Chango

You all have it wrong. DEVO was formed in response to the Kent State shootings in the 70s. At the time, the student protest atmosphere was focused on opposing the Vietnam war. Considering the tribal nature of the lyrics and implied jungle atmosphere, the song is about the Vietnam war. It could be seen as from the point of view one of our own troops. The fact that the lyrics are written with a sense of simplistic grammar implies that soldiers in the US were seen as single minded and simplistic, and at the same time, is an ironic nod to the fact that the Vietcong were seen by the government as a tribal, uncivilized society incapable of enlightened thought.

"Chango! Chango!" "I come up the river/Like beat man/I come up the river/Like skoke man fly" Simple tribal-sounding phrases, meant to establish the tone and intent of the lyrics. Chango means "monkey" in Spanish, and the Changos were a race of ancient Chileans, which establishes the dumb, tribalistic nature of the soldier. Beat man could mean "warrior", as in "I come up the river like a warrior," as combatants beat on each other with weaponry and their fists, or it could be a reference to police, who refer to their patrol path as their "beat." Skoke is a city in Slovenia, so it's likely that the term "skoke" has some unknown significance to the band, or perhaps to students at Kent State University, or the surrounding area in Ohio, or more likely, it has no meaning at all and just sounds simplistic and tribal.

"I come up the river/To kill many people" Killing many people on a riverbank implies that it's a US troop, considering the mass reports of war crimes against villages going on at the time.

"I come up the river/With my laser gun" The mentioning of a laser gun could be a reference to the band's sci-fi aesthetic, or as a reference to how a simple minded person sees his weapon as more of a toy than a tool of war.

"Your son just had intercourse with baggy breast/Your son just have intercourse with deaf Debbie." The tone of the voice changes on this verse, and seems to be from the point of view as someone else than our soldier. This could imply that it's the cousin of the soldier telling the contents of a war letter to the soldier's father. The similar grammatical style could imply that the people back home are just as thick as the soldier in the fields. The reference to intercourse could imply that the soldier raped an old and feeble Vietnamese woman (baggy breasts) or someone with a disability (deaf Debbie). Rape accusations were common during the war.

"My mommy didn't hold me when I was young/Didn't give me breast and went insane" Obviously, the soldier was neglected basic affection and needs as a child, and grew up with a mentally unstable mother, which could lead to all sorts of problems. This could imply that this gave our soldier sociopathic characteristics, which he then takes out on the enemy, like an angry simpleton.

This is then followed by a repeat of the first verses, which brings the song full circle: The soldier is an idiot who's killing and raping enemies in Vietnam without any grasp of the consequences or morals of the situation, wielding his gun like a toy because his mom didn't love him enough as a child.

This kind of angry barbarian trying to cope with mental issues was how soldiers were seen in the 70s. Many soldiers came home to large protests and discrimination. The song could be a deeply layered ironic nod to how soldiers were seen, or to draw parallels between the US Army and the Vietcong, or perhaps members of DEVO disliked soldiers serving in Vietnam for the war crimes a number of them committed.