According to D… Read Full Bio ↴Released as the third single off the Frogstomp album.
According to Daniel Johns the songs meaning is, “It’s about an execution I saw on telly… I got this video of an execution, and I just saw it, and I was watching it one night, and I had a dream about it, and I woke up and thought, ‘Oh yeah, that’s pretty cool’, and I wrote a song about it.”
This song is the only Frogstomp song that the band still played live in the years prior to the bands “indefinite hibernation” in 2011.
“Israel’s Son” is one of four songs on the album written solely by Johns.
The song caused controversy when a murder trial happened in January 1996 when Brian Bassett, aged 16 and his friend Nicholaus McDonald, aged 18 of McCleary, Washington, US, claimed the pair listened to “Israel’s Son” from Frogstomp, which contributed to the murders of Bassett’s parents and a younger brother on August, 10, 1995.
McDonald’s lawyer cited the lyrics “‘Hate is what I feel for you/I want you to know that I want you dead’” which were “almost a script. They’re relevant to everything that happened”. The band’s manager, John Watson, was quoted when he made this statement on behalf of the band, Silverchair:
“Silverchair do not, have not, and never would condone violence of any sort. The band is appalled by this horrific crime and they hope that justice will prevail in prosecuting whoever is responsible for it. The band extends its sincere sympathies to the families and friends of the victims in this case. Silverchair absolutely rejects any allegation that their song is in any way responsible for the actions of the alleged murders. It is a matter of public record that the song in question, Israel’s Son, was inspired by a television documentary about wartime atrocities. Israel’s Son was never intended to provoke violence and cannot be interpreted by any reasonable person as doing so. In fact, the song seeks to criticise violence and war by portraying them in all their horror.”
Israel's Son
Silverchair Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I want you to know that I want you dead
You're late for the execution
If you're not here soon, I'll kill your friend instead
All the pain I feel
Couldn't start to heal
Although I would like it to
I hate you and your apathy
You can leave, you can leave, I don't want you here
I'm playing this pantomime
But I don't see you showing any signs of fear
All the pain I feel
Couldn't start to heal
Although I would like it to
This time I'm for real
My pain can not heal
You will be dead when I'm through
Hate is what I feel for you
And I want you to know that I want you dead
You're late for the execution
If you're not here soon, I'll kill your friend instead
All the pain I feel
Couldn't start to heal
Although I would like it to
This time I'm for real
My pain can not heal
You will be dead when I'm through, through, through
Pain and execution
Put your hands in the air
Put your hands in the air
The air, yeah
I am, I am Israel's son
Israel's son I am
Put your hands in the air
Put your hands in the air
I am, I am Israel's son
Israel's son I am
Put your hands in the air
Put your hands in the air
The lyrics to Silverchair's song Israel's Son are a window into the mindset of a person consumed by hate and anger towards another individual or group. The opening lines make this abundantly clear: "Hate is what I feel for you / And I want you to know that I want you dead". The singer is threatening violence, and even goes so far as to say that if the subject of his hate does not arrive soon, he will kill their friend instead.
The second verse continues in a similar vein, with the singer expressing frustration with the subject's apathy towards his feelings: "I hate you and your apathy / You can leave, you can leave, I don't want you here". The repetition of the phrase "All the pain I feel / Couldn't start to heal / Although I would like it to" suggests that the singer has been hurt deeply in the past, and that his feelings of anger and hatred are the result of unresolved emotional trauma.
The chorus, with its repetition of the phrase "I am Israel's son" suggests a connection between the singer's personal feelings and the larger political landscape of Israel and the Middle East. Overall, the lyrics to Israel's Son are a powerful and disturbing portrait of a mind consumed by hate and anger.
Line by Line Meaning
Hate is what I feel for you
The singer expresses his hatred towards a particular individual.
And I want you to know that I want you dead
The singer wants the person he hates to know that he desires his death.
You're late for the execution
The person who is hated by the singer is tardy for his execution.
If you're not here soon, I'll kill your friend instead
If the person who is hated by the singer doesn't arrive soon, the singer threatens to kill the person's friend instead.
All the pain I feel
The singer obtains immense pain from hating the particular person.
Couldn't start to heal
The pain is so intense that it seems impossible to heal.
Although I would like it to
Despite wanting to heal, the singer can't seem to be able to.
I hate you and your apathy
The singer hates the person and his indifferent behavior.
You can leave, you can leave, I don't want you here
The singer wants the person he hates to leave and never come back.
I'm playing this pantomime
The situation is almost theatrical, and the singer is hiding his deepest feelings behind a mask.
But I don't see you showing any signs of fear
The person who is hated fails to show any indication of being scared.
This time I'm for real
The singer is not playing around this time, and his threat is real.
My pain can not heal
The singer's pain refuses to heal.
You will be dead when I'm through
The person who is hated will surely meet his end by the hands of the singer.
Through, through, through
An emphasis on the inevitability of the person's death.
Pain and execution
Both the singer and the person who is hated are suffering pain and the latter will face execution.
Put your hands in the air
An assertion similar to 'surrender' or a command to be arrested.
The air, yeah
Literal meaning.
I am, I am Israel's son
The singer belongs to the Jewish community that dwells in Israel.
Israel's son I am
Repetition for emphasis.
Put your hands in the air
An assertion similar to 'surrender' or a command to be arrested.
Put your hands in the air
An assertion similar to 'surrender' or a command to be arrested.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: DANIEL JOHNS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tsuga5012
LYRICS
Hate, is what I feel for you
And I want you to know that I want you dead
You're late for the execution
If you're not here soon, I'll kill your friend instead
All the pain I feel
Couldn't start to heal
Although I would like it to
I hate you and your apathy
You can leave, you can leave, I don't want you here
I'm playing this pantomime
But I don't see you showing any signs of fear
All the pain I feel
Couldn't start to heal
Although I would like it to
This time I'm for real
My pain can not heal
You will be dead when I'm through
Hate, is what I feel for you
And I want you to know that I want you dead
You're late for the execution
If you're not here soon, I'll kill your friend instead
All the pain I feel
Couldn't start to heal
Although I would like it to
This time I'm for real
My pain can not heal
You will be dead when I'm through
Hate and execution
Put your hands in the air
Put your hands in the air, the air
I am, I am Israel's son
Israel's son I am
Put your hands in the air
Put your hands in the air
I am, I am Israel's son
Israel's son I am
Put your hands in the air
Put your hands in the air
@jules8159
That voice for a fifteen year old boy is one of the most impressive things I’ll ever come accross.
@tokiburoak7457
Not to mention his song writing capabilities.
@guilhermegarcia8750
Dont exaggerate. It sounds like its age.
@jules8159
@Toki Buroak Yep.
@jules8159
@Guilherme Garcia it doesn’t lol kids a bit younger than me don’t sound ✨like this✨ but hey maybe it’s just my froggy country that’s shit ;)
@kanelewis4556
Yep !!!
@KineticGTR
Grunge wasn't about how many strings you could hit per minute, it was about creating a mood. Long live grunge!
@mumruf
Yessss, and it's never get "old"
Besides me , 😂😂😂😂😂
I love it
@cosmokramer5055
Who would’ve thought he’d sing R&B music after this 🤦♀️🤦♀️
@natbarton755
KineticGTR
80s Metal: Rock is about super complex instrumentals, extremely thought-out lyrics, and intricate solos
90s Grunge: Haha power chord go brr.