Zappa's earliest influences were 1950s pop and rock (such as doo-wop and rhythm and blues), and 20th-century classical composers including Igor Stravinsky and Edgard Varèse. His output was divided between adventurous instrumental compositions and succinct, catchy rock songs with ribald, satirical, or comically absurd lyrics. On stage he demanded virtuosity and spontaneity from his musicians, and employed many performers who would later go on to achieve fame in their own rights. He directed and released a number of films featuring himself, his musicians and entourage, including 200 Motels and Baby Snakes.
His career started in 1955. His earliest recordings date from the mid-1960s, and include collaborations with his school friend Captain Beefheart. In 1965 he joined a bar-band called The Soul Giants, quickly dominating its musical direction and rechristening it The Mothers. Their first release (as The Mothers of Invention; the name alteration requested by their record company) was the 1966 double album Freak Out!. The line-up of the Mothers gradually expanded to accommodate Zappa's increasingly ambitious and avant-garde music, but by 1969 he decided to work outside the band structure, focusing on his solo career, and effectively disbanding the Mothers in 1971.
The beginnings of his solo career in the late sixties and early seventies was characterised by a strong free jazz influence, with albums containing little, if any, lyrical content, such as Hot Rats, Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo. Towards the mid-seventies his albums became more rock-orientated, with a combination of Jazz Fusion instrumentation and Rock song structures. This more accessible sound bore reasonable mainstream appeal, especially with the release of the well-advertised albums Over-Nite Sensation and Apostrophe (') (which both went Gold), but Zappa's unpredictably eclectic output never led to solid mainstream recognition. He received uniformly lukewarm reviews from popular music publications such as Rolling Stone throughout his career. In his late seventies' output, the gulf between his humorous songs and more lengthy, complex instrumental music widened, and albums, such as Zappa in New York, Joe's Garage: Acts I, II & III, and Sleep Dirt displayed, by track, both sides firmly segregated.
Zappa saw a second run of success in the early eighties with the release of many albums with predominantly comedic rock songs, but later continued to experiment with virtually every style of music through the eighties, and was productive as ever until his death. His output in this later-career period included two albums of strikingly original classical music with the London Symphony Orchestra, an electronic take on 18th-century chamber music (written by the obscure Italian composer 'Francesco Zappa', no relation), an album of Synclavier compositions (misleadingly titled Jazz From Hell which garnered a Grammy award), a double-CD release of electric guitar instrumental music (the laconically titled Guitar) and a plenitude of official live releases, revisiting fan-favourites as well as showcasing Zappa's talent for reinventing the music of others; his version of Stairway to Heaven becoming a word-of-mouth favourite.
Zappa produced almost all of his own albums, spending many hours in the studio recording and manipulating tracks, and was always at the forefront of emerging technologies; from tape editing, collage, multitrack and overdubbing in the sixties to digital recording, electronic instruments and sampling in the eighties. Conversely, Zappa was also a obsessive self-archivist, recording virtually every one of his live performances, and often using live recordings of new material without needing to enter the studio. The archive of tapes at his family home in Los Angeles continues to be a source of posthumous releases for the Zappa Family Trust. He was also noted as a spotter of talent and his shifting line-up of musicians included Lowell George, Jean-Luc Ponty, Terry Bozzio, Chad Wackerman, George Duke, Mike Keneally, Adrian Belew and Steve Vai, as well as giving Alice Cooper his first break in music and working again with his old collaborator Captain Beefheart when his career was in decline.
In the late 1980s he became active in politics, campaigning against the PMRC's music censorship scheme and acting as culture and trade representative for Czechoslovakia in 1989; and considered running as an independent candidate for president of the US.
His death in Los Angeles, California, on 4th December 1993 came three years after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
16 The Torture Never Stops
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In this dungeon of despair
Prisoners grumblin
Piss they clothes
Scratch their matted hair
A tiny light from a window-hole
Hundred yards away
That all they ever get to know
'Bout the regular life in the day
Slime and rot and rats and snuck
Vomit on the floor
Fifty ugly soldier men
Holdin' spears by the iron door
Stinks so bad, stones are chokin'
Weepin' greenish drops
In the den where
The giant fire puffer works
And the torture never stops
The torture never stops, torture
The torture never stops
The torture never stops
Flies all green and buzzin'
In this dungeon of despair
An evil prince eats a steamin' pig
In a tumbers right near there
In the chambers right near there
He eats de snouts an trotters first!
The loins and the groins are then dispersed
His carvin' style is well rehearsed
He stands and shouts
All men be cursed (4x)
And disagree it, well no one durst
He the best of cause of all the woist
Best of cause of all the woist
He stinks so bad his stones been chokin'
Weepin' greenish drops
In the room with the iron maiden
And the torture never stops, torture
Torture never stops
Torture never stops, torture
Torture never stops
Flies all green and buzzin'
In dungeon of despair
Who are'll those people
That is shut away down there
Are they crazy
Are they sainted
Are they heroes someone painted
Someone painted
Are they -isms
Later ornated
Once they come they have been tainted
Once they come they have been tainted
Never been explained
Since at first it was created
But a dungeon and his kin'
Require naught but lockin' in
Of any anything that's been
Could be a her but it's probly a him
Could be a her but it's probly a him
Its what's the deal were dealin' in
Its what's the deal were dealin' in
An he stinks so bad it's hurt
To the pearl and the piles of blast
Any dungeon have a trailer
Were the torture never stops, torture
Torture never stops
Torture never stops, torture
Torture never stops
Torture never stops, talkin' to you
Torture never stops
Frank Zappa's "The Torture Never Stops" is a grotesque and macabre depiction of a dungeon of despair where prisoners suffer and the torture never stops. It is a vivid narration of the oppressing and inhumane situation in the dungeon- the prisoners wearing clothes soaked in urine, scratching their matted hair, and being surrounded by slime, rot, rats, and vomit on the floor. In contrast, they get to glimpse a tiny light from a window-hole, located a hundred yards away, a symbol of the regular life in the day. However, this is all they can ever see, a hint of light in their dark existence and the continuous torture they endure.
In the second and third verses, Zappa introduces an evil prince who resides near the prisoners' dungeon, feasting on pig parts and shouting curses. The atmosphere is so putrid that stones choke, and greenish drops weep, from the people and their environment. The prisoners' place becomes more sinister as we learn about the torture instruments in their room, the iron door, and the iron maiden.
The fourth verse is deeper and questions the status of the prisoners. Who are they? Are they crazy, sainted, or heroes painted? The fifth verse elaborates on the fact that once someone gets into the dungeon, they get tainted, and it's never clear why they are there. The last verse mentions the dungeon as a trailer, but the torture never stops, and it concludes with an addressing of the audience, "talking to you."
Line by Line Meaning
Flies all green and buzzin'
There are a lot of green flies buzzing around in this unpleasant place
In this dungeon of despair
The setting is a dark and miserable dungeon
Prisoners grumblin'
The prisoners are complaining
Piss they clothes
The prisoners are so oppressed that they are forced to urinate on themselves
Scratch their matted hair
The prisoners are scratching their tangled hair out of frustration
A tiny light from a window-hole
There is only a small beam of light coming from a distant window
Hundred yards away
The window is far away from the prisoners
That all they ever get to know
The little bit of light is all the prisoners are able to see and know about the outside world
'Bout the regular life in the day
This small amount of light is all they will ever know about the normal life on the outside
Slime and rot and rats and snuck
The dungeon is filled with disgusting substances and animals
Vomit on the floor
Someone has gotten physically sick in this dire and unsanitary place
Fifty ugly soldier men
There are very unappealing men guarding the dungeon
Holdin' spears by the iron door
These men are carrying spears and guarding the iron door of the dungeon
Stinks so bad, stones are chokin'
The putrid smell is so strong that it feels like rocks are stuck in people's throats
Weepin' greenish drops
The environment is so bad that even the walls seem to be crying strange green substances
In the den where
This takes place in a particular room
The giant fire puffer works
There is a machine, possibly used for torture, that is powered by a powerful flame
And the torture never stops
The captives are in a never-ending state of torment and suffering
Torture never stops, torture
This line repeats the statement about the endless suffering in a more forceful and intense way
An evil prince eats a steamin' pig
There is a cruel and powerful figure, possibly the captives' oppressor, enjoying a luxurious meal nearby
In a tumbers right near there
This meal is taking place in an adjacent room
He eats de snouts an trotters first!
The evil prince starts his meal by consuming the less appetizing parts of the pig
The loins and the groins are then dispersed
The better parts of the pig are then distributed as well
His carvin' style is well rehearsed
This tyrant is very practiced in carving and serving his food
He stands and shouts
The prince is standing and verbally dominating those around him
All men be cursed (4x)
The prince makes a repetition of how unhappy he is with everyone around him
And disagree it, well no one durst
No one wants to challenge or offend this powerful prince
He the best of cause of all the woist
This oppressive tyrant is the worst possible kind of person
Who are'll those people
The captives are curious about who else may be trapped in this dungeon
That is shut away down there
They are guessing that those people are also trapped with them in the dungeon
Are they crazy
The prisoners question if the other captives are insane
Are they sainted
Or if they are revered for their piety
Are they heroes someone painted
Possibly the other people down there are celebrated as heroes by someone else
Are they -isms
Perhaps the other captives are part of a certain ideology
Later ornated
Or perhaps they have historically been decorated as a type of honor
Once they come they have been tainted
Regardless of their previous status, once imprisoned in the dungeon, they are considered damaged
Never been explained
There is no clear answer for who may be down there
Since at first it was created
This is an ongoing mystery since the creation of the dungeon
But a dungeon and his kin'
The concept of the dungeon will always require keeping people locked away
Require naught but lockin' in
Locking people in the dungeon is the only necessary condition
Of any anything that's been
Anyone that has been problematic or unwanted will do
Could be a her but it's probly a him
There may be any gender or type of person down there, but probably a male
Its what's the deal were dealin' in
At the core, the dungeon represents a bargain made between those in power and those who are kept restrained and suffer
And he stinks so bad it's hurt
The tyrannical prince smells just as bad as the rest of the dungeon's unappealing characteristics
To the pearl and the piles of blast
The smell is so horrific that it clings to everything, including treasure (pearl) and garbage (blast)
Any dungeon have a trailer
There is always a place where the torturers can operate and continue this never-ending wealth and power cycle
Were the torture never stops, torture
The song ends with emphasizing that the torture will never cease, ensuring that even if the tyrants die off one day, their legacy will continue
Torture never stops
Repeating its message one final time for full effect
Torture never stops, talkin' to you
By addressing the listener directly in its final moments, the song forces them to come to terms with the bleak message it has laid out
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Vincent Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Marco Trindade
Este homem mostrou ao mundo que pra se fazer música de qualidade não se precisa de drogas. Ele é um exemplo a ser seguido. Um gênio que não precisava de artifícios!
Carlos Laerte F. da Silva
Disse tudo. Sempre achei isto e acho que nunca estive errado,a música por si só abre a percepção.
Ary Pádua
a mais pura verdade.
Clint Stewart
Verdade !!!
coreena mcdemart
IN Loving Memory of my deceased boy friend who died from cancer and loved Frank Zappa, the torture never stops for me !!!!may they both rest in peace
Petra Weigert
R.I.P. Life is so hard. My husband died 1 year ago, cancer too. He looks like Frank and he loved Frank so much. He was 33 years my friend, my love forerver. When I hear Frank it helps. All good whishes for you
Harrison James
@MountainGod.Inosuke 1+-+
TheMechanic
The Oxxidental Oxx God bless! Life long fan of Zappa too. Cheers, from Norway
Veronica Grey
I hope it gets easier for you. Although one never truly gets over the deaths of special people it becomes a little more bearable as the decades pass. Peace and best wishes.
Billy Brane
From his beginnings as a director of orchestra to Jazz From Hell. Pure, unadulterated genius. His insight and creativity is unsurpassed. Each note accounted for and played with precision. Most folks couldn't get passed the words as the music kicked at their empty heads....they miss the whole point. He is missed. A true pioneer in music.