Shimmy

Album: Toxicity (2001)
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Songfacts®:

  • Running 1:50, this relentless song is a look at how the American education system indoctrinates children into a corrupt society where they'll be placated by mindless entertainment in exchange for their compliance. You can "shimmy-shimmy-shimmy to the break of dawn," just don't look behind the curtain.
  • In the main verse: "Education Fornication in you are go! and Education subjugation now your out go!":

    Fornication is sexual intercourse between an unmarried couple. the word originated from the bible.

    Subjugation means to enslave, master, conquer.
  • Lead singer Serj Tankian and guitarist Daron Malakian wrote this song and co-produced with their label boss, Rick Rubin. It was released on Toxicity, the second System Of A Down album, but the band had been playing it live for about a year before the album was issued on September 4, 2001. 9/11 threw everything into a blender, but the album kept selling, eventually moving over 3 million copies in America along. It showed that there was still a market for songs that question government and society, even in times of crisis.

Comments: 12

  • Dave M from DetroitThe song is about accepting the indoctrination system and not asking questions. Joe from Texas is literally the character that accepts the system that wants to shimmy to the break of dawn. It's significant that the character that wants to shimmy gets two verses while the character that questions the system gets one and gets cut off and then told to go back to school.
  • Joe from El Paso, TxI think this song is talking about how teens see school as a possible place to hook up with each other and have sex for fun and to live like adults "I think me, I want life. I think me I want a house and a wife." That's what most teens think as for why they have sex... I know because I am a teen myself.
  • Jeremy from Monroe, NcWow, I don't care what the meaning of this song is because it's f--kING AWESOME!!! SOAD has a bunch of songs that follow this pattern. Starts out with giutar, followed by sweet drums, then lyrics you can barely understand. Then it gets louder and theres a climax thats the best part. It goes back to normal then another longer climax to the song.
  • Kevin from Lowell, MaI've never heard or seen this live, i can't find it ANYWHERE!
  • Z from Somewhere Over The Rainbow, WaLots of people didn't go to school (namely college) and they are making millions of dollars. I think that t's about how the media shows people that it's okay to do things like having sex at a young age with multiple random people because the famous people that people adore do it all the time. People in charge do nothing to stop this, thus the country is eating itself alive through TV screens. ~~Ta~~
  • Joshua from Parsons, KsAt first I just thought it was telling kids to get to school. and without school you will have no future
  • Stan from Chicago, IlThis is the first i've heard that it is about molestation. This song seems to be a critique like Ivan Illich's that school is a factory of subjugation and coercion, all in order to obtain that mythical american dream of a house and a wife.
  • Daniel from San Fernando, CaI agree with Liam this is a great song.
  • Louis from Phoenix, AzThough, System of a Down is always doing something to say bad about the US government. Yeah, but we must over throw it if we want to make it better. Remember, the US constitution and the bill of rights tells us we have freedom of speech and all of these other rights (such as over throw the government if we must). When System of a Down and many other bands talk down at our government, it proves the constituion and bill of rights are actually working!
  • Blake from Hamilton, OhI thought it was about sex before marriage.....the way he refers to a "Boy" going to "School" hence an underaged person having sex.
  • Kelsey from Littleton, CoThis song is on Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4
  • Liam from London, EnglandShimmy is a great song that demonstrate one of many ways the government of America is wrong.
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