System of a Down: B.Y.O.B. Meaning

Song Released: 2005

B.Y.O.B. Lyrics

YOU!

WHY DO THEY ALWAYS SEND THE POOR?

Barbarians by Barbarans, with pointed heels
Victorious, victorious, kneel,
For brand new spanking deals,
Marching forward hypocritic
and hypnotic computers.
You depend on our protection
Yet you...

1. anonymous

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   Oct 10th 2005 !⃝

   Not gonna argue with the guy who read an interview. jake.harvey: I think people are referring to the fact that the president doesn't know what it's like fighting a war, and how a lot of soldiers are comparitively poor compared to the rich and famous.
   
   Not forgetting it's a damn good song!
2. anonymous

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   Sep 28th 2005 !⃝

   I agree with jake.harvey about how the president may not go to war but that doesn't mean he isn't doing anything, presidents have alot of responsibilities and instead of people taking responsibilities for themselves, they put the blame on others and who is more convenient to blame than the president?
   
   I absolutly love this song, but if the military did change how it was to make it seem like it wasn't just, the poor SOAD would find something else about the army to sing about.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
3. Derrick Speshock

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   Sep 16th 2005 !⃝

   I read this in the guitar world interview with Daron Malakian so I know this is right.
   
   For starters, the song is about the way military ads appeal to you. In military ads, they say things like "Hey, get out there and start a career, make friends" they don't tell you that you are going to fight a war. (That should be a given though).
   
   The rest is about how most hip-hop artists sing about the same self centered ideas. They say things like "everybody go out and party, it's all you." The song shows the correlation between the two. That is what the song is about! Right from Malakians lips.
4. jake.harvey

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   Sep 15th 2005 !⃝

   These lyrics are embarassing, as are most of these interpretations.
   
   Why don't presidents go to war? Well, it is because they have other responsibilities at home, and we tend to put a lot of weight on their safety. That is why they have body gaurds and such.
   
   Why do they always send the poor? This is just silly. Presidents send enlisted men, who may or may not be poor. Sometimes, there's a draft on, and people are chosen on a lottery system based on age, not income.
   
   I suppose it can be argued that military pay and the GI Bill may attract a disproportionately poor base into the volunteer army. We could end this incentive by removing all military pay and benefits, but then I suppose we'd be subjected to a System Of A Down song lamenting the military-slavery complex, with a few F-words, misunderstood metaphors, and sudden, inexplicable tempo changes just to drive the point home.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
5. anonymous

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   Sep 14th 2005 !⃝

   When it says everyone's going to the party to have a real good time, it means we are all goin to the war to kill and have a real good time. And when it says where the fuck are you? It is like saying why are you not at the "Party?"
   
   I do beleive it. The goverment is draining our word of inocent lives, and are they happy? FUCK THE SYSTEM!
6. Phoenix127

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   Sep 9th 2005 !⃝

   Hm, well I thought the meaning of this song was obvious from the typical System of a Down thing. They sing about Drugs and Politics half the time so it would seem the obvious assumption that Bring Your Own Bombs is about going to war.
   The song is about... well just imagine two sides. The presidents, sending soldiers out to war. They make deals with corporations and get all the money, leading the rich life while the soldiers march out. Now, it saws how they are Hypnotic Computers which suggests they are mislead and are send out there on command, with no realisation of what they are doing it for. They are fed lies "from the tablecloth"
   
   The whole song is about how Presidents are cowards and send out innocent people to their deaths instead of fighting themselves.
   
   Oh, and with the mention of Desert, I assume it links to the Middle Eastern wars.
7. Flindtbjerg

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   Aug 23rd 2005 !⃝

   BYOB stands for Bring your own bombs (here). This is an anti-war song, against the invasion of Iraq. I don't think it needs any more clarifying than that.
8. soadfan12

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   Aug 6th 2005 !⃝

   This song is clearly anti-Operation Iraqi "Freedom". "Hangers sitting dripped in oil crying freedom" "Why dont the presidents fight the war? Why do they always send the poor?" "Dancing in the desert blowing up the sunshine" all point to this song being anti-Operation Iraqi Freedom.

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