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 Very Nice Body
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Roy: I kind of miss him
Louis: Yeah, me too
Roy: Getting on top of him and all
Louis: He had a very nice body too
Roy: Yeah, even though he was a, a . . . Oh well
Louis: A dual personality, you know
Roy: Yeah
Roy: What did he go out there for anyway?
Louis: Maybe . . .
Roy: Maybe he wanted to get on top of one of those horse . . . ponies
Louis: Yes, maybe he wants to have intercourse with them!
Roy: What?
Louis: Intercourse!
Roy: Well, if he doesn't get clawed first
Louis: Yes, that's right. But, maybe, maybe he will find a real nice, a very nice kind horse, you know
Roy: A horse, yeah horse. Whore-sss
Louis: Boogey-man or something. Something out there. You might find a nice kind . . .
Roy: Boogey-man?
Louis: Well, something, you know. I don't know what it is myself - a horse - 'cause human beings, decent human beings. Nice place to live
Roy: Beans? You call them human beans?
Louis: And then before they turn to be boogey-men or . . .
Roy: That's why they came into the Steinway
Louis: Yes, that's why 'cause I just couldn't take them anymore, you know. They were vicious, too vicious. So I had to go, I had to, I had to come in here
Spider: Like, we can't understand what they're saying to each other
John: I know
The lyrics of the song A Very Nice Body by Frank Zappa are a conversation between Louis, Roy, Spider, and John discussing someone's dual personality and strange behavior of going out to get involved with horses. The conversation indicates that the person being discussed had a nice body, leading to further discussions about potential sexual encounters with horses. The conversation also implies a sense of fear and caution about the unknown and unpredictable nature of such encounters.
Zappa's song effectively criticizes and satirizes the taboo of bestiality and its disturbing nature by showcasing the ridiculousness of the situation at hand. The lyrics suggest that the person being discussed is potentially dangerous as a result of their dual personality, and their obsession with horses is both irrational and dangerous.
Through the song, Zappa also comments on society's inability to understand and accept those with mental illness or differing psychological conditions. The characters in the song display ignorance and fear towards the person with a dual personality, showing a lack of empathy and understanding towards those with mental illnesses.
Line by Line Meaning
Louis: Yes . . .
Louis acknowledges Roy's statement and starts discussing the person they miss.
Roy: I kind of miss him
Roy expresses his feelings of missing someone.
Louis: Yeah, me too
Louis affirms that he also misses the same person.
Roy: Getting on top of him and all
Roy makes a suggestive comment about being physically close to the person they miss.
Louis: He had a very nice body too
Louis comments on the person's attractive physical appearance.
Roy: Yeah, even though he was a, a . . . Oh well
Roy suggests that the person they miss may have had some undesirable qualities.
Louis: A dual personality, you know
Louis speculates that the person they miss had a split personality.
Roy: Yeah
Roy agrees with Louis' speculation.
Louis: We have to think of what he's doin' out there?
Louis wonders what the person they miss is doing outside of their current situation.
Roy: What did he go out there for anyway?
Roy questions the reason for the person they miss leaving their current situation.
Louis: Maybe . . .
Louis begins to speculate on possible reasons for the person leaving.
Roy: Maybe he wanted to get on top of one of those horse . . . ponies
Roy makes another suggestive comment, implying the person may have left to engage in bestiality.
Louis: Yes, maybe he wants to have intercourse with them!
Louis agrees with Roy's suggestion and uses a more direct term for sexual activity.
Roy: What?
Roy is seemingly surprised by Louis' direct language.
Louis: Intercourse!
Louis states the word again to clarify the meaning of his previous suggestion.
Roy: Well, if he doesn't get clawed first
Roy raises a concern about the safety of engaging in sexual activity with animals.
Louis: Yes, that's right. But, maybe, maybe he will find a real nice, a very nice kind horse, you know
Louis suggests that perhaps the person will find a gentle, willing animal to engage in sexual activity with.
Roy: A horse, yeah horse. Whore-sss
Roy makes a pun on the word 'horse' and 'whore', perhaps as a means of expressing discomfort.
Louis: Boogey-man or something. Something out there. You might find a nice kind . . .
Louis trails off, unable to come up with a better example of something the person they miss might encounter.
Roy: Boogey-man?
Roy questions Louis' use of the term 'boogey-man'.
Louis: Well, something, you know. I don't know what it is myself - a horse - 'cause human beings, decent human beings. Nice place to live
Louis rambles, acknowledging that he doesn't have a clear idea of what the person they miss might encounter outside of their current situation.
Roy: Beans? You call them human beans?
Roy is confused by Louis' use of the term 'human beings' and perhaps makes a pun on the phrase.
Louis: And then before they turn to be boogey-men or . . .
Louis suggests that some people may become dangerous or undesirable over time.
Roy: That's why they came into the Steinway
Roy makes a vague reference to their current situation, hinting at something unsettling.
Louis: Yes, that's why 'cause I just couldn't take them anymore, you know. They were vicious, too vicious. So I had to go, I had to, I had to come in here
Louis explains that he had to leave a situation due to the violent behavior of others, and sought refuge in their current location.
Spider: Like, we can't understand what they're saying to each other
A third party, Spider, comments on the nonsensical nature of Louis and Roy's conversation.
John: I know
Another third party, John, does not contribute anything to the conversation but simply affirms that he understands the others.
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