title: Execute mysql insert only if table is empty
body: <p>Following this question, I've been trying to mimic the correct answer to insert data in my table only if it is empty.</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5307164/execute-insert-if-table-is-empty">Execute INSERT if table is empty?</a></p>
  
  <p>This is my code:</p>
  
  <pre><code>INSERT INTO `statuses` SELECT 
      ('Something', 'Something else', 123),
      ('Something', 'Something else', 234)
      WHERE NOT EXISTS (SELECT * FROM `statuses`);
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>But instead of adding the elements if the table is empty, I just get:</p>
  
  <pre><code>#1064 - You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near 'WHERE NOT EXISTS (SELECT * FROM `statuses`)'
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>How exactly am I supposed to write the query so that the values are inserted only if the table is empty?</p>