Automatic Man

Song details

Bad Religion original
Yes
First released
1989
First release
No Control (album)
Songwriter
Brett Gurewitz

Lyrics

Automatic Man

He's the latest superhero with powers so profound. He can leap a dotted line in just a single bound. I know you must have seen him in books and magazines. He's the quintessential mindless modern epicene. His life is meaningful because he gets things done. Bang bang he's dead, chalk up another triumph for our hero, The Automatic Man. It's true you must have met him, he's your best friend and your foe. His opinions are determined by the status quo. A true creature of habit, he smokes three packs a day. When he has an original thought, he forgets it right away. He's a paradigm of carefree living. He's our mentor, disturb him if you can. He's the answer if your peace of mind is lacking. He's our savior, he is the common man. So if you are troubled by the daily bump and grind, Then take another look around and brother you will find... The Automatic Man.

Versions & recordings

Grouped by recording

4

Song statistics

Archive coverage at a glance

95release versions
#34

34th most featured song

84documented shows
#82

82nd most played song

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Song Interpretations

What do you think this song is about? Share your interpretation and explain your reasoning.

5

wolfbikerDec 2, 2010 · edited Dec 3, 2010
This is an indication how society and the modern world has converted humans into robots or automatons, or the automatic man. We are programmed to do how however society labels us, says "opinions are determined by the status quo", "he is the common man."
legacy memberNov 20, 2010

It seems that as a whole the album refers to none of us having semblance of control. Not at the macro level (our lives, behaviors and personas) and not at the micro level (biologically, atomically and psychologically) Because of that, it seems that the irony in this song is that we criticize others all the time for going through the motions, making bad decisions, etc. But no matter where you look, you'll see an Aut…

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It seems that as a whole the album refers to none of us having semblance of control. Not at the macro level (our lives, behaviors and personas) and not at the micro level (biologically, atomically and psychologically)

Because of that, it seems that the irony in this song is that we criticize others all the time for going through the motions, making bad decisions, etc. But no matter where you look, you'll see an Automatic Man. It's in our nature to be this way. This song speaks about it on a social/business/political level but really, it's at every level.
legacy memberFeb 9, 2006 · edited Sep 5, 2010

It talks about human nature and what humans do without direction or rules to bother them. When he says "he can leap a dotted line in just a single bound" it is about the business man who signs on the dotted line so much he can do it in a single bound. When he says "the quintessential mindless modern epicine" he says that he is the perfect example of all people male and female. "Bang bang he's dead" states about…

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It talks about human nature and what humans do without direction or rules to bother them.

When he says "he can leap a dotted line in just a single bound" it is about the business man who signs on the dotted line so much he can do it in a single bound.

When he says "the quintessential mindless modern epicine" he says that he is the perfect example of all people male and female.

"Bang bang he's dead" states about how we worship people who kill other people for their crimes against the automatic man a.k.a. humanity. It's true you must have met him he's your best friend and your foe means that he is everyone's nature. A true creature of habit , with humans being that creature, he smokes three packs a day tells us that we create things to kill ourselves and don't stop when we realize it.
legacy memberJul 11, 2004 · edited Sep 5, 2010
This song reflects on a type of person you'll meet, the type of person who has a presence and the type of person who looks like everyone else. The kind of person who can live life without any regrets, a 'paradigm of carefree living' you might say.
legacy memberJul 11, 2004 · edited Sep 5, 2010
This song is simply about the fact that the 'common man' today is mindless, obtuse, lazy, and unoriginal. It blames most of the problems in the world today on this new ideology and says the people with the most power and those who have the most control are of this type.