System Of A Down's 2005 record Hypnotize has plenty of bangers on it, including "Vicinity Of Obscenity". And if you've ever heard that song, then you know the repeating lyrics around "Banana terracotta pie." Given System Of A Down's usual penchant for all things political, surely banana terracotta pie symbolizes something, right? Nope.
In an interview with Mythical Kitchen, Tankian explained that the lyric essentially means nothing and was just a fun thing to add in.
"I mean, you know, it's Dada-esque, basically. I like creating relationships between things that don't have a pre-existing one. I was thinking of banana. I don't know how it even came up in my head, but banana terracotta pie. Like, I'm thinking, 'okay, so this is a banana. Where is the terracotta? Like, what does that have to do with the price of beans, right?'
"So, it's kind of… what I do remember is our producer, Rick Rubin. At first, he was just like, when we were playing it in rehearsals, it was just the song. I can't even say he… Like, he didn't like it at all. Like, he was just like, we'd play it, and he'd just be like, 'what is that?' Like, he would just be like… By the time that we actually went through recording it and he had heard it enough times, he said, it's one of my favorite songs on the record. I can't imagine putting out this record without this song.
"It's one of those that just kind of hassle you into loving it, you know?"
On the juxtaposition of deeply political lyrics and ridiculous ones like "banana terracotta pie", Tankian explained that solely preaching to their audience wouldn't have gone over well.
"[Ridiculous lyrics] makes it more palatable, because if you just preach, no one's gonna listen. But if you're laughing, if you're doing, you know… like, you gave the 'Prison Song' as a great example, you know? And then Daron [Malakian, guitarist and vocalist] comes in with his kind of funny, 'buy my crack, my smack, my bitch,' whatever.
"And he's just like, funny. You know, it's like… Suddenly there's a light mood, and then boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Serious, serious, light mood, you know? It's like, same with the music. Fast, slow, slow, fast, you know, or heavy and mellow, whatever."
