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Song Name: The Shadow

Artist: DEVO

Album: Total DEVO

Year: 1988

Run Time: 3:25

Writing Credits: Gerald V. Casale / Mark Mothersbaugh

Sung By: Gerald V. Casale

Trivia / Info:

  • The chorus of this song is lifted directly from the famous poem The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot. [1]
  • "Reverend Jimmy and Tammy Belle" are not-so-subtle references to televangelist Jimmy Bakker and wife Tammy Faye, founders of Heritage USA. Mr. Bakker was currently facing indictment on numerous fraud charges when the album was released, and in 1989 he was found guilty and jailed.
  • (The lyrics point out that all people have innate negative behavioral influences, not just people with publicized scandals.)

Onstage Behavior: This was never played live.

Lyrics:

dr jekyll
and mr hyde
a real nice guy with a n-n-n-n-nasty side
in trouble
he tried to hide from himself
good gawd
sad man
couldn't face up to the yin and the yang
everybody
all of us got a shadow
who knows what lurks
in the hearts of men
the shadow
knows we become what we do
not what we pretend
between the intention
and the expression
between the emotion
and the response
falls the shadow
sometimes i fail to follow through
on things that i want to do
and other times i find myself
doing the very things i hate
reverend jimmy
and tammy belle
big time pumpers with a story to sell
wait a minute
their finger's pointin' at you
pay attention
listen up
don't try to deny it or cover it up
everybody
all of us got a shadow

References:

  1. Shmoop com. "The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot." Text of the Poem.

External Links:

"The Shadow" (lyrics) -- AllMusic


DEVO
Mark Mothersbaugh | Gerry Casale | Bob Mothersbaugh
Bob Lewis | Bob Casale | Jim Mothersbaugh | Alan Myers
David Kendrick | Josh Freese
Jeff Friedl | Josh Hager
Record Labels / Publishers
Booji Boy Records | Warner Brothers | Enigma | Devo, Inc. 
Stiff | Virgin | Rykodisk | Infinite Zero | Restless | Discovery | Rhino 
MVD Audio | The Orchard | Superior Viaduct | Futurismo
Production
Brian Eno | Ken Scott | Robert Margouleff | Roy Thomas Baker | DEVO 
The Teddybears | Greg Kurstin | Santi White | John King | John Hill | Mark Nishita 
Official Studio Albums
Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (1978) | Duty Now For The Future (1979) | Freedom of Choice (1980) | New Traditionalists (1981) | oh, no! it's Devo (1982) | Shout (1984) | Total Devo (1988) | SmoothNoodleMaps (1990) | Something for Everybody   (2010)
Other Albums
Be Stiff EP (1978) | E-Z Listening Disc (1987) | Now It Can Be Told: DEVO at the Palace (1989) | Hardcore DEVO Vol. 1 74-77 (1990) | Hardcore DEVO Vol. 2 1974-1977 (1991) | DEVO Live: The Mongoloid Years (1992) | DEV-O Live (1999) | Recombo DNA (2000) | Live In Central Park (2004) | DEVO Live 1980 (2005) | New Traditionalists: Live 1981 Seattle (2012) | Something ELSE for Everybody  (2013) | Miracle Witness Hour  (2014) | Live at Max's Kansas City - November 15, 1977  (2014) | Butch Devo and the Sundance Gig  (2014) | Hardcore DEVO Live!  (2015) | Art Devo 1973-1977  (2023)
Filmography
In The Beginning Was The End: The Truth About De-Evolution (1976) | The Men Who Make The Music (1981) | Human Highway (1982) | We're All DEVO (1984) | The Complete Truth About De-Evolution (1993) | DEVO Live (2004) | DEVO Live In The Land Of The Rising Sun (2004) | DEVO Live 1980 (2005) | Butch Devo and the Sundance Gig  (2014) | Hardcore DEVO Live!  (2015)
Related Articles
History | Bootlegs | Booji Boy | Devolution | Influence | The Wipeouters | Jihad Jerry & The Evildoers | Devo 2.0 | Akron, Ohio | Kent, Ohio | Music Videos | Cover Versions | Outfits

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