Mr. Jack (song)
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| “Mr. Jack” | |||||
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| Song by System of a Down | |||||
| Album | Steal This Album! | ||||
| Released | November 26, 2002 | ||||
| Format | CD | ||||
| Recorded | 2002 | ||||
| Genre | Alternative metal | ||||
| Length | 4:10 | ||||
| Label | American/Columbia CK 87062 |
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| Writer | Serj Tankian, Daron Malakian | ||||
| Producer | Rick Rubin, Daron Malakian | ||||
| Steal This Album! track listing | |||||
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Mr. Jack is a song by System of a Down from the album Steal This Album!. On the leaked demo version of it, Toxicity II, it was called "Side of the Freeway". In between verses of this song live recently it has made a rumor that it is a song called Hezze and was almost released on Hypnotize but ended up being replaced by Attack.
[edit] Origin
This song is one of the oldest System of a Down songs recorded, because it was originally on their 1995 pre first demo tape as P.I.G. with the arrangement in reverse. This was clearly in mind when System of a Down wrote Spiders for the first album, but was not used until the Toxicity II sessions and then on Steal This Album!.
The album version of the song features a duo between the band singers Serj Tankian and Daron Malakian, while the demo only features Serj. The demo also has bongos on the bass intro.
[edit] Song Meaning
Amongst the other songs from the album, this song is popular amongst fans and the band itself, possibly because of its highly discussable lyrics. The song's meaning is under discussion.
- It has been interpreted to portray the revengeful murder of some governmental officer. Mr. Jack is the government official who works in a lofty position and is used to being superior to regular citizens, and while he is on the freeway at 7 A.M., he is pulled over by regular little men with big guns who blind him with mouthwash and shoot him to death in his car; hence the term, "On the side of the freeway in the car," where he is left dead until later noticed. This is interpreted in such a manner due to the exact definition of demise from the English dictionary: a death, especially of a person in a lofty position.
Mr. Jack must have done or been doing something cruel or unfair, and people wanted revenge for his unjust actions. So, they shot him when he was fleeing the scene, "You ran the light at dawn, lights are on the track, meaning he knew he did something wrong and he fled early in the morning so not to be detected. He was surprised, "Is that the cause of your surprise?" Jack is the pig referred to in the ending.
On a more general scale, the song could portray the way the government mistreats citizens on occasion. Mr. Jack could represent the entire government or entire body of people in loft positions all around the world. Then, the killing of the culprit in an act of retaliation of the general public; the people themselves striving for social justice.
- This song has also been interpreted to portray a drug dealer that is being arrested. The lyrics may be seen as what the drug dealer is thinking while he is waiting in his car. The title Mr. Jack is probably a reference to the shady names drug dealers usually give themselves.
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