Gates Of Steel

Beautiful song indeed. One of the best social commentaries of what us humans are.

"half a goon and half a god" is a perfect description of what us humans are. What are humans if not beings trying to be perfect, but end up acting stupid. We keep repeating and we still fail. That's because we shouldn't try to be perfect. We're real, not made of steel.

The whole DEVO concept was about social commentary. The music was about evolution, religion, the cold war and nuclear annihilation, etc..

Mark Mothersbaugh, and some of the other members, were students at Kent State University in the early 70s when the Ohio National Guard shot and killed (murdered) several unarmed students on campus after a peaceful Vietnam protest and that forever changed his life and out of that came DEVO.

I have always thought this song is poignant for some reason. Maybe its the chord progression, or the robotic-yet-moody synth tones, or the fact that Devo were pretty much right on about the theory of devolution. Is there some kind of positive call to action in this song? It seems to start and end that way, with a comment on modernist apocalyptic subversion occupying the entire middle, punctuated with the alternate voice blurting "A man is real, not made of steel." (sigh)

Jerry Casale answered a question about Gates Of Steel during a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" session:

Q: "Gates of Steel is a contender for my all-time favorite song. Can you share anything about how the song came about?"

A: "I was working a horrible job at a Methadone clinic and I needed a release."

I don't know if the song is about methadone clinics, but, It seems to be the reason the song exists.

I agree, this song is beautiful.

I think the ape regarding his tail, being stuck on it, and being half goon, half god is talking about being a mind trapped in a physical body, being an angel or a computer or whatever that's still pulled on by hairy monkey urges.

People try to say the physical world is illusion, but a "man is real, that's how he feels." Other people try to say that the man can decide everything logically without emotion, but "a man is real, not made of steel" - the body is more than just a robot, it's got glands that influence the brain.

This song plays into the whole De-Evolution thing. To me, it's about how no matter how hard we try we really aren't that far off from the apes we derived from--there's nothing special about us--and then the duality of the ego refusing that notion and wanting to be more than the sum of your parts.

With "Come Back Jonee" as a total subversion of classic rocker "Johnny B. Goode", this song establishes that the demolition of classic rock tunes is a Devo M/O. Here we get a namedrop of "Twist and Shout". It is only a namedrop this time however. Thematically, "Gates of Steel" is a different beast, though that namedrop has a purpose. By conjuring that happy song from the past, a song people loved to dance to, it makes you notice how comparatively hopeless things are getting now. The idea of twisting and shouting used to be a good time, but now it sounds like something unpleasant.

The constant rhythm and melody seem to emphasise the repetitive nature of denial and maturity (in a patterned malaise)

This song is obviously about psychedelics, enlightenment and opening the doors of consciousness.

We might be overthinking the meaning. In typical Devo fashion, a tongue in cheek view of our lives. Gates of steel is about getting your braces off your teeth.