The Story Behind: "Chop Suey!"

Chop Suey! Is the very first single from the American alternative metal band System of a Down on their second record Toxicity, which was released in 2001. The song was ranked number one spot on Loudwire's Best Hard Rock Songs Of The 21st Century list, received a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance in 2002 and is considered to be the band's signature song.  

Origin of the Title

Chop Suey is a dish that originated from China. It is a stew made from fish or meat with onions, bamboo sprouts and rice. But believe it or not, the song isn't about the dish! The song's title was supposed to be Suicide, but it was later changed by Columbia Records to make it more radio friendly. The band changed the title to Chop Suey, as a play on words – »Suey-cide«, though some copies of the song include an intro where a phrase "We're rolling 'Suicide" can be heard in the background before the guitar starts playing.   

Meaning of the Lyrics

The band never stated the meaning of the song, so the fans can interpret the song itself. Many believe that the song talks about suicide (which would make sense considering the original title). The lines "grab a brush and put a little makeup" on and "hide the scars and fade away the shakeup" would suggest that it is talking about a person whom is depressed, and doesn't want to show that they are traumatized. Other people believe that the song's meaning is based on religion, where the verse "Wake up, grab a brush and put on on a little make up"  is talking about stories that were never told in the bible. 

Music Video

The music video for the song was directed by Marcos Siega, whom also worked with Weezer, Papa Roach and Blink-182. The video is set in a car park in front of a motel in Los Angeles. In the video, the band performs the song in front of their fans (about 1000 of them), which they invited through their website. The video also shows a scene, in which Tankian eats chop suey with some fans, which is an homage to the song’s altered title.