in songs. SOAD is great in the way that you can have so many different perspectives on their songs and still feel pretty justified in your viewpoint. I think to add on to what you say about "life is but a dream drifting on a stream, a stream consciously it seems" he could also mean that we make our own perception of what life is and live in our own fantasy, and as we live with our own...

by Xylem_16

22y ago

Parts of this song sound like he is describing 'ego-death';

You see my pain is real Watch my world dissolve and pretend that none of us see the fall As I turn to sand you took me by the hand and declared that love prevails over all

Once you understand ego-death you'll see that only love matters nothing else.

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by theladysopal

21y ago

I love this song, it reminds me of when I was being led on by this guy, when I realised what an idiot i was being, i sent him the lyrics to this song and he felt like shit.

'As I turned to sand, you took me by the hand, and declared, that love prevails over all'.

Beautiful song.

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