Jocko Homo
Encyclopedia
"Jocko Homo" is the B-side to Devo
's first single, "Mongoloid
," released as a single in 1977 on Devo's own label, Booji Boy Records and later released in the UK on Stiff Records
. The song was re-recorded as the feature song for Devo's first album, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
on Warner Bros. Records
in 1978. The original version peaked at #62 on the UK Singles Chart
. It is based on a chant from the movie Island of Lost Souls
. "Jocko Homo" introduced the call-and-response "Are we not men?" / "We are Devo", and is generally considered to be Devo's anthem. The title is taken from a 1924 anti-evolution
tract
called Jocko-Homo Heavenbound by B. H. Shadduck. The song revolves around an idiosyncratic descending guitar riff and absurdist lyrics.
's Freaks
) and "I've got a rhyme that comes in a riddle / O-Hi-O! / What's round on the ends and high in the middle? / O-Hi-O!"
The song begins in the unusual time signature of 7/8 time, but switches partway through to common 4/4 time for the call and response sections.
The original version of "Jocko Homo" lacks all call and response choruses except "Are we not men?", as well as the "God made man" bridge. This demo version appears on the Hardcore Devo: Volume One
compilation. The Booji Boy Records single version contains both the "O-Hi-O!" and the "God made man" bridge. The version on Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are DEVO!
only includes the "God made man" bridge.
Co-writer Mark Mothersbaugh
attributes the line "Are we not men?" to the 1932 film Island of Lost Souls
, an adaptation of the 1896 H.G. Wells novel Island of Doctor Moreau, from which the line actually originated. Mothersbaugh says of the film: "There were like, watered down, wussy versions of it in the later Islands Of Dr. Moreau stuff, but that was a really intense movie."
for the song "Jocko Homo" was part of the short film, The Truth About De-Evolution
, Devo's first music video
, directed by Chuick Statler. It begins with an interstitial scene of Booji Boy
running through an Akron
parking lot, up a fire escape
, and into a building. There, he meets with General Boy
, who is played by Mark Mothersbaugh's father (Robert Mothersbaugh. Sr.), and hands him papers. After an announcement from General Boy, there are a series of rapid fire cuts of the letters "D-E-V-O" set to the intro of the Devo song "Mechanical Man," and then the main video begins. In it, Mark Mothersbaugh
plays a professor, lecturing to a class of students in surgical masks, caps, and 3-D glasses
. As the song progresses, the class begins to riot. The film appears on The Complete Truth About De-Evolution.
. When asked to open for Sun Ra
, as a joke they performed a half-hour rendition of the song to annoy the crowd, according to Mark Mothersbaugh in an interview in 1997: "We'd play "Jocko Homo" for 30 minutes, and we wouldn't stop until people were actually fighting with us, trying to make us stop playing the song. We'd just keep going, "Are we not men? We are Devo!" for like 25 minutes, directed at people in an aggressive enough manner that even the most peace-lovin' hippie wanted to throw fists."
show and the 2002 Hollywood, CA show, Devo performed a drastically re-arranged and slowed down acoustic version of "Jocko Homo" (known as the "Sad" version). On the 1990 tour, the band would finish the "Sad" version and switch into the regular performance version of the song. The "Sad" version can be heard on Now It Can Be Told: DEVO at the Palace
.
An "E-Z Listening" version was recorded in a Caribbean style for playback before shows. This appears on the 1987 E-Z Listening Disc
.
In 1979, novelty group Lonnie & the Devotions recorded a cover version, in a barbershop quartet style, for Rhino Records' early Devo tribute album KROQ's Devotees.
Parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic
included a portion of this song in his first polka medley titled "Polkas on 45".
French band Justice
sampled the opening bass riff of Jocko Homo in their song "Stress" in their debut album, †
.
US band Thanatos
included a very tongue-in-cheek cover of this song as a hidden track
on the album "This Endless Night Inside".
Devo
Devo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...
's first single, "Mongoloid
Mongoloid (song)
"Mongoloid" is the first single released by Devo in 1977, on the Booji Boy Records label. It was backed with the song "Jocko Homo." "Mongoloid" also had one of the first music videos made using collage. "Mongoloid" would later be re-recorded by Devo and appeared on the album Q: Are We Not Men? A:...
," released as a single in 1977 on Devo's own label, Booji Boy Records and later released in the UK on Stiff Records
Stiff Records
Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976, by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985. It was reactivated in 2007....
. The song was re-recorded as the feature song for Devo's first album, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
Question: Are We Not Men? Answer: We Are Devo!
Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! is the debut album by the American new wave music band Devo. Produced by Brian Eno, it was recorded primarily in Cologne, Germany and released in the U.S. by Warner Bros. Records company in 1978....
on Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
in 1978. The original version peaked at #62 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. It is based on a chant from the movie Island of Lost Souls
Island of Lost Souls (1933 film)
Island of Lost Souls is an American science fiction horror film starring Charles Laughton, Richard Arlen, Leila Hyams, Bela Lugosi and Kathleen Burke as The Panther Woman. Produced by Paramount Pictures in 1933 from a script co-written by science fiction legend Philip Wylie, the movie was the...
. "Jocko Homo" introduced the call-and-response "Are we not men?" / "We are Devo", and is generally considered to be Devo's anthem. The title is taken from a 1924 anti-evolution
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
tract
Tract (literature)
A tract is a literary work, and in current usage, usually religious in nature. The notion of what constitutes a tract has changed over time. By the early part of the 21st century, these meant small pamphlets used for religious and political purposes, though far more often the former. They are...
called Jocko-Homo Heavenbound by B. H. Shadduck. The song revolves around an idiosyncratic descending guitar riff and absurdist lyrics.
Song lyrics and themes
The song's verses primarily concern themselves with the satirical view of devolution, noting foibles in human society. Most versions include a bridge that begins with "God made man, but he used the monkey to do it." The song also contains several call and response choruses, including the repeated chant "Are we not Men? / We are Devo!" "Jocko Homo," in its variations, has also contained other chants between the main verses and the closing chant. These include "We Accept You / We Reject You / One of us! One of us!" (a reference to Tod BrowningTod Browning
Tod Browning was an American motion picture actor, director and screenwriter.Browning's career spanned the silent and talkie eras...
's Freaks
Freaks
Freaks is a 1932 American Pre-Code horror film about sideshow performers, directed and produced by Tod Browning and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, with a cast mostly composed of actual carnival performers. The film was based on Tod Robbins' 1923 short story "Spurs"...
) and "I've got a rhyme that comes in a riddle / O-Hi-O! / What's round on the ends and high in the middle? / O-Hi-O!"
The song begins in the unusual time signature of 7/8 time, but switches partway through to common 4/4 time for the call and response sections.
The original version of "Jocko Homo" lacks all call and response choruses except "Are we not men?", as well as the "God made man" bridge. This demo version appears on the Hardcore Devo: Volume One
Hardcore Devo: Volume One
Hardcore Devo: Volume One is the first of two collections of demos released by the post-punk/new wave band Devo. It is currently out of print.-Overview:...
compilation. The Booji Boy Records single version contains both the "O-Hi-O!" and the "God made man" bridge. The version on Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are DEVO!
Question: Are We Not Men? Answer: We Are Devo!
Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! is the debut album by the American new wave music band Devo. Produced by Brian Eno, it was recorded primarily in Cologne, Germany and released in the U.S. by Warner Bros. Records company in 1978....
only includes the "God made man" bridge.
Co-writer Mark Mothersbaugh
Mark Mothersbaugh
Mark Allen Mothersbaugh is an American musician, composer, singer and painter. He is the co-founder of the new wave band Devo and has been its lead singer since 1972. His other musical projects include work for television series, films, and video games....
attributes the line "Are we not men?" to the 1932 film Island of Lost Souls
Island of Lost Souls (1933 film)
Island of Lost Souls is an American science fiction horror film starring Charles Laughton, Richard Arlen, Leila Hyams, Bela Lugosi and Kathleen Burke as The Panther Woman. Produced by Paramount Pictures in 1933 from a script co-written by science fiction legend Philip Wylie, the movie was the...
, an adaptation of the 1896 H.G. Wells novel Island of Doctor Moreau, from which the line actually originated. Mothersbaugh says of the film: "There were like, watered down, wussy versions of it in the later Islands Of Dr. Moreau stuff, but that was a really intense movie."
Music video
A music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the song "Jocko Homo" was part of the short film, The Truth About De-Evolution
The Truth About De-Evolution
The Truth About De-Evolution was the first music video for the band Devo, directed by Chuck Statler. Filmed in May 1976, it contains two separate songs: Secret Agent Man and Jocko Homo. It won First Prize at the Ann Arbor Film Festival in 1977, and was routinely screened before Devo live concerts...
, Devo's first music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
, directed by Chuick Statler. It begins with an interstitial scene of Booji Boy
Booji Boy
Booji Boy is a character created in the early 1970s by American New Wave band Devo. The name is pronounced "Boogie Boy"—the strange spelling "Booji" resulted when the band was using letraset to produce captions for a film, and ran out of the letter "g"...
running through an Akron
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
parking lot, up a fire escape
Fire escape
A fire escape is a special kind of emergency exit, usually mounted to the outside of a building or occasionally inside but separate from the main areas of the building. It provides a method of escape in the event of a fire or other emergency that makes the stairwells inside a building inaccessible...
, and into a building. There, he meets with General Boy
General Boy
General Boy is a character created around 1975 by New Wave band Devo. He is usually seen portrayed by the father of both Devo's lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh and lead guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh, Robert Mothersbaugh, Sr....
, who is played by Mark Mothersbaugh's father (Robert Mothersbaugh. Sr.), and hands him papers. After an announcement from General Boy, there are a series of rapid fire cuts of the letters "D-E-V-O" set to the intro of the Devo song "Mechanical Man," and then the main video begins. In it, Mark Mothersbaugh
Mark Mothersbaugh
Mark Allen Mothersbaugh is an American musician, composer, singer and painter. He is the co-founder of the new wave band Devo and has been its lead singer since 1972. His other musical projects include work for television series, films, and video games....
plays a professor, lecturing to a class of students in surgical masks, caps, and 3-D glasses
Anaglyph
Anaglyph may refer to:* Anaglyph image, a method of encoding a three-dimensional image in a single picture by superimposing a pair of pictures* Ornament carved in low relief...
. As the song progresses, the class begins to riot. The film appears on The Complete Truth About De-Evolution.
Live performances
When performed live, "Jocko Homo" is often the centerpiece of the show. During most tours, Devo strips off part of their stage costumes during the bridge, removing their iconic jumpsuits to strip down to T-shirts, shorts, and knee and elbow protectors, and when possible Mark Mothersbaugh descends into the audience to lead them a call-and-response of "Are We Not Men?/We Are Devo!" which degenerates into monkey noises. The first performance of "Jocko Homo" in 1975 went on for over twenty minutes. A portion of this appears on the album DEVO Live: The Mongoloid YearsDEVO Live: The Mongoloid Years
DEVO Live: The Mongoloid Years is a live album consisting of recordings from three early Devo performances.-Overview:The album presents parts of three Devo concerts from their early days, presented in reverse chronological order: Max's Kansas City in November 1977 , The Crypt in Akron in December...
. When asked to open for Sun Ra
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
, as a joke they performed a half-hour rendition of the song to annoy the crowd, according to Mark Mothersbaugh in an interview in 1997: "We'd play "Jocko Homo" for 30 minutes, and we wouldn't stop until people were actually fighting with us, trying to make us stop playing the song. We'd just keep going, "Are we not men? We are Devo!" for like 25 minutes, directed at people in an aggressive enough manner that even the most peace-lovin' hippie wanted to throw fists."
Other versions
On the 1988 and 1990 tours, as well as at the 1996 Park City, UtahPark City, Utah
Park City is a town in Summit and Wasatch counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City's east edge of Sugar House along Interstate 80. The population was 7,558 at the 2010 census...
show and the 2002 Hollywood, CA show, Devo performed a drastically re-arranged and slowed down acoustic version of "Jocko Homo" (known as the "Sad" version). On the 1990 tour, the band would finish the "Sad" version and switch into the regular performance version of the song. The "Sad" version can be heard on Now It Can Be Told: DEVO at the Palace
Now It Can Be Told: DEVO at the Palace
Now It Can Be Told: DEVO at the Palace is a live album released by American New Wave band Devo, recorded during their "comeback tour" in promotion of the Total Devo album. It did contain several cuts from the album, but largely focused on earlier material...
.
An "E-Z Listening" version was recorded in a Caribbean style for playback before shows. This appears on the 1987 E-Z Listening Disc
E-Z Listening Disc
E-Z Listening Disc is a 1987 compilation album released by American New Wave band Devo. It is a disc of instrumental versions of classic Devo songs performed in the style of easy listening Muzak or New Age music...
.
In 1979, novelty group Lonnie & the Devotions recorded a cover version, in a barbershop quartet style, for Rhino Records' early Devo tribute album KROQ's Devotees.
Parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
included a portion of this song in his first polka medley titled "Polkas on 45".
French band Justice
Justice (French band)
Justice is a French electronic music duo consisting of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay . The duo is one of the most successful groups on Ed Banger Records and is managed by the label's head, Pedro Winter...
sampled the opening bass riff of Jocko Homo in their song "Stress" in their debut album, †
† (album)
†, alternatively known as Cross, is the debut album of the French electro house duo Justice, released on June 11, 2007. It was certified as Silver in the UK March 13, 2009 for sales of 60,000 copies.-Recording history:...
.
US band Thanatos
Thanatos
In Greek mythology, Thanatos was the daemon personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appearing in person...
included a very tongue-in-cheek cover of this song as a hidden track
Hidden track
In the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...
on the album "This Endless Night Inside".
Chart positions
| Chart (1978) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
62 |