Released: August 28, 1978

Songwriter: Gerald Casale Bob Mothersbaugh Mark Mothersbaugh

Producer: David Bowie Brian Eno

Something about the way you taste
Makes me want to clear my throat
There's a method to your movements
That really gets my goat
I looked for silver linings
But you're rotten to the core
I've had just about all I can take
You know I can't take it no more

I've got a gut feeling
I've got a gut feeling
I've got a gut feeling, feeling

Centered 'round long time ago
On your ability to torment
Then you took your tongs of love
And stripped away my garment
I looked for silver linings
But you're rotten to the core
I've had just about all I can take
You know I can't take it no more

I've got a gut feeling
I've got a gut feeling
I've got a gut feeling, feeling

I've got a gut feeling
I've got a gut feeling, feeling

I've got a gut feeling
I've got a gut feeling, feeling

I've got a gut feeling
I've got a gut feeling, feeling

I've got a gut feeling
I've got a gut feeling, feeling

I've got a gut feeling
I've got a gut... woooo, hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo... OHHH

Slap your mammy down
Slap your pappy down again

Slap your mammy down
Slap your pappy down again

Slap your mammy down
Slap your pappy down again

Slap your mammy down
Slap your pappy down again

Slap your mammy down
Slap your pappy down again, oh move it up and down now

Slap your mammy down
Slap your pappy down again, oh move it all around now

Slap your mammy down
Slap your pappy down again, oh move it up and down now

Slap your mammy down
Slap your pappy down again, oh move it all around now

Devo

Devo, short for “De-Evolution,” formed in Kent, Ohio, in 1973. They formed as artistic response to the May, 1970 shooting of unarmed war protestors on the Kent State campus. Founding members Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale were both Kent State students at the time, and involved in SDS, along with early collaborator Bob Lewis. The idea of “De-Evolution” was an art school joke, often at the expense of the culture around them and the bad art of fellow students. Following the Kent State shootings, the joke “became real” according to the band.

“De-Evolution,” the idea that humanity was regressing instead of progressing, remains the major focus of the group. Their lyrics often contain pointed satire at human foibles, such as greed, violence, and sexual hangups. Devo’s image was a source of De-Evolutionary satire, as well, with identical, absurdist uniforms to satire conformity, and selling equally absurd Devo branded merchandise as a tongue-in-cheek response to commercialism.

Devo first performed as the Sextet Devo, at the 1973 KSU Performing Arts Festival. The next year, Devo performed as a four-piece of Mark Mothersbaugh (synthesizer), Bob Mothersbaugh (guitar), Gerald Casale (bass, vocals), and Jim Mothersbaugh (electric bongos). By mid-1975, Jim Mothersbaugh left the group, and they recruited Alan Myers on drums. Myers’s extremely tight sense of rhythm quickly earned him the nickname “The Human Metronome” by the band. Bob Casale joined the group on rhythm guitar and keyboards the same year. With two Bobs in the group, the band quickly assigned Bob Mothersbaugh the moniker of “Bob 1” with Casale assigned “Bob 2.” This lineup would endure until 1985.