Prior to their formation, David Jones, the main songwriter in Enemy You, recorded several releases with his band After School Special on Mutant Pop Records. After AFS broke up, Enemy You was formed and began rehearsing together. After Enemy You began writing tunes together as a band it wasn’t long before they received interest from Ben Weasel and his fledgling label, Panic Button Records. This led to their debut appearance on the four-way split dubbed Four On The Floor alongside Screeching Weasel, Teen Idols, and Moral Crux. This was followed by their debut album Where No One Knows My Name.
Based on the albums success the band was asked to open for a number of notable punk bands including, Bouncing Souls, Lagwagon, Bad Religion, TSOL, Mad Caddies, and NOFX.
Before releasing their second full-length CD Stories Never Told, the band decided to release an 80's-themed seven inch EP that came out on Geykido Comet Records.
Enemy You has since signed with Nitro Records and will be in the studio for their third LP by 2007.
Automaton
Enemy You Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I know the secret and I'm going underground
My eyes have seen the things they never should have seen
And now they know it and they're coming for me
They'll keep trying in any way
But I'll be running every day (and I'll be hoping for you)
Skins with cyborgs beneath
They're automatons
And they're coming after me
Only toil, strife and time have brought me to this end
Thought I was different but I'm just the same as them
And all the thoughts and ideas I believed were mine
Are only borrowed from someone from another time
Don't you cry for me today
I never had a chance anyway ('cause under my skin it's the same)
Automaton
Skins with cyborgs beneath
They're automatons
They're coming for me
They're automatons
Less man than machine
They're automatons
And they're just like you and me
whoa-oh (x4)
The lyrics to Enemy You's song "Automaton" are a commentary on the loss of individuality and the rise of conformity in modern society. The singer is someone who has seen the truth about the world and has decided to go underground to escape from those who want to silence him. He/she has realized that people are becoming more and more alike, like automatons, with no original thoughts or ideas. The singer sees him/herself as just part of the same faceless mass of society, living a life of toil, strife, and time.
The chorus uses the metaphor of "skins with cyborgs beneath" to describe how people are becoming less human and more machine-like. The singer is being pursued by these automatons, who are "less man than machine" and just the same as everyone else. The lyrics are a warning about the loss of individuality and the need for people to break away from the conformity that is taking over society.
Line by Line Meaning
By the time you get this note I will be nowhere to be found
I am going into hiding to protect myself from the people who are after me
I know the secret and I'm going underground
I possess knowledge that has made me a target and I will be keeping a low profile
My eyes have seen the things they never should have seen
I have witnessed things I was not meant to and now I am in grave danger
And now they know it and they're coming for me
My enemies have discovered that I know too much and they are after me
They'll keep trying in any way
My enemies will not stop trying to get me no matter what
But I'll be running every day (and I'll be hoping for you)
Although I will be constantly on the run, I will still have hope and be thinking of you
Only toil, strife and time have brought me to this end
Through hard work, struggle, and the passage of time, I have found myself in this difficult situation
Thought I was different but I'm just the same as them
I believed I was unique, but I have come to realize that I am no different from my adversaries
And all the thoughts and ideas I believed were mine
The concepts and beliefs I held as my own were actually borrowed from the past
Are only borrowed from someone from another time
The things I say and think were not original to me, they were ideas from people who lived before me
Don't you cry for me today
Please do not weep for me in this moment
I never had a chance anyway ('cause under my skin it's the same)
I was doomed from the start as I am just like everyone else, regardless of my choices and actions
Automaton
A machine that operates automatically
Skins with cyborgs beneath
People who appear human on the surface but are actually half-human, half-machine underneath
They're automatons
These beings are not truly alive but instead are driven by programming
And they're coming after me
These cyborgs are pursuing me
Less man than machine
These beings are more machine than human in terms of their makeup and behavior
And they're just like you and me
Despite the way they look, these automatons are not so different from ordinary people like you and me
whoa-oh (x4)
A musical interlude with no lyrical meaning
Contributed by Isabelle D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.