Chop Suey!

I've read through a few comments here and it seems to me that alot of people are way off what I think is the most obvious interpretation of this song.

Verse:

Based on my own experience from growing up with psychic and physical abuse from my fosterfather, it hits me right away how similar these lines are to what I would hear. The verse perfectly nails the terror, pressure and intensity from the father's frustration and rage, who's blaming his child for his abusive behaviour (you wanted to). At the same time the father demands that he should wake up/step up and be a man, instead of looking small and shaken (hide the scars to fade away the shakeup), be strong, put a smiling mask on and act like nothing wrong has ever happened (wake up, grab a brush and put a little makeup). The father is acting like this in fear of his childs depression/sadness provoking suspicion about his behaviour, and wants him to hide it. A child growing up in an environment like this is not likely to be able to realize the wrongs of his father, and is more likely to adapt to his fathers blames and start accusing himself, feeling shameful about it and hiding it, thinking that whatever happens is something he deserves, becoming self-destructive (When angels deserve to die). Angels in this case refers to the innocent children/victims of abuse.

Chorus:

Now this also seems familiar to me. Growing up in a christian community usually means you're thaught to seek comfort in Jesus - and I believe it tries to describe the paradox when the child interprets his life as being forsaken and let down by the promises of the bible, or any notion/opposition that would claim that if he lives an acceptable life and "commends his spirit", his life would become better. He have though, due to his childhood and his fathers mockery, developed a behaviour that would make him vulnerable in any social situation, and he would easily find himself being the victim of abuse in school or to anyone who would want to boast upon him. I believe this compares to how he tries in vain to live up to his fathers demands in a similar manner to how he feels that he commends his spirit in vain to the bible. The question is: can you really blame anyone that experienced something like this to turn his back on everything and commit a suicide? He felt guilty and self-righteous about it, and certainly felt he deserved to die. I get chills whenever I hear this song, because it is, at least the way I see it, a extremely sad story.

This song becomes really interesting if you're able to see how the concept is true on so many levels, and not only in the home of domestic violence, although one of the brilliant things about lyrics like these, is how they are open for your personal interpretation.