What do you think Chop Suey means?

System of a Down: Chop Suey Meaning

Album cover for Chop Suey album cover

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
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    Aug 20th 2011 !⃝

    soad i always thought of this song as just a song about suicide but because of you i will nver think of it the same way again.

  2. anonymous
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    Aug 17th 2011 !⃝

    It was called actually called "suicide"- radio friendlier title is chop suey. suey-cide a play on words. It's about drug abuse.Guitarist Daron Malakian: "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.

  3. anonymous
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    Aug 10th 2011 !⃝

    Some interpritations are fucking stupid why not ask SERJ

  4. anonymous
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    Aug 9th 2011 !⃝

    There are a couple different interpretations of this that made sense to me. The first being that this song is about covering up your issues and being angry at god for giving you such a horrible life. The second interpretation that I thought made sense was this song was about homosexuality. Seeing as the first few lines about hiding your issues/secrets it could be referring to hiding someones homosexuality or "being in the closet." The line saying "self righteous suicide" would then be about the bible saying anyone who is gay is not accepted by god, and the speaker can't fix his homosexuality and is therefore committing "self righteous suicide" and condemning himself to hell according to the church. Also, the line "why have you forsaken me, in your eyes" could be directed towards god who, according to the bible, has abandoned homosexuals. Just an idea though. I'm not sure if either of these are correct or not

  5. anonymous
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    Aug 9th 2011 !⃝

    I think its about the American dish. Listen to the lyrics, you'll hear it.

  6. anonymous
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    Aug 9th 2011 !⃝

    My gay brother used this song to tell me why he killed himself. He left these lyrics on my bed the night he killed himself. He did wear makeup to hide black eyes and scars from cutting himself. He "left the keys on the table" because at some point he gave up and didn't want to come home again to my father. His suicide makes sense to him, and it's apparently the right thing to do. Everyone loved him, and everyone who didn't know what was going on was shocked to hear the news. Now for the most confusing part. "In my hands I commend my spirit, why have you forsaken me?" I think my brother felt as though it was our dad's fault he killed himself, so he's given his spirit to our father, saying for him to forgive him and that he's sorry. Our dad had forsaken him, and disowned him, and beat him.

    I miss you, Ricky. I understand now.

  7. anonymous
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    Aug 6th 2011 !⃝

    It's about the Armenian genocide.

  8. justavoice
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    Aug 4th 2011 !⃝

    One thing that's sure about Chop Suey is that it has many interpretations and most of them seem logical (well, apart from the monkeys-throwing-keys one xD). And maybe this is just another reason for its name. Well, here is my interpretation of the song.

    I think it talks about a (female probably) person (let's say "A.") that has just been through a terrible misfortune or something and has given up on life. Then a friend or family or just someone (let's call him/her "S.") who cares about A. comes and tries to change her mind.



    We're rolling suicide
    [It's S. thoughts of what's happening to A. Even if A. is not committing suicide literaly she is in a way dying 'cause she has given up on life and stays home all day doing nothing but hoping things will magically get better.]

    Wake up! (Wake up)
    Grab a brush and put a little make-up
    [ = Get up, spruce yourself up a bit and get out in the world. (also) Do what you do every day. Continue with your life.]
    Hide the scars to fade away the shakeup
    [ = Don't think about what happened. It's past-and-gone now. Try to forget it.]
    Why’d you leave the keys upon the table?
    [ = Why have you gave up on life? (Keys give you access to your home/car. "Abandoning" them on the table implies not using them. So, not leaving home.)]
    Here you go create another fable
    [ = You're creating fables to persuade yourself that your life's over when it's not. Believe me.]


    You wanted to
    Grab a brush and put a little makeup
    You wanted to
    Hide the scars to fade away the shakeup
    You wanted to
    Why'd you put the keys upon the table
    You wanted to
    [ A repetition. "You wanted to" = Some time ago you'd want to do what I'm telling you now. Don't you remember it?]

    [In the "Wake up" part S. urges A. to get over what happened. S. barks 'cause he wants to provoke something from the up-to-now pathetic A. or wants to bring A. back to reallity from her delirious ravings and make her listen to him. Can be either.]


    I dont think you trust in my
    self righteous suicide
    I cry when angels deserve to DIE!!!
    [Previous method isn't working and S. is trying another one.
    = That's what you're telling me (with your silence/ravings): You want me to concent in this kind of suicide ('cause this is suicide according to S.) which you think is right. You don't have bad intentions, you want things in your life to be fine (you're an "angel"). But if you continue like this you'll "die" from the inside. And you would "deserve" that 'cause you'd have let it happen. You know that this is happening now but you do not do something to change it. You're just sad about it (crying).]


    [Another repetition]


    Father, father, father, father
    Father into your hands, I commend my spirit
    Father into your hands
    [S. mocking A.'s ravings to show her how absurd she gets.
    = You have left your spirit and life completely to the divine, expecting God to make your life perfect for you]
    Why have you forsaken me
    In your eyes forsaken me
    In your thoughts forsaken me
    In your heart forsaken, me oh
    [ = Now you believe it's God's fault that your life has yet to get perfect on its own. (Don't you think you should try a bit, too? is implied)]

    Trust in my self righteous suicide
    I, cry, when angels deserve to die
    In my self righteous suicide
    [ = Your plea to believe that what you do is right]
    Why, cry, when angels deserve to die
    [ = But in the end, there is no reason to cry about it. Do something.]


    Sorry for the long post. I hope at least it's comprehensible.
    Anyway that's my interpretation. I believe other interpretations might be closer to what initially intended but I still prefer this one.

  9. anonymous
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    Jul 28th 2011 !⃝

    Guys straight up a woman in a violent relationship kills herself explains it all.

  10. anonymous
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    Jul 12th 2011 !⃝

    Hi this is actually an idea that I have to express the quote "when angels deserve to die". I believe that with this quote, the writer is trying to say that there are a lot of people who seem "angel" (good people) but in the inside they are bad who have perfect lives, and there it is, this person who is probably better than them and he has this miserable live. For the rest of the song I totally agree with the person who is in rank 1.
    Thanks for reading =) R.C

  11. anonymous
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    Jun 19th 2011 !⃝

    I honestly think that this song is about violence in advanced relationships:

    Wake up!- Man forcing woman to get up.

    Grab a brush, makeup to hide the shake up- Hide the proofs of the man's violence

    Why’d you leave the keys upon the table?-Man speaking

    Here you go create another fable-woman's thought of leaving the keys on the table to be a reason for him to beat her again(another fable)

    You wanted to- Woman feeling powerless(guessing)

    I don’t think you trust
    In, my, self righteous suicide
    I, cry, when angels deserve to die- The woman thinks that if she commited suicide the man wouldn't care and that she first saw him has an "angel" but that now has to die.

    The father, father part looks like a prayer questioning: Why me? (forsaken me)and offers her self to god (Into your hands I commend my spirit)

    Sorry for my english, this is just another of the multiple interpretations you can take.

  12. anonymous
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    Jun 12th 2011 !⃝

    The song Is about Jesus' final hours on earth get with it. "father in to your hands i commend my spirit", Jesus' final words.

  13. anonymous
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    Jun 2nd 2011 !⃝

    This song is actually about 9/11.

    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 and put a little makeup
    You wanted to
    Hide the scars to fade away the shakeup
    you wanted to
    whyd you put the keys up on the table
    you wanted to

    The terrorists gets up on his final evening. Doesn't grab the keys because he won't be needing them. He goes to create another fable for his people.

    I don’t think you trust
    In, my, self righteous suicide
    I, cry, when angels deserve to die
    In, my, self righteous suicide
    I, cry, when angels deserve to die

    Not many of his people believe it should be done nor will he accomplish the mission.


    It's clearly about 9/11 and both point of views of the terrorists and the angels who just got up for another day at work.

    Also if you listen really close you'll hear after why dont you put on a little make up the first time right after that is a pause and you'll hear 9/11 being whispered.

    Great band. Hard lyrics to interpret

  14. anonymous
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    May 24th 2011 !⃝

    I kinda took it as talking about an abusive relationship, and he is sad when women in an abusive relationship commit suicide to get out.. not that they actually deserve to die, but it's sad when they have no other option

  15. anonymous
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    May 8th 2011 !⃝

    I think Chop Suey has to do with any sort of conflict and it can fit anything from abortion (angels deserve to die) to a government-enforced genocide. The central meaning of the song is controversial decisions being covered up for the mere fact that they cant b understood by other people. The band really put a lot of thought into this song and it seems really important to them. I give them props for releasing something so personal, regardless of its initial intentions.




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