Automatic Man

"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. 'he's our mentor, disturb him if you can!'"

   -Captain

"I read another interpretation of this, and have to disagree.  I believe it is more a commentary on the modern take of the hero.  I am a comic fan, so its obvious why i believe this.  Basically, heroes in the modern movies and the like are not using their minds, or anything of the sorts.  They pull out a gun, and fire at will.  Basically, it points out that this is not such a wonderful feat. Furthermore, if you note... Automatic man.  Like Superman.  Or Batman.  The parallels..."

   -Maarek Romulus Darrion

"Automatic Man is quite a beautiful song for a variety of reasons. Being on an album like No Control you would expect it to be a raw short pulse pounding romp and it is, but the way Greg delivers the lyrics are just plain powerful no two ways about it. The way he strains his voice as the song comes to the conclusion used to send shivers down my spine. Like most Bad Religion songs (well not most but many) the lyrics are both very up front and straight forward but there is clearly a hidden meaning behind what is being sung. 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. While not the absolute best Bad Religion song, or even the best on No Control, it will always be one of the greats."

   -Alex S.