Mr. Roboto

"Mr. Roboto" was written by Styx singer/keyboard player Dennis DeYoung, who sang lead on the track. In the early '80s, the First Assembly Church of God in Ankeny, Iowa, made news by burning albums with what they considered "Satanic influences." Styx was one of their targets because of the band name: In Greek mythology, the River Styx runs through Hades (hell). This got him thinking about censorship, which formed the central concept of the song. Later, he saw a documentary on robots put to work in factories. DeYoung had been to Japan with the band and was intrigued by their culture. He merged these concepts of censorship, robotics and Japan into "Mr. Roboto," the story of a human/robot hybrid who is called upon to save the world.

Some of the lyrics are in Japanese. The first few lines translate to "thank you very much, Mr. Roboto, until we meet again. Thank you very much Mr. Roboto, I want to know your secret."

Kilroy Was Here is a concept album that is a commentary on censorship. "Kilroy" is the main character of the album, a famous rock star who is sent to prison by a group called The Majority For Musical Morality. In jail, workers have been replaced by robots called "robotos," and Kilroy escapes inside a robot costume (thus, Mr. Roboto). This song is about his escape from jail; it makes a statement about the dehumanizing of the working class.