“Deer Dance” is a powerful and evocative song by System of a Down, featured on their critically acclaimed 2001 album, Toxicity. The lyrics, penned by Serj Tankian and Daron Malakian, serve as a potent commentary on police brutality and the suppression of peaceful protest, themes that resonate deeply within the band’s broader catalog of politically charged music. Understanding the “Deer Dance Lyrics” requires delving into the song’s raw imagery and unflinching critique of authority.
The song opens with a stark depiction of a protest scenario, immediately setting a confrontational tone:
Circumventing circuses
Lamenting in protest
To visible police
Presence-sponsored fear
These opening lines paint a picture of demonstrators attempting to navigate around metaphorical “circuses,” likely representing distractions or superficialities, while expressing their grievances. The “visible police” presence isn’t presented as a force for order but as a source of “presence-sponsored fear,” highlighting how the very presence of law enforcement can be intimidating and suppress dissent.
The lyrics quickly escalate to describe the brutal reality of police response:
Battalions of riot police
With rubber bullet kisses
Baton courtesy
Service with a smile
This section employs biting sarcasm. “Rubber bullet kisses” and “baton courtesy” are disturbing euphemisms that mask the violent nature of riot police actions. “Service with a smile” further amplifies the cynicism, suggesting a disturbing detachment and even enjoyment in inflicting pain upon protestors.
The song broadens its scope beyond a specific event to comment on broader societal issues:
Beyond the Staples Center you can see America
With its tired poor avenging disgrace
Peaceful loving youth against the brutality
Of plastic existence
“Beyond the Staples Center,” referencing the location of the 2000 Democratic National Convention protests where police brutality was indeed a significant issue, the lyrics zoom out to “America.” It portrays a nation grappling with social inequalities, where the “tired poor” and “peaceful loving youth” are met with “brutality” for challenging a “plastic existence”—a term implying artificiality, materialism, and a lack of genuine substance in modern society.
A recurring, and perhaps the most disturbing, line in “Deer Dance lyrics” is:
Pushing little children
With their fully automatics
They like to push the weak around
This line is repeated throughout the song for emphasis, and it’s a chilling indictment of power dynamics. “Pushing little children” is a metaphor for the abuse of power against the vulnerable and defenseless. The “fully automatics” carried by those “pushing” underscores the overwhelming force and the disproportionate response to dissent. The chilling phrase “They like to push the weak around” reveals a disturbing motivation – not just maintaining order, but a sadistic enjoyment of dominance.
The lyrics then introduce a desperate plea for reason amidst the chaos:
A rush of words
Pleading to disperse
Upon your naked walls, alive
A political call
The fall guy accord
We can’t afford to be neutral on a moving train
This stanza speaks to the futility of reasoned appeals (“a rush of words”) against a system that seems unresponsive and unyielding (“naked walls, alive”). “A political call” suggests the protest is inherently political, demanding systemic change. “The fall guy accord” is more obscure, possibly referencing political deals or compromises where someone is made a scapegoat. The final line, “We can’t afford to be neutral on a moving train,” is a powerful call to action, urging listeners to take a stand and not remain passive observers in a society heading in a dangerous direction.
The song culminates with the titular “deer dance”:
A deer dance, invitation to peace
War staring you in the face, dressed in black
With a helmet, fierce
Trained and appropriate for the malcontents
For the disproportioned malcontents.
The “deer dance” is presented as an “invitation to peace,” a stark contrast to the “war staring you in the face” embodied by the riot police in “black” uniforms and “helmets.” The police are described as “trained and appropriate for the malcontents,” dehumanizing protestors as “malcontents” and suggesting the police are specifically trained to suppress dissent, even if that dissent is seen as “disproportioned.”
The song ends with a poignant, almost desperate, note of hope:
A little boy smiled, it’ll all be well
And I say a little boy smiled, it’ll all be well
This repetition of “A little boy smiled, it’ll all be well” offers a glimmer of optimism amidst the bleakness. The innocence of a child’s smile becomes a symbol of hope and resilience, suggesting that even in the face of brutality and injustice, the possibility of a better future remains.
In conclusion, “Deer Dance lyrics” are a visceral and unflinching protest against police brutality and the suppression of dissent. Through stark imagery, sarcasm, and powerful metaphors, System of a Down delivers a song that is both a critique of societal power structures and a call for peace and social justice. The “deer dance” itself becomes a symbol of this yearning for peace in the face of conflict, making the song a timeless anthem for those who seek a more just and equitable world.
