Cigaro by System of a Down Lyrics Meaning – Unpacking the Symbols of Power and Vanity
Lyrics
My cock is much bigger than yours
My cock can walk right through the door
With a feeling so pure
It’s got you screaming back for
Cool, in denial
We’re the cruel regulators smoking cigaro, cigaro, cigar
Cool, in denial
We’re the cruel regulators smoking cigaro, cigaro, cigar
My shit stinks much better than yours
My stinks right down to the floor
With a feeling so pure
It’s got you coming back for more
Cool, in denial
We’re the cruel regulators smoking cigaro, cigaro, cigar
Cool, in denial
We’re the cruel regulators smoking cigaro, cigaro, cigar
Cool, in denial
We’re the cruel regulators smoking cigaro, cigaro, cigar
Cool, in denial
We’re the cruel regulators smoking cigaro, cigaro, cigar
Can’t you see that I love my cock?
Can’t you see that you love my cock?
Can’t you see that we love my cock?
We’re the regulators that de-regulate
We’re the animators that de-animate
We’re the propagators of all genocide
Burning through the world’s resources
Then we turn and hide
We’re cool, in denial
We’re the cruel regulators smoking cigaro, cigaro, cigar
Cool, in denial
We’re the cruel regulators smoking cigaro, cigaro, cigar
We’re the regulators that deregulate
We’re the animators that de-animate
We’re cool, in denial
We’re the cruel regulators smoking cigaro, cigaro, cigar
Cool, in denial
We’re the cruel regulators smoking cigaro, cigaro, cigar
My cock is much bigger than yours
My cock can walk right through the door
With a feeling so pure
It’s got you screaming back for more
At first listen, System of a Down’s blistering track ‘Cigaro’ from their 2005 album ‘Mezmerize’ might come off as an audacious exhibition of masculine bravado. But look beneath the surface—past the driving riffs and brash, repetitive lyrics—and a more complex tapestry of satire and social commentary emerges.
This isn’t just a song; it’s a scathing critique of the power structures and egos that govern society. Let’s delve into a song that at first might seem like an irreverent boast but reveals layers of meaning that resonate with the band’s penchant for political messaging.
Decoding the Phallic Euphemism and the Power Play
System of a Down has never shied away from controversy, and in ‘Cigaro’, the crude references to male genitalia serve as more than shock value. They conjure up the image of a contest of sizes, a playground for the powerful where might makes right and the comparative scale of power is literalized in the grotesquely hyperbolic ‘My cock is much bigger than yours’.
This kind of bravado, rather than simply being crude, criticizes the superficial way in which power is often flaunted and measured. The ‘door’ through which the ‘cock’ can walk symbolizes access to power, elite circles, and exclusive clubs that meet behind closed doors, governed by the ungovernable egos of the world’s rulers.
Exposing the Nihilism of Modern Materialism
The repetitive nature of the lyrics, particularly the not-so-subtle juxtaposition of ‘My shit stinks much better than yours’, interrogates the absurdity of competitive consumerism. The song suggests that modern materialism has reduced people to comparing the most base aspects of themselves, seeking validation in having more, better, and purer—even when it comes to waste.
It’s this embrace of the ridiculous that embodies the band’s humorous yet incisive take on society’s unwritten yet widely accepted norms that measure worth in accumulation and excretion of wealth, quite literally reducing human value to the byproducts of consumption.
Oppressive Regulators in a Choking Cloud of Smoke
The chorus, ‘Cool, in denial / We’re the cruel regulators smoking cigaro, cigaro, cigar’, crafts a vivid image of the elite—the ‘regulators’, power brokers puffing on cigars in a detached bubble of smoke, musing upon rules that they themselves are exempt from. Here, the cigar becomes a token of elite status, symbolic of obscene wealth and the insulation it provides.
System of a Down employs this metaphor to symbolize the smokescreen behind which society’s controllers operate. They de-regulate to suit their needs, de-animate by stifling true life and freedom, and propagate genocide, whether literally in warfare or culturally through homogenization and suppression of diversity.
The Infectious Cry of Defiance in Memorable Lines
There’s a reason ‘Cigaro’ penetrates the psyche with lines like ‘With a feeling so pure / It’s got you screaming back for more.’ The language, mocking the simplicity of the masses’ acceptance of the power play they are subject to, is infectious. It urges a singalong, drawing listeners into the absurdity.
System of a Down doesn’t just want you to listen; they want you to feel the outrage. The repetition, the raw delivery, it’s all designed to get stuck in your head—to make you remember the song, certainly, but more importantly, to remember the message long after the final chords have faded.
Uncovering the Hidden Meaning Behind the Provocation
The true mastery of ‘Cigaro’ lies not merely in its shock value but in its underlying political allegory. It’s not about the male anatomy, nor about simple toilet humor; it is, on a deeper level, an allegorical analysis of imperialistic tendencies, authoritarian governance, and the illusions of freedom peddled by those in power.
System of a Down uses the song as a vessel to challenge listeners to look beyond the overt crudeness and find a mirror reflecting back our society’s failings—a society that champions the idea of the biggest, the richest, the most powerful, yet often at the expense of the many for the benefit of the few.
