Whoever told you that about toxicity is leading you astray man, I mean even the metaphor of "eating seeds as a pass time activity, the toxicity of our city" is super deep. This song is about a genocide that actually happened btw... So it very much has a meaning lol, and when it first came out I was in middle school and I thought it was about 9/11.

LFR Jojo: “I like these nice peaceful songs. Something to just close your eyes to” Chop Suey: “WAKE UP!!”

"I'm happy this one isn't crazy" *10 seconds later*

"they don't make stuff that you have to think too hard about" lol literally one of the most thought provoking bands ever.

Late to the party here but System of a down is very much protest music. The entire album Toxicity speaks about unjust incarceration and pointless wars, the corruption of our youth and dismantling of society. It's an aggressive sound for an aggressive opinion, people who are fed up with being treated like garbage by people in power. These songs are designed to get you fired up, to get you moving and thinking and angry. This is what we had in the early 2000s to blast while protesting the Iraq War and the Patriot Act.

This song was originally called "Suicide" and the song has a very deep meaning. "Chop Suey" is a chinese dish but is also a play on words chop for a knife and suey for suicide.

All their songs have a message hidden in the lyrics. Guitarist Daron Malakian, who wrote it with lead singer Serj Tankian, explained: "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.'" You should look up the lyrics, and look at them as a poem. Alot of metaphors is used ind their lyrics ;) Glad you enjoy them, they were one of my favorite bands growing up :) greetings from Denmark, keep up the good work kid 👍

Chop Suey was originally meant to be called “Suicide.” It’s called chop suey because it’s suicide chopped in half. The meaning behind the song refers to people regarding others differently based on how they died. The lead singer said, “if I died from an overdose some people would say I deserve it because I was using drugs.” That’s what, “angels deserve to die,” means. Good people who may be going through something that take their own life.

This kid is what makes me facepawn with those entering adulthood today. Far too many of them cant see past the basics of words. Its only literal to them. If it doesnt jump out and smack you on the face, then its nothing. I remember debating meanings of SOAD's songs with friends, school mates when these came out. It would show you so much about depth of both the song, and other people. 'We see things not as they are but as we are'.

The song is about how people who commit suicide or die of drug/alcohol use are looked down upon as having brought death on themselves. "I cry when angels deserve to die" = "I cry when a person is deemed to have no worth because of their choices".

The biblical screams of "Father! Why have you forsaken me?" always got me...

Songs like this can give you an adrenaline rush when your driving and your not expecting it to come on

When you live with a certain degree of background anger in your life and in your mind songs like Chop Suey are incredibly soothing. It can help focus a lot of that raw energy, give it a place to exist, to burn out a little and vent or be used as positive energy. So for me, I'm TOTALLY vibing to music like this as just... background. When I'm writing code. When I'm just trying to wind down. Or when I need to wind up. It helps me access that executive function part of the brain and decide what I want to do next.

7:37 SOAD's (System of a Down) songs ALWAYS have a really deep meaning. It may not present as some deep and meaningful song but that's because it's not their style. It's rock, kind of alternative rock. So they've gotta have the heavy guitar and drums and the screaming every once in a while... but within all of that are stories of things that have happened to their people (Armenian, check out the Armenian conflicts) or what is currently happening to the people when the song was written. This song in particular is about substance abuse and how drug addicts are viewed after they die. He also draws in some parallels about Jesus and comparing his 'self-righteous suicide' (being nailed to the cross, forcing a crown of thorns on his head and finally piercing his side with a blade, etc) to the death of a drug addict. I mean... think about it. Jesus allowed himself to be nailed to the cross. Hell, he carried the damn thing. He did it because he wanted to ('You wanted to!' in the song). It begs the question... why did the drug addict overdose? 'You wanted to!' You see? 'I don't think you trust in my self-righteous suicide, I cry when angels deserve to die'. You see, when he says 'angels', he's not talking about actual angels but rather people, who at their core are pure and beautiful, like an angel. So when would a person 'deserve to die'? Well, think about it... a drug addict... Would you say they deserve to die? Doesn't that make you sad to think that people think some people 'deserve to die'? So, it makes him cry. It's not about 'deserving to die', but rather about thinking that another deserves to die. To think that, you have to ignore the purity and beauty of that person, regardless of what they have done with their lives. And it ties back to Jesus. Did Jesus deserve to die? Most would argue no. And that's exactly the point... Jesus and a drug addict. Two very different people, but still both are angels, pure beings, at their core... so why the disparity when they're both dying doing what they wanted to do? And when you really take all of this in, you might think that drug addict thinks he has been left out of God's plan somehow... that he's been forsaken. 'Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit', God, I'm dying, and I'm leaving my soul to you. Could not both Jesus and the drug addict have been thinking the same thing? 'Into your hands, why have you forsaken me?' Why am I looked down upon for dying? Why will no one think anything better of me after I'm gone? Why does it seem that everyone has forsaken me, including God? 'In your eyes, forsaken me', you see me as nothing more than a drug addict. 'In your thoughts, forsaken me', you won't even spare me in your mind. 'In your heart, forsaken me' you won't even let your heart worry and pray for me. 'Trust in my self-righteous suicide'. I know what I'm doing. I'm choosing this... but I cry when angels deserve to die. There is a very, very deep and sad meaning behind the song. But it also brings up a philosophical debate... How do we, ourselves, view the deaths of Jesus and a drug addict? Are we no better than the people he's singing about in the song? If you do end up reading this, and you understand what I've written, listen to it again. Also, about the name... Originally, it was supposed to be called 'Self-righteous suicide', but the people who approve music at the time thought it was a little too extreme, so they changed it... 'Self-right(chop) (suey)side'. Chop suey.

Hey JoJo, if you want an actual calming song from System, try Aerials. For something crazy, try Sugar

That made me legit laugh out loud in beginning when u were analyzing this song to be “nice and calm”. My son used to drive me crazy playing these guys when they came out w this album. Love u & ur Dads reactions!❤️👍🏼

Is it possible for someone to miss so much in a song. This song is full of meaning.

There are plenty of interviews with the lead singer Serj Tankian if you really are interested in learning about why he makes music. Almost every song he writes is about some form of human Injustice whether it be racism, genocide, or just straight up inequality. System of a down has to be one of the most complicated bands with Rich metaphors in their music that I've ever seen. And even though they can be very heavy at times there's a true beauty in what they do and the way they arrange their music.

This song definitely has a meaning.

Yo, your reaction was hilarious 😂😂😂.

My man, I listen to this song when my ticket printer starts spitting out tables like crazy. Your reaction is awsome.

The song does have meaning: the lyrics are challenging the listener to wake up and reconsider the way that they judge and deride people who are engaged or are engaging in self-destructive behaviors.

“Nice and calm” then the beat drops 😂😂

Your '' I want it too'' at the end killed me 😂

bro as a metalhead I can tell u this after years of listening to hard rock music I can listen to it anytime anywhere cuz that's all I listen too

Eh. The song very much has a plot. I tells the story of a day in the life of an addict, from the perspective of that Addict. Wake up Morning Routine "Why did you do x, y and z?" "You wanted to!" = Not understanding the choices you made last night Justification: "I don't think you trust in my self-righteous suicide. I cry when Angels deserve to die." - There's nothing worth living for anyway, so who cares if I'm killing myself like this? Begging for help: "Father into my hands I commend my spirit." Being hopeless when that doesn't magically fix you: "Why have you forsaken me?" Return to the start of the cycle: "Trust in my self righteous suicide." Even by rock band standards, SoaD gets pretty abstract, but once you pick up what they're throwing down, you can't unsee it.

"I don't know what I wanted to do, but it makes me feel like I should have done it" lmao this really made me laugh

you got me with "something to fall asleep to" xD

Yes, metalheads listen to this regularly. It just comes on the playlist, no matter what you're doing, and vibe.

I will listen to System Of A Down anytime. It is called Chop Suey because the original name of the song was suicide and the label told them they couldn't have it called that. So they chopped the word suicide. Chop suey

yeah we do listen to this song on the regular, just doing nothing but vibing. this is from the era of 90's kids who were always angsty, disgruntled and pissed off, that view the world with lenses made of apathy. this was our emotional vent edit: this song is also known as "angels deserve to die"

Omg you’re reaction has me busting for real lol 😂

"The drummer is wearing no shirt, just raw doggin the jeans" i lost it when you said that 😂

This song has a tremendous amount of meaning.

“No way you listen to this every day”….as I’m listening this week for the 100th time at work lmao.

i listened to this all the time when I was in the Army. Lots of Disturbed, Shinedown, Seether, Evanescence, a little bit of country. Great motivation on training and/or workouts. Or even in our shop doing our jobs. Kept the energy up.

Definitely check out Aerials. ❤️ Also, their lead singer Serj Tankian has some great solo stuff. Empty Walls, Lie Lie Lie & Sky Is Over, just to name a few. x

My late husband, a medical school professor, brilliant musician and headbanger (as am I) listened to SOAD on a daily basis after the first time he heard "Ariels". I played their Toxicity record for him the day he died. Subbed.

This is my first time seeing your videos and this is great vibes!

Something you can fall asleep to, then the face you made when it actually started. XD I'm still laughing 5 min. later. Much love to the LFR family!

It’s a really emotional song and still moves me even after 21 years after I first heard it. On another note, you’ve barely scratched the surface of Metal, just wait until you get to Whitechapel

First, there is never a bad time for metal. Metal can be played at any time, for any occasion. Second, if you want some craziness, I'm once again asking for a react to Huntress - Eight of Swords. You'll thank me.

Damn you made me laugh so bad! You’re a funny dude 😂

"I don't even know whatchu want me to do, but I feel like I shoulda done it" LMAO!!!!

The original title for this track was gonna be “Suicide” but the record label said no to that title so they chopped it (Chop Suey!)

the song 100% has meaning. you just didnt catch it

he knew from the beginning it was gonna get crazy LMAO you can see it in his eyes psyching us out "oh it's nothing too crazy, i like this, very chill"

"No way you can listen to this on a regular day." Lol this is what I listen to to start my day.

Dude the System of a Down songs have a lot of meaning, that dude didn't know what he was talking about.. There are comments on this video that explain meaning for both songs if you want to know

There's a lot going on in this song, both musically and lyrically. It touches on drug addiction, but doesn't have the somber tone that many songs about addiction have. The song can also be interpreted to be about how society views death or about Christ. Guitarist Daron Malakian, who wrote it with lead singer Serj Tankian, explained: "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.'"

i love in the beginning hes like this is calm.. and then it happens😂😂

Its so refreshing to see a rap fan actually enjoy rock music , back when i was a kid there was like a war between people that like rap music and people that like rock, i never really understood why because i always loved both rap and rock

Serj has a solo song called “Empty walls” that really show cases his vocal abilities. If you decide to check that out you should definitely to the video where he performs it with the Elect the Dead Symphony

Now that you mention their choice of clothes, I remember Anthrax being one band that dressed however they wanted to and on either a music video or live TV performance Scott Ian (the rhythm guitarist) was wearing a Public Enemy t-shirt and Chuck D thought it was cool and that led to the Public Enemy/Anthrax collaboration

Awesome reaction ! SOAD are one of a kind ! This song is genius in every way from the title to the music to the lyrics to the video ❤❤❤❤

This song is on my “go to”/everyday playlist 😂 It’s absolutely a “normal” song for me to listen to

You had me ROLLING in the beginning! “Soooo calm!” 😂😂😂

The lyrics definitely make sense and like with most songs can be interpreted many ways. This one is actually one of their more straightforward ones. The original title was going to be Suicide but they took the Sui part and their love for old school movies they watched and turned it into Chop Suey! after MTV wanted to take everything down of the song. The song to me is of a failed suicide attempt and the person is being questioned on why they hid the abuse they took hence the “wake up grab a brush and put a little makeup. Hide the scars and fade away the shake up.” “Why’d you leave the keys upon the table” is likely saying they could’ve left for good instead of leaving the house just to come back to it. The person is saying that they’re an angel and that “angels deserve to die” and the fact that they failed is why they’re questioning their god for forsaking them and not allowing them to pass. That’s what the whole self righteous suicide part is. They think they have every good reason to do what they’re doing and don’t think they should be questioned about it.

You got played my man, thought you were going to relax with this one. LOL

When he said nice and calm I laughed and said “wait” 😂😂😂

When I listen to SOAD I don’t know wether to cry for the lyrics or head banging. I love how their songs are crazy but still have deep meanings. And also the Armenian influence

the harmonies are freaking amazing.. they compliment each other so very well :)

I have seen a few videos of you, i like you, new subscriber

"Nothing too crazy, nothing too out there..." Me: "Oh just wait!" lol

I definitely listen to them almost everyday on the normal 😂😅 legit, driving and rocking out to them is a great experience. I’ll be cooking, taking a shower, cleaning, you name it and I have SOAD turned up on high. More mellow songs of theirs if any I would say check out Spiders, Aerials, or lonely day

In the future you might want to pull up lyrics with System of a Down..

You r freaking hilarious 😂 I love this song too 🤷🏻‍♀️🤣👍🤗

A lot of this song is talking about domestic abuse. "Grab a brush and put a little makeup" is wearing makeup to hide bruises and such. "Hide the scars to fade away the shake up" again, talking about covering up signs of domestic abuse. "Why'd you leave the keys upon the table?" is about moving out with no warning and just leaving. "There you go creating another fable" is about making up stories to explain away the bruises and such.

The lyrics do have meaning and do flow together. The beauty of music is that everything is up to interpretation and is filtered through your own perspective. There is the plain as day words on the paper, the meaning or metaphors that the writer intended, then what you- personally, interpret/take from the song.

My Senior year I used to listen to System of the Down before Football games, basketball games and baseball games to get hyped. In fact a few of my boys who were good players as well listened to it. We burned the CD and shared it! Great music. I was barely getting into rock that year I was strictly rap at that time.

LOVED your reaction, I've been listening to this band for years now, but watching someone react to it for the first time jacks me up!!! Hope you do more..🤘🤘🤘🔥🔥🔥

Great reaction video thank u

When is it best to listen to this? Anytime. All day. Everyday.

That was a hilarious (mean this in a good way!!) reaction! Thank you for sharing your time with us. ☮️

Lately I have been listening to it on the way to work to hype myself up for working in retail 😂

I wash dishes to this lol been listening to them since I was a little kid 😂

I love how open minded you are, even if it's not "your thing" you still appreciate the music. You're a great person!

Lonely day is a fairly calm song if you want that vibe edit: The main singer Serj Tankian is Armenian, his family survived the Armenian genocide if I'm correct. That in part inspired a lot of their music to have some political or social message.

When you said I could go to sleep to this 🤣🤣

it seems involuntarily but almost every time they did a close up of Daron he just goes “huh” 😂😂

The lyrics are symbolic, they do have meaning. Darren (the high pitched backing vocalist) tells the meaning behind it in a video. When they sing "Angels deserve to die" they're referring to when ppl Overdose, people will say they deserved it. "Trust in my self-righteous suicide" pretty much means: only you can decide when enough is enough, people say suicide is selfish, but they can't know what you or anyone else is going through. Trust me when I say it's justified. And the chorus is pretty much stating "Why do we do anything?" Because we wanted to. You could insert any "why did you" question in the chorus and it boils down to "you wanted to"

Been waiting on you to do this jam. Used to listen to this band all the time back in high-school. Also how you been bro? Just checking in. ,😁

bruhh im high af watching this vid and suddenly my phone rings and i remember i actually have chop suey on my ringtone T-T

As a teen from that era, you had me cracking up! 😂

I love how you're just vibing to the song😂 Most of SOAD song are opened to interpretation, so you're good😂👌 They were originally going to name this song Suicide. Chop Suey is a food, but it's also formed by taking the last syllable of the word 'righteous' and the first syllable of the next word 'suicide'! I-E-A-I-A-I-O is also a good song you should check out by them!

Hey Jojo, this song does have a meaning (so does Toxicity)... Guitarist Daron Malakian, who wrote it with lead singer Serj Tankian, explained: "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.'" The original name of the song was "Suicide," but Columbia Records made them change it to make it radio friendly. In the beginning of the song, you hear lead singer Serj Tankian say "we're rolling suicide." The title is a bit of a play on words - "Suey-cide." And no the title of the song "Chop Suey" is not said in the song. They used it for the name of the song because it describes their musical style, with lots of stuff thrown together. I love this song I love the mixed beat and tempo. I listen to it when driving, doing dishes, cleaning, angry or frustrated, dancing when I'm out. Yes I dance to "Chop Suey" I also dance to "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails. This song is great for getting energy out and lifting your mood, definitely not something I can fall asleep listening to. Have a great day! Nightwish with Floor Jansen on lead vocals in "Ghost Love Score" My favorite video of this song is the ultimate collections of reactors reacting to this song with Floor Jansen watching the reactions. It's a great song, please give it a try. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jaqPhcSo0MXYip8.html

it's like his brain hyperfocused on the "i want it to" and he ignored all the other lyrics in the song

Hey bud, I love your vibe why you listening to music through your hoodie though? 😂♥️

Whoever told you thier lyrics mean nothing is lying to troll. It’s incredibly deep and I can’t even imagine why someone would say it was meaningless.

The lead singer did a very calm version of "The Rains of Castamere" from Game of Thrones - check that out. Also, the song Ariels by SOAD is also really calm.

My man…good to see you again. Hope you and your family are well.

"You kinda have to make your own occasion" hahahaha yes

Some more chill songs you’ll like more are like lost in Hollywood, Ariel’s, spiders, honestly most of the mesmerize/hypnotize albums you’ll provably like more tbh.

The lyrics have a lot of meaning. Just take a listen when you are not reacting to them. Also people from my generation who were there when this first came out. It was amazing.

3:16 i listen to system of a down to fall asleep, do the dishes, cook, drive and build in bloxburg

“I like this, this ain’t too crazy” SOAD: hold my beer

Every single System of a Down song has a message. Even "Psycho", it's about the lifestyle of rockers, their lives are full of groupies ready to fuck their brains out, drugs, and everything in between. It's about how society treats you, and how fucked up people become when they're around you.

Not lying to you when I say every System of a Down song has a meaning behind it. You got to do some digging but it's there. You want mellow try Lonely Day... you want to get insane try BYOB.. you can't go wrong with these guys... and having seen them twice I can tell you that everything you hear on the album they do in concert. Exceptional Talent.👍

Love seeing you just vibing to the song, bro… 🔥

Everyone get's what they get form every song bro. Love your videos....I'm a fan!