"Question" is a song by the band System of a Down. It is the second single of their fourth album Mezmerize, which focuses on life after death. The song was first premiered by the famous Los Angeles, California radio station KROQ on May 23, 2005 and was released to alternative and rock radio stations on July 12 of the same year.
The song is sometimes compared to one of System of a Down's other songs "Aerials," which also deals with the nature of life in the lyrics. Both are primarily sung by Serj but have Daron as back-up vocals in the chorus. Music similarities are not as easy to spot. Aerials does not have the wide variety of time signatures that Question has, which allegedly makes the song difficult for even the band to play.
Music video[]
The video was released on August 5, 2005 on MTV and the band's website. The opening scene is of a boy with gray hair, clothes, and skin shooting a red bird with a slingshot, which coincides with the start of the song. At this point the video switches to a scene of the band members on a theater stage, performing music for a play; similar to an orchestra playing under the pit. The play is based on a theme of life, death, and reincarnation, revolving around two lovers, a man in a dark suit and a woman in a red dress, who are shown both as children and adults. As the music reaches its climax, the woman collapses after eating a red berry and the man screams in grief. The video closes with an intense scene of a woman giving birth followed by a shot of a newborn baby wrapped in red cloth. The color red is central to the video, tying together the bird, the girl, the woman, and the baby in a cycle of rebirth.
Shavo Odadjian produced the video (and co-directed it alongside Howard Greenhalgh) after allegedly having an image of the video in a nightmare. It is claimed that before the dream he had no intentions of producing the video. In fact he didn’t want any special treatment over other possible producers for being in the band so he submitted his idea anonymously. The UK Single edition of "Question!" was released in the United States as Hypnotize Value Added available only at Best Buy stores.
Composition[]
"Question!" is written in the key of E minor - a somewhat unusual key for System of a Down, which normally relies heavily on Cm, C#m, and F#m. The song uses five different time signatures (5/4, 9/8, 6/4, 3/4, and 4/4). The acoustic guitar intro and part of the verse is in 9/8, expressed as 3+2+2+2 (This phrasing suggests a hemiola, and is essentially 4/4 with an extra eighth note on beat 1). The verse briefly switches to 3/4 (when Serj sings "Are you dreaming?"). The guitar motif after the acoustic intro is in 5/4. This same section appears throughout the song as well. The chorus is in 6/4. The heavy tremolo-picked section towards the end underneath the vocals is in 4/4. Serj Tankian plays acoustic guitar in the intro and deeper in the background behind lead guitarist Daron Malakian.
Track listing[]
Question! (Promo Single)[]
| # | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Question!" | S. Tankian | S. Tankian, D. Malakian | 3:20 |
Question! (Single)[]
| # | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Question!" | S. Tankian | S. Tankian, D. Malakian | 3:20 |
| 2. | "Sugar" (Live) | S. Tankian | S. Odadjian, D. Malakian |
Question! (UK Enhanced Single) / Hypnotize Value Added (Best Buy Exclusive-U.S.)[]
| # | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Question!" | S. Tankian | S. Tankian, D. Malakian | 3:20 |
| 2. | "Forest" (Live at the Big Day Out 2005) | S. Tankian | D. Malakian | 5:11 |
| 3. | "Prison Song" (Live at the Big Day Out 2005) | S. Tankian, D. Malakian | D. Malakian | 3:27 |
| 4. | "Question!" (Video, Live at the Hurricane Festival 2005) | S. Tankian | S. Tankian, D. Malakian | 3:25 |
Question! (DVD Single)[]
| # | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Question!" (Music Video) | S. Tankian | S. Tankian, D. Malakian | |
| 2. | "B.Y.O.B." (Music Video, Clean Version) | D. Malakian, S. Tankian | D. Malakian | |
| 3. | "Sugar" (Live at the Big Day Out 2005, Clean Version) | S. Tankian | S. Odadjian, D. Malakian | |
| 4. | "B.Y.O.B." (Live at the London Astoria 2005, Clean Version) | D. Malakian, S. Tankian | D. Malakian |
Lyrics:[]
[Verse 1: Serj Tankian]
Sweet berries ready for two, ghosts are no different than you
Ghosts are now waiting for you, are you?
Sweet berries ready for two, ghosts are no different than you
Ghosts are now waiting for you, are you dreaming?
[Pre-Chorus: Serj Tankian & Daron Malakian]
Dreaming the night
Dreaming alright
[Chorus: Serj Tankian & Daron Malakian]
Do we, do we know
When we fly?
When we, when we go
Do we die?
[Verse 2: Serj Tankian]
Sweet berries ready for two, ghosts are no different than you
Ghosts are now waiting for you, are you?
Sweet berries ready for two, ghosts are no different than you
Ghosts are now waiting for you, are you dreaming?
[Pre-Chorus: Serj Tankian & Daron Malakian]
Dreaming the night
Dreaming alright
[Chorus: Serj Tankian & Daron Malakian]
Do we, do we know
When we fly?
When we, when we go
Do we die?
Yeah (It'll be alright)
[Bridge: Serj Tankian]
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
[Chorus: Serj Tankian & Daron Malakian]
Do we, do we know
When we fly?
When we, when we go
Do we die?
Yeah
[Outro: Serj Tankian]
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na
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