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.
A Game Of Cards
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Motorhead sherwood (dialog)
Arthur tripp (dialog)
Ian underwood (dialog)
Fz:
They're really getting professional now. in the dressing room waiting for the vanilla fudge to go off motorhead and arthur dyer tripp the third are playing cards.
Pair of queens what is this shit?
Motorhead:
Pissy, pissy poop.
Arthur:
Can I go down with two cards?
Motorhead:
Pissy, pissy poop.
Arthur:
Do it this way. give me a good chance buddy.
Motorhead:
I'll take that sonabitch.
Arthur:
You better not
Motorhead:
I took it.
Arthur:
Oh, you're running for a spade straight, are ya?
Motorhead:
I took it.
Arthur:
Oh, I got your number.
Motorhead:
Oh whaddaya know.
Arthur:
I knew it.
You have any other one I want?
(phhht!)
I hear a fuzztone.
Wahhh
Motorhead:
You shink evvyzing gonna be awright?
Arthur:
Is this an accounting office?
The lyrics of "A Game of Cards" narrate a backstage scene of Frank Zappa's touring band, in which Motorhead Sherwood and Arthur Tripp are depicted playing cards. The dialogue between the two main characters is markedly sarcastic, full of insults, and profanity. The lyrics do not provide explicit thematic or symbolic meanings but rather showcase the band's offstage environment and camaraderie. The lyrics are an instance of Zappa's frequent experimentation with spoken word pieces in his songs, which he used for social commentary and to challenge mainstream conventions.
The song's ambiguity and lack of a clear message are part of Zappa's artistic strategy, as he commonly avoided conventional song structures and subject matters. Instead, Zappa preferred to blend humor, satire, and unconventional sounds and instruments, often using his lyrics and performance to expose social and political issues. "A Game of Cards" is a short piece that embodies Zappa's nonconformity and humor, while also providing a glimpse into the backstage life of his touring band.
Line by Line Meaning
They're really getting professional now.
The group is now becoming more advanced and proficient.
In the dressing room waiting for the vanilla fudge to go off;
They are waiting in the dressing room for their preceding band to end.
Motorhead and Arthur Dyer Tripp the Third are playing cards.
Motorhead and Arthur Dyer Tripp the Third have started playing card games.
Pair of queens what is this shit?
Arthur holds two queens and finds it absurd.
Pissy, pissy poop.
Motorhead is not very communicative and says phrases like these.
Can I go down with two cards?
Arthur wants to know if he can play with a single play instead of three.
Do it this way. give me a good chance buddy.
Arthur requests Motorhead to deal cards to him properly to gain an advantage over his opponents.
I'll take that sonabitch.
Motorhead accepts Arthur's request for dealing cards and uses slang words to show his excitement.
You better not
Arthur tells Motorhead not to do something.
I took it.
Motorhead goes against Arthur's wishes and does what he had to.
Oh, you're running for a spade straight, are ya?
Arthur takes Motorhead's actions as an indicator of his game plan.
Oh, I got your number.
Arthur thinks he knows Motorhead's methods.
Oh whaddaya know.
Motorhead finds something fascinating.
I knew it.
Arthur is confident that he is aware of everything happening around him.
You have any other one I want?
Arthur wants to see if Motorhead has any other cards that he needs.
(phhht!)
Arthur makes a sound to imitate the noise of cards being dealt.
I hear a fuzztone.
Arthur hears an unusual noise.
Wahhh
Arthur reacts to the weird noise he heard.
You shink evvyzing gonna be awright?
Motorhead asks Arthur if everything is going to be okay.
Is this an accounting office?
Arthur makes a joke referencing the seriousness of the situation as if they were working in a formal office.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Arthur Dyer Tripp, EJ Sherwood, Frank Vincent Zappa, Ian Underwood
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind