anonymous 2007-01-02 10:39:51    

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I agree with that anyonomous person!! and all the others who relate the crucifixtion! but the bit about the keys on the table because relate to Peter keeping the keys of Heaven. Or it could relate to Jesus leaving the keys on the table, for whoever wants to go to heaven and whoever will ignore them.

anonymous 2007-01-04 17:15:16    

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I DON'T at all agree with soad interpreter's explanation. First of all, it completely skips over the first half of the song. Secondly, "self-righteous" does not mean that Jesus had the ability to prevent his own death. Something done that would be "self-righteously" would be something that you do that you believe is right and feel as though you have the right to do, despite other people's opinions. That has nothing to do with the way Jesus died. I know that Jesus did NOT want to die, and obviously his followers didn't want him to die either. Evidence that he didn't want to die can be found straight from many of the people on this forum. "Father why have you forsaken me..." Well gee, if these really were his last words I don't think he was self-righteous about the suicide at all. In fact, suicidal does not describe Jesus at all. It was a sacrifice that he made, not suicide. He did not intentionally kill himself. Others did. Thats why I don't agree with soad interperater
-The guy who wrote the long one

anonymous 2007-01-06 13:22:09    

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Guys some of you have it right and some have it wrong and some of you have it right and wrong

The first verse shows an abusing partner/parent most like male dictating to child/wife, telling them that they can go and put on some make up, hide the scars, make up stories of how they may have got the scars, the idea of "Why'd you put the key upon the table?" seems to show how this child/woman can do no right in the abusers eyes, As normal as putting key and a table when you come in (where most of us would), he decides to make an issue out of it. "Here you go create another fable" is the moment where may have hit them, at the same time, saying make up a story how you got this one!

The second verse is the victim, taking the same abuse over and over, but SOAD add in the "I wanted to", and if the victim was answering back to the abuser, but only in thir own head! - You all following??

The Chorus -
They are saying to their abuser that you don't think that I am strong enough to commit suicide, but not just suicide Self-rightous suicide, as if they wanted the suicide to show everything, no more cover-ups - (like the perfect family had a kid/wife that killed themselves) - so done for selfish reasons (if you like).
When he says "I Cry when angels deserve to die, Die". I think here the abuser is saying I will never cry (not the victim sobbing or crying type of cry) but a love for the abuser cry. He will cry, when angels deserve to die, And shouts "Die". Meaning literally die, to the abuser.

They Next verse, again to show that the abuse continues and continues and continues.

The next chorus show the victim getting closer and closer to suicide, he even sings the "In my, self righteous suicide, I, cry, when angels deserve to die" twice...

Next he says father, I am guessing to his abuser - possibly his father, not god, but SOAD are using a very clever well known biblical quote, and it fit perfect.

He saying Father, this is what you've done (thru the abuse), and I commends his spirt to him. In other words, you had my life when I was alive, you can have it when I am dead too...

And just before the end in one last effort to find out why the abuser has abused him, her cries:
Why have you forsaken me, (why have you abandon me?)
In your eyes forsaken me, (you won't even look at me properly)
In your thoughts forsaken me, (you don't even think about how I feel)
In your heart forsaken, me oh, (You have not love for me)

He starts off with "Thrust" for the last chorus, not "Why", this is a committment to suicide...

And there goes the song...

anonymous 2007-01-22 14:05:29    

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i think "self-rightous suicide" means selfless, self justified suicide, and "when angels deserve to die" a "holy being" is sent to hell, and "wake up, grab a brush and..." is a metaphor for someone born into poverty, and lying to make them seem all high and mighty.

anonymous 2007-03-06 06:57:36    

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At the end of the song the last verse is "WHY" cry when angels deserve to die... Not "I"

anonymous 2007-04-11 04:27:03    

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Let me know what you think of this interpretation.

This song is about a man who has found out his wife or girlfriend has been cheating him. He found out she's living a double life or having a different relationship with someone else.

"Grab a brush and put on a little make up
Hide the scars to fade away the shakeup"

Essentially he's saying go ahead put on your makeup(new persona) for whoever your about to see. He's metaphorically saying her makeup makes her think she's someone else and allows her to live a duplicist's lifestyle. Probably by going to her other boyfriend's residence when she leaves their house.

He also says the line "There you go create another fable" speaking about the lies that she's telling him.

In the line "I cry when angels deserve to die", he's saying that he thought she was perfect (an angel) until he found out that she is scum (because she is cheating on him).

He talks about "self righteous suicide". Self righteous means "confident of one's own righteousness, esp. when smugly moralistic and intolerant of the opinions and behavior of others". So he's saying he wants to die for the right reasons. He has done nothing wrong and god has punished him. "God why have you forsaken me?". So he feels his suicide would be just.

anonymous 2007-04-20 19:19:21    

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Man wakes his wife up shouting, telling her to cover up the marks from last nights fight... He had trivial reasons for beating her- like her leaving the keys out, instead of putting them away.
She has to make up 'another' cover-story or 'fable' to explain the bruises to friends and family. There are only so many, "I walked into a door" stories.
I think shouting "you wanted to" between the lines means she is blaming herself (as victims of abuse always seem to do).
We all know it's wrong for a person to commit suicide, but when a good person or 'angel' is in an abusive relationship, with no means of escape...It's sad, but wrong or right... If we can't help her, who are we to deny her release?
She calls out to God several times, but no answer. So she prays. She says that she trusted him but he has forsaken her.
I cry when I hear this song, because it's sad that people are feel so hopeless that they believe their only choice is suicide. But do angels deserve to die?

anonymous 2007-04-25 16:06:56    

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“Wake up, grab a brush and put a little makeup, hide the scars to fade away the shakeup” We tend to hurry quickly to hide ourselves.
“Why’d you leave the keys upon the table, here you go create another fable”
He’s asking us why we left our true identities behind. And saying that we create stories to hide ourselves.
“you wanted to…….”
We want to forget ourselves.
“I don’t think you trust in my self righteous suicide”
We don’t trust in being ourselves or like trusting him. Suicide as in sociable suicide.
“I cry when angels deserve to die”
He feels bad when behind closed doors we are ourselves with no fear but once in the public eye we act “normal” we as angels deserve to die as in we should just be ourselves.
“Father into your hands I commend my spirit”
Someone is giving themselves to him for help.
“Father into your hands why have you forsaken me”
They gave themselves to him and are let down.
“In your eyes forsaken me in your thoughts forsaken me in your heart forsaken me”
The person who gave themselves away to change feels as if he let them down by him having his own way of changing that person.

MORAL: We have such a hard time being different even if we aren’t sociably acceptable we still sometimes have standards to live up to. There’s like a clique for everyone and it’s hard to not share qualities.
I HOPE THIS MAKES SENSE

anonymous 2007-05-16 18:19:16    

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Chop Suey technically means "Bits of shit."

borbas001 2007-05-21 22:39:53    

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I agree this song talks about suicide. I actually think this song goes to his father. He thinks of committing suicide because his father never helped him or did anything that's why he cries when angels deserve to die

anonymous 2007-05-24 17:18:54    

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I think this song is about child suicide bombings......"wake up""grab a brush and put a little makeup". How they would disguise the kid to look like someone else and strap the bomb to their body....... and send them off to kill how ever many people

anonymous 2007-06-15 00:01:11    

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I think the song on a whole is talking on how SOAD thought Jesus was a good man,a role model, maybe even the Son of God, but along with that they believe that many Bible stories are just stories "...there you go creating another fable".
SOAD could be telling how Jesus was preparing himself to go the cross in,"Wake up, grab a brush and put on a little make up, hide the scars....". "Why'd you leave the keys up on the table,(you wanted to)" is Jesus's decision to except the cross. Then "Why have you forsaken me" and "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit" are direct words from the Jesus pleading to God to use another way to save the world, but then excepting his fate with a good heart.
I also think they're leaving it up to you to decide if Jesus was the Son of God or not in the chorus "...SELF-RIGHTEOUS SUICIDE...when angels DESERVE to die". Whichever SOAD really believes, I think they are sad that such an influential man was killed(for which I believe there is no reason other than it was the only way to save the world from sin) from the words,"I cry when angels deserve to die...". That's what I think the words mean.

anonymous 2007-07-01 07:24:06    

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Chop Suey is about life. Since it means chopped meat it can be metaphor for that all life is a chaos and were just pieces of meat in a stew. The lines with the wake up, make up, key, fable thing is about a man/woman tired of life and will find pace in a suicide. And he/she have lost the faith in god, and maybe even hating god.

anonymous 2007-07-02 19:27:37    

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The subject of this song is not "God".

This song is about the feelings of a religious woman in an abusive relationship.

"Wake up,Grab a brush and put a little makeup... Hide the scars to fade away the shakeup, why'd you leave the keys upon the table, here you go create another fable."

This is the antagonist (abusive boyfriend/husband). Quite obviously, this is set in modern times. The man is bluntly telling his girlfriend to get dressed, hide her scars given to her. He even gets mad at her for doing simple things like leaving keys on the table. Then he says she makes up some BS (fable).

She's a person who can think for herself.
Why did she do all of that? Because she 'Wanted to".
"Why'd you leave the keys upon the table,
You wanted to"

In the excerpt below, it's spoken in the womans perspective.
"I don't think you trust,
In, my, self righteous suicide,
I, cry, when angels deserve to die, Die,

Interpretation: Plainly, she feels as though the conditions she lives in and her life is crap, and this is grounds for a 'self righteous suicide'. She is sad when innocent (angels) people, like herself, are abused (deserve to die).

Finally...
"Father, Father, Father, Father,
Father/ Into your hands/I/commend my spirit"

Interpretation: She is pleading to God "Father..." and is letting God do His bidding with her spirit, most likely because she has given up.

"Why have you forsaken me..."
Interpretation: Don't think this is Jesus saying this just because Jesus probably did say it way back. The abused woman in this song is simply questioning God why He has forsaken her to live in such an abusive relationship with no hope.

Also, you will notice the music change and tone of voice change between the two personas speaking.
"WHYD U PUT THE KEYS UPON THE TABLE!" Angry boyfriend
"I don't think you trust...." Innocent girl

Long entry, but worth the enlightenment. Thank you.

anonymous 2007-07-11 22:57:58    

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It's amazing how much religion you can find in SOAD's lyrics. Even though I wouldn't classify them as 'good christians' its pretty cool that they put their views out there about everything they personally believe in.

anonymous 2007-07-13 05:59:52    

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The beginning of the song depicts morning with someone who has been abused, battered by her husband or boyfriend
"Grab a brush and put a little make up
Hide the scars to fade away the shakeup"
Put on some make up so you can hide the fact that she's been abused
"Oh here we go create another fable, You wanted to"
Create a story to cover up the event
"I cry when angels deserve to die"
She's an angel, but she deserves to die for allowing this to happen to her, striking an emotional key in the musician and any other moral human being with self control.

I Don't think jesus was an angel.. So his self righteous suicide might not fit the description, I'm not sure though.

YourFan 2007-08-02 14:38:30    

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I'm pretty sure it's a song about suicide but Daron Malakian said this in an interview.

"The song is about how when people die, they will be regarded differently depending on the way they pass. Like, if I were to die from a drug overdose, everyone would say I deserved it because I abused drugs, hence the line 'Angels deserve to die'."

anonymous 2007-08-17 14:16:11    

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ATTENTION I FOUND THIS ON ANOTHER FORUM THIS IS NOT MINE

The meaning of Chop Suey!...
Hi! I've finally got round to reading an
article that a magazine published on SOAD a
while ago, in which there is a quote from
Daron explaining the meaning behind
"Chop Suey!". I find this
pretty interesting, because while I've
always loved the lyrics for their sheer
eeriness, I've never really been able to
interpret or understand them.

Daron says: "(Chop Suey) is about how
people view death. For example, if I died of
a drug overdose everyone would say I deserved
to die because I took drugs. Hence the line
'...angels deserve to die'. It's not
a song that's anti or for anything, but
more of an observation or an attempt to
capture these strange feelings people
have."

And suddenly it all makes sense!

anonymous 2007-09-01 09:43:04    

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I think that most songs can have more than one interpretation- this is the purpose of poetry, to let everyone find their meanings.

To me I just heard the song yesterday for the first time and it somehow attracted me, reflecting my own feelings.

I really love the interpretation of Submitted by: anonymous
Added: 2006-12-31 21:36:07, that it reflects the feelings of a desperate hurt person, whether over physical abuse, or injustice in the world.

This person is on the verge of suicide and is reaching out in despair to God "Into your hands I commend my spirit", maybe finding parallels with Jesus, if the person feels he/she does not deserve to die, but is driven to it.

I know confusing, but still wanted to thank Submitted by: anonymous Added: 2006-12-31 21:36:07 for interpretation.

anonymous 2007-09-05 20:07:53    

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This song is about a mixture of things as Serj has a very poetic and complicated soul. He is relating the Armenian genocide to Jesus dying on the cross and kind of tying them togather.

I think "Why'd you leave the keys up on the table." is a question to Jesus, wondering why he gave himself up so suddenly. Leaving the keys on the table is a dramatic way of showing how unfinished his mortal life was.

"Father into your hads I commend my spirit. Why have you forsaken me." are the words that Jesus called to the heavens as he was on the cross.

"I cry when angels deserve to die." is the best tyiing line which is why they put it in the chorus. Both in Jesus's sacrifice and in the Armenian Genocide many innocents were killed, and Serj is saddened by this greatly. When he says "Trust in my self righteous suicide" he is voicing Jesus's hopes that his followers will believe that he is doing the right thing in offering himself to the Romans that our sins are forgiven and to trust that he will come back. In the plural use of angel "When ANGELS deserve to die." is him portraying his feelings about all those lost in the genocide.