At age five, Serj Tankian moved with his parents to Los Angeles, California. After high school, he studied marketing. He took singing lessons for four years and also took guitar lessons as a young child. In 1993, he founded the band Soil (not to be confused with SOiL) with Daron Malakian, which later went on hiatus, and later changed to System of a Down. Tankian is not only a member of the band System of a Down, but also has his own record label which is called Serjical Strike Records, a sub-division of Columbia Records. He also performed guest vocals on songs such as Mushroom Cult by Dog Fashion Disco, and Mein by Deftones. He produced "Enter The Chicken" by Buckethead, and provided vocals to the Buckethead songs "We are One," "Coma" and "Waiting Here." With Serjical Strike Records, he endeavors to offer those musicians often ignored by the mainstream a possibility to release their music and be heard. The first release of Serj's new label was Serart, a project consisting of Tankian, himself, and Arto Tunçboyaçiyan, an Armenian friend of Tankian's.
Tankian is also very involved politically. Together with Tom Morello (ex-Audioslave, Rage Against the Machine, The Nightwatchman), he founded the organization Axis Of Justice. Tankian often speaks publicly against violence and injustice in the world.
Serj is a vegetarian and likes to read poetry but other than that, few details are known about Tankian's private life. He is especially interested in Shakespeare, T.S. Eliot and Edgar Allan Poe. Serj hates celebrity gossip. He believes it is a waste of time and due to the spreading of rumors, can destroy close relationships .
Two days after the attacks on September 11, 2001, Serj posted a highly controversial essay on the band's website. It was promptly taken down by Sony, the band's record label. Sony's opinion was that Tankian had tried to justify the terrorist attacks and that his claims were unfounded.
Tankian's first poetry book, Cool Gardens, was published by MTV Books and released on October 1st, 2002. It is a collection of seven to eight years of Tankian's reflections on life, and features artwork by fellow Armenian, Sako Shahinian. The book has received much praise in the artistic community.
In late 2007, Serj released his first solo album "Elect the Dead" Serj later went on to perform live around the world on a tour to promote his solo album, backed by another band on his label, the FCC (Flying Cunts of Chaos). In 2010, Serj released a live album "Elect the Dead Symphony" during which he performed with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra. Afterwords, they embarked on a worldwide tour with the orchestra.
In September of 2010, Serj released another solo album "Imperfect Harmonies" through Serjical Strike Records, his record label. In December of 2010, it was announced by fellow members of his band System of a Down that they would be reuniting for a world tour in 2011. Fellow bandmate Shavo Odadjian released through his Twitter account that they would reunite. In May of 2011, they began their worldwide tour in Canada, with stops in America, England, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Austria, and Russia. They will also be heading to South America to play in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile.
The Figure It Out Songfacts reports that Serj's third solo album, "Harakiri" will be released on July 10, 2012. The lead single, "Figure it Out," was released on May 1, 2012.
Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition
Serj Tankian Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come burn it down (can't you)
Lay it down, (the guns) above the ground (won't you)
Lay it down (won't you)
Burn it down (can't you)
Lay it down, (the guns) above the ground (won't you)
From the prophet came the king
From the king came the pauper
From the pauper came the swing
From the swing came creation
From creation came love
You don't know what this love is all about
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
Praise, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
Life-affirming and our spiritual trust
Lay it down (won't you)
Burn it down (can't you)
Lay it down, (the guns) above the ground (won't you)
Nlelith is a prophet
From the prophet came the king
From the king came the pauper
From the pauper came the swing
From the swing came creation
From creation came love
You don't know what this love is all about
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
Praise, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
Praise, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
Buddha, Mohammad and the Hindu
Lost 100
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
Praise, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
People still ask, "when will armageddon begin?"
Dragging my feet any longer through the pussy litter
Dragging my feet any longer through the pussy litter
Dragging my feet any longer through the pussy litter
Nlelith is a prophet
From the prophet came the king
From the king came the pauper
From the pauper came the swing
From the swing came creation
From creation came love
You don't know what this love is all about
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
Praise, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
Praise, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
Do we ever have enough?
When we see that blue dove
Do we ever have enough?
When we see that blue dove
We want to go where no one's been
No one's been
Come lay it down, (won't you)
Come burn it down (can't you)
Lay it down, (the guns) above the ground
(Yeah)
The song "Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition" by Serj Tankian is a political commentary on the issues of gun violence, religious extremism, and war. The song begins with the call to lay down and burn down the guns, symbolizing the need for peace and disarmament. The repetition of "won't you" and "can't you" emphasizes the urgency of the situation, implying that people have the power to make a change but are not willing to do so.
The next verse refers to Nlelith, a prophet who is subsequently responsible for creating a king, a pauper, a swing, creation itself, and love. The progression from king to swing to creation emphasizes the theme of cause and effect and the intricate interconnectedness of life. Tankian then repeats the refrain "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition," which is a reference to a famous phrase from World War II. The phrase means to give thanks to God while also engaging in battle, which is a paradoxical combination of war and religion. By invoking this phrase, Tankian is commenting on the intertwining of religion and violence and the destructive nature of religious extremism.
The final verse mentions Buddha, Mohammad, and the Hindu, implying that no religion is exempt from violence and that religious beliefs can be a source of conflict rather than peace. The line "Life-affirming and our spiritual trust" suggests that true spirituality should promote life and peace, not death and destruction. The song ends with the repetition of the phrase "Come lay it down, come burn it down," emphasizing the need for disarmament and peace.
Line by Line Meaning
Come lay it down, (won't you)
Please put down your weapons.
Come burn it down (can't you)
Can't we destroy the weapons?
Lay it down, (the guns) above the ground (won't you)
Please place the guns where they cannot be used.
Nlelith is a prophet
Referring to a religious figure who has much knowledge.
From the prophet came the king
The king is appointed by the prophet.
From the king came the pauper
The common people are affected by the king's rule.
From the pauper came the swing
The low social status of people leads to rebellious behavior.
From the swing came creation
Out of rebellion comes the potential for new and innovative ideas.
From creation came love
When people create, they can find love.
You don't know what this love is all about
The meaning of love is not fully understood.
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
This is a life-affirming, spiritual message.
Praise, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
The artist is emphasizing the message of praising the Lord and ending violence.
Buddha, Mohammad and the Hindu Lost 100
There have been many religious wars throughout history.
People still ask, "when will armageddon begin?"
People are still worried about the end of the world.
Dragging my feet any longer through the pussy litter
The singer is expressing dissatisfaction with their current situation.
Do we ever have enough?
The artist is questioning whether people ever have enough of anything.
When we see that blue dove
Referring to a symbol of peace.
We want to go where no one's been
The singer wants to explore uncharted territory.
No one's been
Emphasizes the desire to be the first to discover something new.
Yeah
An expression of agreement or enthusiasm.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Serj Tankian
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MrCrazytodd
Nlelith is a prophet
From the prophet came the king
From the King came the pauper
From the pauper came the swing
From the swing came creation
From creation came love
You don't know what this love is all about
Praise! the Lord and pass the ammunition
@mamastefurak
Ammunition Lyricist for the Cockroaches
But there’s love
among the disposables,
waiting, as ever,
to be lifted into consequence
~ Stephen Dunn
It could have been a derangement of the senses,
but she promised to be nothing if not
small. Sequestered into an indifferent corner,
quiet, listening—remaining unnoticeable
in the bustling life around. There’s a pang
that can’t quite be articulated, so she scratches
lines and loops that refuse the meaning
of her name, a name she hopes
drones more with insight than rubbish. Truly,
the idea of a completely inconsequential person
is utter garbage. Most people don’t believe it.
To them, so many don’t matter. They are just
things to bleed dry or to squash into inconsequence
as the ant that labored so hard to carry a crumb
uphill. Veiled in irrelevance, she watches
people pass without perceiving her crouching
in her cage. She realizes life isn’t particularly kind
to those plagued with obsessions. You might argue time is
money, but it’s just a sock full of quarters walloping you
in the face. The hungers of those toothless eclipsed are
palpable. They are starved, gumming at the marrow
of understanding, having arrived too soon at the viscera
of their moment. Don’t even try to count how many
varieties of despair there are. It’s futile. The only purpose
is to assault ill-formed beliefs, nothing but emblems
of vapid excess. There’s so little justice in
the world. Wounded as she is she’s also a weapon.
The terrible Night, that always disappointing lady,
drives violent crime up a notch at every sunset.
Shadowy screams are so much closer than you think, morning
reports of the evening’s escapades never accurate.
Don’t forget someone’s fine penmanship will
always end up misspelling who you are, who they are,
and, of course, everything that just happened.
@ASAPShitPost
I love how this song is made of mostly Serj's voice instruments.
@krzysztofm.5895
"From creation came love. You don't know what this love is all about"
Sad but true.
@lymb3914
Serj is one of my favorite vocalists; SOAD will always be a part of my life and he's one-of-a-kind
@larkandmallow
I have many mental illnesses and this sounds like a manic episode put into music
@tanyacrawford8272
Its catchy
@HeckinTired
Yes.
@frxity
"People still ask when Armagedon begin" that line gives me chills every time ...
@bcarl7953
Ur wierd
@FirstnameLastname-fp7qj
Yeah
@gbm6919
was trying to find the original 1940s version and somehow ended up here