System of a Down: Chop Suey Meaning
Song Released: 2001
Chop Suey Lyrics
We're Rolling Suicide
Wake up(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
You wanted to
Grab a brush...
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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? -
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. -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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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... -
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 -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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I agree with soad interpreter! I was at church one time and I was listening, but the priest said Jesus' last words were, Father, into your hands I commend my spirit, which is quite similar to the lyrics : "father I commend my spirit" etc. The line about the angels dying are about jesus himself being an angel! the line: Father, why have you forsaken me, has a reason too, with Jesus knowing he had to do his fathers will, but he wanted to know why someone like himself had to be punished for the sins of others!
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I agree with the religous side and I think it also may have to do with someone being beaten by their father/boyfriend whatever I think the first opening verse "Wake up!..." I think that is the boyfriend/father shouting at the person being beaten, because serj shouts it, like he's telling the person what to do "Grab a bush and put on a little makeup!" and the keys part "Why you leave the keys upon the table!?" is the father/boyfriend making an excuse to hit the person like, what did you do that for? idiot and hitting them...the "suey cide" thing maybe true I don't know and teh "mix of things missing in the bible, like the dish chop suey" may also be true I don't know about that one...
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I think that this song is about Jesus on the cross as well as Terrorism and Suiside Bombings. The quotes from the bible "Into your hands I commend my Spirit" and " Father Why have you forsaken me" show Jesus' unsureness about going thorugh with his death but him coming to the conclussion that he must give his life up. It is a "self righteus suiside" for him becuase he could have chosen to save himself. I think that the song compares this truelly self righteus suiside to the fake self righteuse suiseds that the suiside bombers claim to be doing. They claim that their actions are in a good cause because they suffer "cry" while other people are better off "angels" so they belive they they deserve to die. The beginnings meaning I believe also relates to this "waking up" is Jesus resurrecting and putting on makeup and hiding scars is his covering the sins on humanity. At the same time before it gets into the whole bible passages I believe it questions their authenticity with the "fables" line which basically is saying that with all the corruption of the early roman catholic church that all these stories of Jesus that they are about to say might not even be true.
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From what I gathered, this song is only from one person's point of view. This person (possibly male, possibly female) is a devout Christian who tries to do as much as possible to please his/her God, but he/she doesn't get any reward or recognition and they get annoyed and go out drinking, before coming home and beating and raping his/her spouse. Then they feel really guilty and still feel they really can't please his God, so he/she loses faith and contemplates suicide. If that makes sense?
It's just I saw a lot of people talking about the victim of the domestic violence contemplating suicide but I thought it was the other way round. -
This is song is about jesus and a lot of it is right out of the bible its jesus' self rightous suicide saved us and since he took our sins he had scars to hide the angels dying is about when jesus thought that god was going to send angels down from heaven to save him on the cross then there is father y have you forsaken me in your heart mind eys etc that is also out of the bible where is come to the keys on the table its probably a referance to jesus making Peter the gate keeper to heaven and giveing him the keys to heavan but Peter died after jesus so jesus left the keys on the table so to speak. Plus if you take into the fact the band was formed at a christan school then it all comes together
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Hey everybody I agree with everyone who is relating this to the bible..The one question I have though is what are they getting at that is related to the bible when they say" why'd you leave the keys up on the table?!" that's my only question..Someone help its buggin me!! Lol
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I like the one interpretation about the husband abusing his wife. "grab a brush and put on a little makeup" "hide the scars to fade away the shakeup" yep she is covering the scars after her husband has beaten her. The suicide thing is probably her wanting to commit suicide because she is tired of getting beaten by her husband.
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