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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   Mar 23rd 2006 !⃝

   This song is obviously about President Bush, his administration, and the war in Iraq. When Surg says the line, 'You depend on our protection, yet you feed us lies from the tablecloth,' he is talking about Bush and how he is depending on our soldiers and citizens for his protection, yet, he lies to us. Another part of the song that emphisizes its meaning is 'Why don't presidents fight the war, why do they always send the poor.' This line is pretty self-explanitory. It is asking why Bush himself doesn't go fight in the war and is questioning why he always sends the poor. To sum it all up, this song is an angry anthem that speaks out against our dumbass president.
2. anonymous

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   Mar 15th 2006 !⃝

   OK, jake harvey and whoever's on his side, your taking this literally. Why do they always send the poor does not neccesarily mean that the soldiers are poor in terms of money, it could mean their poor in state of mind or any number of things.

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

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   Feb 19th 2006 !⃝

   This song is about bringing drugs to a party!Bomb is another word for E!!!!

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

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   Feb 15th 2006 !⃝

   this song is obviously about SOAD going against the war in iraq. I pretty much agree with them on most parts of their protest and I don't think george bush has been the greatest president.i think that jake harvey is a little single minded and only looks at it through his point of view, for example in the song I don't take the "why do they always send the poor" part so literaly. I do think that the lower classes in this country get a lot more shit out of this war than others here and it affects them more, but I also look at that line of the song as meaning that the people who get sent to war without much choice, hence the poor part.

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

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   Jan 18th 2006 !⃝

   I am very dessipointed with a lot of people, on this issue. Many of you have never experienced poverty, I have. Yet, wether a super power should intervene and tell us what to do, to make things better, doesn't make it right. Harvey, and yes you, the guy with the friend who fought in the war...you have no right to say anything because you have been blind folded by the same propaganda that SOAD is talking about! This song is perfect on many levels. At least there are people who are taking a stand on something.
   I would love to know who have experienced war, without something to defend yourself with. Living in a place where you hear bombs in the distant and near by. Waking every morning searching, outside your doorstep, through piles of bodies looking for loved ones. WAR IS NEVER GOOD ! WE ARE ALL PEOPLE, PEOPLE !!! Just like SOAD said on one of the award shows, "AS A CIVILIZATION WE ARE A FAILURE!!!." US can't even take care of New Orleans and won't rebuild quickly, even though the hurricane season is 5 months away. But yet they wish to reconstruct Iraq ! For all you who are blind, everything you watch from your warm couch, getting fat, most of what you see on the news in Iraq and everywhere else is staged ! I watched a documentary on it ! and no it wasn't the micheal moore movie. You think the US is soo great! so you think killing 2 year old girls is a great thing??? bringing villages to ashes??? This is what I have to say to people who believe in war and what I think in a different way SOAD was trying to say in this song. If you can kill your mother, father, brother, sister, son or daughter and those you truly care then you can go to war, because that's what the US does everyday ! JUST LISTEN TO THE NEWS, AND HOW MANY TIMES THE US BOMBS INNOCENT AREAS AND KILLS HUNDREDS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE ! IMAGINE IF THAT HAPPENED HEAR DAILY !!!! "CAN YOU SAY NUCLEAR WEAPONS??!!" Anyways although it is difficult to really say what you want on something like this. For those who believe that the US is doing something wrong, lets all support SOAD and lets breath a sigh of relief and realize that we are not the only ones who feel the say. And Finally be happy that someone is SAYING SOMETHING ABOUT ! THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO IS BRING AWARENESS OF THE BLOOD THAT FLOWS WHEREVER THE US GOES !
6. anonymous

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   Jan 5th 2006 !⃝

   Well I've been listening to the song a lot lately and I think I got a good idea of what is going on. When they say "Why do they always send the poor?" It may be refering to Vietnam since it was somtimes refered to a war of the poor. The lines after that are an example of propaganda. When it says "you depend on our protection" It's talking about the normal people who go out to the army, because without them, there would be nothing to fight with. Then it brings in "yet you feed us lies from the tablecloth" which refers to the government lying to the army it depends on. The party part is talking about what the avarage person thinks of war because of the government. They don't see the death they just see it as a party. This type of propaganda was very common during WWI. The kneeling roses part is what has me so perplexed though. I don't know what a kneeling rose is and why they are dissapearing, or why moses is in this all of a sudden. But, I think this refers to the money lost since his mouth is dry and it brings up oil and fort knox. The crying freedom part gives an idea of what the other side may be thinking during all this. When it brings up that we all live in a fascist nation it's probably reffering to mussolini who ran a fascist govt. and lied to his people all the time. The where the fuck are you part is yet more propaganda trying to get you into the army.
   
   So this song is basically about propaganda and lies from the government.
7. anonymous

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   Dec 17th 2005 !⃝

   Daron Malakian said in Kerrang! (Issue no. 1087):
   "I was just watching ads for the army and it inspired the song. And you have a lot of people in this country who put flags on their cars and say they're supporting the troops. But my way of supporting the troops was saying, 'Why don't presidents fight in the war? Why do they always send the poor?'. I'm pretty sure there'll be a lot of troops out there that will agree with that statement, especially the ones that come home without their legs.
   "Well I'm watching the army ad and it's saying, 'Come and make a career and meet new friends and go new places...'. Everybody's going to the party have a real good time! That's just naturally what came to the song. Actually I had a project I was doing called The Scars On Broadway, when I was hanging out with (Amen frontman) Casey Chaos. I wrote it for that project, but I started getting deeper into the System project and I took that song to System. I wrote it so I can take it where I want! But that's how it came about."
8. anonymous

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   Nov 29th 2005 !⃝

   "Why do they always send the poor?" is referring to the army advertisments in which they pay for college tuition. Hey kids, if you kill Iraqis and die, we'll pay for your college!
9. decepticondevil

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   Nov 26th 2005 !⃝

   My friend Casey Chaos wrote the line "Why don't presidents fight the war, why do they always send the poor?" (no jokes, look it up online.... He's credited as Casey Chmielinski, his birth name). Knowing him, he probably does mean it literally.... but he's a pretty extreme guy.
10. anonymous

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    Nov 26th 2005 !⃝

    has anyone ever seen "Farenheit 9/11"? while I can't stand Michael Moore anymore, he makes a good point about why we always send the poor. Because the recruiters show them the bright and shiny. Because its the only chance they have at making any money. Because its the only chance they have at getting an education, etc.
    
    As to the question of why don't presidents fight their own wars, Jake Harvey you are a schmuck. We question the president not because he isn't in camo and doesn't have an ak strapped to himself and isn't in the sh*t, but because he doesn't seem to mind losing so many american soldiers, or the support of americans who don't support this war. Leaders are supposed to represent their countries. What Bush has done is alienate all americans.
    
    i think SOAD was just saying that no one should forget how costly war is. bush depends on our soldiers to protect us, but he and his cronies continue to lie to the american public and tell us its all okay, that combat is over, that the iraqis are happy, etc. all he has done is put us in a greater jeopardy.
11. anonymous

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    Nov 6th 2005 !⃝

    Jake Harvey hit the nail on the head, it's sad no one is smart enough to realize that. First off, 'dell', "He is incredibly greedy and does NOT have a responsibility. He waves and smiles, and his other employees do everything else for him.", this probably doesn't even deserve a response, but you get one anyway. Lucky you!
    
    Your Bush Bash is like a leaky diaper, it can't hold water. If Bush is so helpless why did he get elected for a second term? Why do the American people like him so much? Well 'dell' since your probably not even old enough to vote you probably can't answer those questions. Your immature brain could probably produce an answer like, the American people are stupid.
    
    The only reason you whine about Bush is because your spoiled, you have no idea what living in a third-world country under a Dictatorsip is like. Things the probably don't show on CNN are Iraqis kissing portraits of Bush and Iraqis proudly waving American flags.
    
    Another thing Jake was right about: the government doesn't only send the "poor", everyone who enlists in the United States Military is show the same treatment. A guy I work with, who is what you could call "rich", went to West Point and graduated as a First Lieutenant. He was then sent to Iraq in Operation: Desert Storm. So don't pretend you know about politics when your just a whiney little brat kid.

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

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    Nov 6th 2005 !⃝

    I am jumping on the "anti-war" interpretation bandwagon, though, I don't agree with all of you little brats. If you could summon up one intelligent thought maybe you'd understand why people joined the military for this cause: TO ACCTUALLY LIBERATE IRAQ! All of you whiney little brats have never lived under a Dictatorship so you have no clue how good you have it! Did you ever think maybe the Iraqi people are HAPPY to be liberated from Saddam?!

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

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    Nov 1st 2005 !⃝

    I agree with the anti war theory you guys have but,I think that "why don't presidents fight the war?" Isnt meant to literally mean the president,I think it means the wealthy and elite don't have any thing to do with the war and don't fight it.It really is primarily lower income people in the armed forces.These are my oppinions agree or disagree as you wish.
14. dell

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    Oct 20th 2005 !⃝

    Jake Harvey is not right at all.
    
    First of all, SOAD is the coolest band on earth.
    
    Second of all, they are NOT embarrasing, and your interpretations are completly off.
    
    The president, Bush, does not fight the war because he wants money and Iraq's oil. (He is incredibly greedy and does NOT have a responsibility. He waves and smiles, and his other employees do everything else for him.) SOAD does not mean the presidents fight IN the war, they mean why don't presidents fight to stop it. Bush is not going to stop it because hes getting lots of money. And please, Bush does not care about ending the poor, he would prefer to send the poor over his rich loaded friends.
    
    I feel sorry for you.
15. anonymous

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    Oct 12th 2005 !⃝

    To jake harvey who just seems to be slating the song, I'd like to see you write a better one. No, that's right, you couldn't. The tempo changes? They're not easy to put effectively into a song, and they do it perfectly.
    
    Stop taking it at face value, they dont want the president literally on the front line, like the other guy said, they're just challenging the president, saying "you go fight the war along with all the good people dying. What's that? You wouldn't? didn't think so" or something to that effect. The rest is rather self explanatory

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