System of a Down: Prison Song Meaning
Song Released: 2001
Prison Song Lyrics
They’re trying to build a prison
Following the rights movement
You clamped on with your iron fists
Drugs became conveniently
Available for all the kids
Following the rights movement
You clamped on with your...
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1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:"Following the rights movement you clamped down with your iron fist," This is referring to the Civil Rights Movement of 1968.
"Drugs become conveniantly availible for all the kids." This is about to how drugs are easily availible for America's youth.
"I buy my crack, I smack my bitch, right here in Hollywood." This is about how Hollywood, and America is corrupted and filled with Felony and Drugs.
It gives information on how there are nearly 2 million Americans in the prison system.
The chorus is about how the prison system is filling up with petty law-breakers and minor drug offenders resulting in them building more prisons "for you and me to live in."
"Minor drug offenders fill your prisons you don't even flinch," This is talking about how minor dug offenders fill up the prison system when they should fill the prison system with more serious criminals.
"All our taxes paying for your wars against the new non-rich." This is about how tax money is used by the government to pay for wars, but the wars do not involve the rich.
Nowadays in the corrupted world, about 10 years ago in 1985 there were half the people in the prison system and it was less corrupted back then.
The 3rd verse is about how drug research shows that treatment should be increased and we should do away with minimum sentences.
Drugs are used to pay for secret wars and are the global policy that the government relies on for the wars. Drugs control the world.
Drug money turns into taxes and is used to rig the elections of corporate dictators. -
2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation:Written by Serj Tankian and Daron Malakian, the song deals with various injustices within the United States prison system. The song expresses the belief that the government is responsible for the spread of inner city drugs and the abundance of homelessness. Though the song is mostly sung by Tankian, a few lines preceding the chorus are sung by Malakian, who mocks, "I buy my crack, my smack, my bitch right here in Hollywood", a reference to the rap lifestyle. The song was released as an unofficial airplay-only single, and a promotional live video of the song was released.
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3TOP RATED
#3 top rated interpretation:System of a down are tired of prisons being filled with people who have a little weed on them.
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it critisizes the United States prison structure
... boom revelation! -
In my opinion. It's about the new world order. Drugs "open your mind" by allowing the ppl to have connected thoughts they can easily turn the world into what they want. Tv to rake in money. Control using stereotypes. "kill" people who stand out by war of others. Like the saying the nail that sticks out gets hammered. They're trying to build a prison by drugs and the "open mind" -killuminati
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I agree with everyone 100% But i have another theory of what it is also aiming at, its just an idea so no one freak out but when i hear the part
"I buy my crack, i smack my bitch right here in holly wood"
I get the impression that they also mean their are tons of celebrities doing drugs that aren't even secretive to the public and they never get sent to jail or are in jail for like a month if that and celebrities get all the help you could possibly get or none at all but are still pardoned for dong it. But as far as being an average citizen they generally get screwed on such things. that's just what i got out of it as well as everything else said above my idea. -
I think it's about how pissed off they are that people with minor drug charges are going to prison instead of rehab, when there are more dangerous criminals out there.
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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Ok, the line is "I buy my crack, my smack, my bitch.
Smack is referring to heroin, not actually smacking a bitch -
Idk about you guys but i think the reason why the government isnt actually treating the drug problem is because they are in on it, i can almost guarantee that somebody in the government is responsible for the drugs. In a Kottonmouth Kings song they say "uncle same is slinging sacks behind our backs" i pretty much have to agree that the govt is this corrupt and look for any way to make a buck.
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This is the easiest song in the world to interpret because the lyrics say it straight up. The entire song is basically saying that instead of putting non-violent offenders in prison (specifically drug offenders in the case of this song) that they should be given treatment. Another issue is that drugs can be so easily bought and sold right here in America; "I buy my crack I smack my bitch right here in Hollywood!" Also, they are saying that the governments, not just ours but all over the world, are actually benefitting from drug money. I mean seriously, the lyrics "Utilising drugs to pay for secret wars around the world
Drugs are now your global policy now you police the globe" and "Drug money is used to rig elections
And train brutal corporate sponsored dictators
Around the world" are right there! Their shouldn't even be a need for this song to be interpreted. -
This song is about the errors in law enforcement of drugs
"Following the rights movement
"You clamped on with your iron fists
Drugs became conveniently
Available for all the kids"
When drugs became illegal
They became available through drug dealers
And they're easy to get
"I buy my crack, I smack my bitch
Right here in hollywood"
The rich get drugs and if they were
to get caught the punishments
can be bought off
"(nearly 2 million americans are
Incarcerated in the prison system
Prison system of the us)"
example statistic of minor drug offenders
filling prisons
"They’re trying to build a prison
They’re trying to build a prison
They’re trying to build a prison
(for you and me to live in)
Another prison system
Another prison system
Another prison system
(for you and me to live in)"
They're trying to solve all of the
drug (and possibly other) problems
by throwing drug users/sellers
in prison
"Minor drug offenders fill your prisons
You don’t even flinch
All our taxes paying for your wars
Against the new non-rich"
All our tax dollars are going to fund
prisons for minor drug offenders who
shouldn't be in there but most people
are ignorant/apathetic about it
"All research and successful drug policy show
That treatment should be increased"
We should be putting drug offenders
in rehab but we put them in jail
"And law enforcement decreased
While abolishing mandatory minimun sentences"
Less taxpayer money goes towards law enforcement
When minor drug offenders are not put in prison
"Utilising drugs to pay for secret wars around the world
Drugs are now your global policy now you police the globe"
Since drugs are on the black market they can't
be controlled by the US government so we have
to stop it in other countries to stop it over here
so now we "police the globe" (kinda like the war now)
and it would probably be more easily controlled in our
country if it wasn't illegal in the first place
"Drug money is used to rig elections
And train brutal corporate sponsored dictators
Around the world"
Since drugs are illegal it kind of has the prohibition
effect. The money isn't going to taxes or the economy
its going through the black market to the mob and
dictators and creating organized crime -
ok same thing as above but most people caught with drugs are repeat offenders and so its just a growing, ongoing cycle and they need to waste money on more and more prisons because they arent solving the real problem.....they need to put them through rehab to actually cure they're addictions or any other problems they have.
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its about how people using drugs need rehab and that a large percentage of them are repeat offenders because they never got real help......he says they need to get rid of mandatory minimum sentences because just sending them away to prison is NOT going to cure them and so they have to build more and more prisons because the people are addicted and keep doing the drugs so they are sent away again......sort of like an ongoing cycle
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I agree with the post above it's about drug laws and corruption and how drug abusers should be put in rehab. I think more so it's about how the government makes drugs illegal and the CIA imports drugs so they can be sold on the black market for profit. This money is the government's "black budget", money that is untracked and they can use for secret wars around the world. Also, a lot of people don't know that prisoners work for corporations in prison. Company's pay prisons for cheap labor, which makes the government money, and keeps them from making drugs legal and helping people recover from addiction
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i agree with the dude from above...
but also I think it means that the government is making deals with drug dealers to cut a share of their profit and making the sentances of the dealers lower. and the government is using that money to pay for secret wars around the world -
I think that serj and daron are just expressing their feelings on the government. Saying that the government are not cracking down on solving the problem of drugs and are just building more and more prisons for a short cut way of dealing with it.
The justice system and how it uses its money for useless causes. When the money could be going to better uses. The government is just jailing minor drug offenders so it looks like they're doing something about the drug problem.
"drugs became conveniently
available for all the kids...". This is jus saying that (as you know) that their are so many drug offers, even little kids are availible to do so.
I have much respect for soad for writing this song (and many of their others too). Not only are they amazing musicians, but they have great political views. And write songs about real issues throughout the world. Hence their name. (but you all know that, lol) -
You stupid fucker.
The lyrics flat out say it.
Drug abusers/sellers are being put in prisons.
When they should really be put in rehab.
(all research and succesfull drug policy show that treatment should be increased***Rehab?***)
(and law enforcement decreased while aboloshing manditory minimum sentences***Prison???***)
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