System of a Down: Chop Suey Meaning

Song Released: 2001

Chop Suey Lyrics

(Mumbles)
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...

1. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Nov 8th 2006 !⃝

   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.
2. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Aug 29th 2006 !⃝

   Its about how the jews were acting after the crucifixtion- listen.
   
   "wake up grab a brush and put a little makeup hide the scars and fade away the shakeup"- the jews hiding what they did. When jessus died the bible says that their temple was destroyed and rebuilt in 3 days, like jesus manifested before his death. Hiding the scars of the temple ruins and fading away the shakeup of knowing that they did kill a man of god. Which makes sense becuase jewish people today don't believe jesus existed. The reason is because of the people who crucified jesus who realized what they did, and decided that if noone bore witness to it it didn't happen. So they hide the scars fade away the shakeup.
   "why'd you leave the keys upon the table" is referring to letting it leak out. Letting the story of jesus leak out to christians and catholics etc. So because they left the keys upon the table people know about it and it does ezist, but jewish people today still deny it trying to hide what they did.
   
   And that's real.

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

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Aug 18th 2006 !⃝

   I agree with the people who see it as a religious standpoint about the crucifiction and stuff. I did think of the meaning of whyd you leave the keys up on the table. Maybe he's saying those are the keys to heaven and when jesus died for our sins he left the keys to heaven right there on the table for us....Just depends on who wants to use them or who ignores them.
4. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Jul 16th 2006 !⃝

   something no one's mentioned is that "I cry when angels deserve to die" could be referring to lucifer originally being the highest angel and turning away form God to become his arch enemy thus deserving of death. Certainly something to cry about. Theres no doubt the song directly quotes the bible, so it would make sense for the rest to be about Jesus' death on the cross. I definitely agree wiht people who said its left to our interpretation though cause that's what system of a down do
5. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Jul 8th 2006 !⃝

   I learned in my catholic school that jesus' last words before he died were "Father into your hands I commend my spirit" & "Why have you forsaken me"
   those are lyrics in the song by the way.
   and the self-righteous suicide part was that jesus was self-righteously dying for us (suicide)
   i told my teacher this and she agrees
   this is what I interpret from the song and it seems pretty obvious
6. starchildXL

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Jun 30th 2006 !⃝

   or this song could just like its name "chop suey" which is a chinese dish (invented in the US) with just a bunch of crap thrown together

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

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Jun 30th 2006 !⃝

   I agree, but also this song might interpreate something that wasnt intended, like it could be talking about the famous actress Marilyn Monroe, and what she went through, and then ending in her tragic suicide

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

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Jun 20th 2006 !⃝

   Clearly, suicide killers on Israel/Palestinian conflict. Israeli civilians are the angels who deserve to die, and the "martyr" knows nobody out of the conflict would trust on what he is doing... His self-righteous suicide, in order to destroy the enemies of his nation. If Israel Government kills Palestinian civilians, ¿why cannot he die, and kill, for revenge? He commends his soul to God as he commits suicide. It's clear to me.
9. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Jun 13th 2006 !⃝

   I can't say anything for sure but here is my theory:
   A girl is raped(Wake up! Grab a brush and put on a little makeup, us the blush to fade away the shakeup), and as she is looking bvack on this event in her life she begins to start to question as to wether or not god is real(I don't think you trust in my self righteous suicide)(Fater why have you forsaken me?)This in tern leaads her to see the unfairness in life including why these self righteous people lead such good lives when they don't deserve it and whe is shafted all the time. (I cry when angels deserve to die)
   Thats my take on this song. I hope it helps.
10. Jake_D_diabetic

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    May 2nd 2006 !⃝

    I thought this song had two meanings. First was about how Jesus died for our sins and we still make stories (fables) and hide ourselves from past pain (grab a brush and put a little makeup, hide the scars to fade away the shakeup). In the chorus Jesus is saying how people didn't trust in his self righteous suicide to save them. Of coarse Jesus wouldn't call it a self righteous because that would be basically saying he's full of himself and he's smug. Jesus cries because people didn't take this big act serious and they didn't learn a thing. The second meaning may be how no matter how you die if you lived a noble life a good after life should come to you. I'm guessing on of the band member's brother commited suicide from what I've read. So they think that he should not be punished because Jesus commited a self righteous suicide of his own.
11. anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Apr 27th 2006 !⃝

    I think most everyone is parcially right. I believe the song is working on two different levels. On one level, the most basic level, the song may be dealing with our own selfrighteous suicides, be it through drugs or any other destructive addiction. Then if you look deeper you can see where there are obvious references to scripture and the lyrics directly quoting Jesus at the climax of the song. What SOAD is trying to convay I am not sure. Mabey they are saying Christianity is a lie, but then why do they "cry when angels deserve to die"?
    Just my 2 cents
12. DRUGS_DO_ME

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Apr 26th 2006 !⃝

    I have yet read the word.... crucifixion... or have I?.... well I feel this song is about the crucifixion of jesus christ... The whole Angels (refering to him being the son of god) deserve to die... (his death)... Than the self righteous suicide..... as in he knew he was meant to die he was born to die for humanity.. Self rightously dying.... and the father why have you for saken me.... Those are his own words you can find them in the bible...... "supposedly"
13. insanityproject

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Apr 26th 2006 !⃝

    The beginning of the song is kinda settting the start of everything. It's going through the process after some has commited suicide. After you die, they prep your ass up with certain type of makeup after draining the blood and taking certain organs from your body.
    
    'Leaving the keys on the table' means leaving something behind. Speaking of the scars of the past years that have gone by with all the probably past torture, self pity, cutting and then the final scar whether they cut a major blood vessl or shot themself in the head. 'When angels deserve to die' as in when bad things happen to good people. As christian we are put on earth to suffer for christ so future angels suffer but fall angels suffer greatly forsaken by God forsaking the fallen angels.
    
    Well, I don't know what else to say except this was written under the influence of probably one of the band member suicidal childhood or someone else. Either way it speaks highly about death.
14. anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Apr 25th 2006 !⃝

    I think Daron's brother defiantly had a role in the making of the song Chop Suey. But I also think that when the forsaken question comes up. Something tells me that Serj has asked that question before, if he ever got an answer to that question? I don’t know. But when a parent forsakes their child the abandonment can lead to the self-caused abbreviation of life. And I think that’s why the angels who are never answered feel they deserve to die. –Amanda F.T.R.S.
15. anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Apr 21st 2006 !⃝

    I believe this song has two meanings.
    - It's about the Armenian Genocide
    - Suicide in general
    
    I never knew about Daron's brother. That is extremely sad and I can understand way Daron has to take medication for anger/emotional issues.

Latest Articles

• 
  A new era for Millennial favorite, Linkin Park
• 
  Anime to watch for the soundtracks… and other reasons you’re undateable
• 
  Dolly, we need you
• 
  The Stranger Things Effect: How new media is drawing Gen Z and Alpha's attention to aging media
• 
  The most underrated soundtrack of the early 2000s
• 
  Buy the Soundtrack, Skip the Movie: Brainscan (1994)