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.
America Drinks
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Do-dos, and yips yips, assorted improv)
I tired to find How my heart could be so blind,
(Wanna buy some Penzo?)
Dear
How could I be fooled just like the rest
You came on strong with your
Sad eyes and your ... ...
I fell for the whole thing
I don't regret for having met
Up with a girl who Breaks hearts
Like they were nothing at all (Here's one for mother)
I've done it too
Now I know just what it feels like
The lyrics to Frank Zappa's song 'America Drinks' are fascinating in their interpretation. The song begins with the nursery rhyme 'One, Two, Buckle my Shoe,' suggesting a childlike innocence, which is soon shattered by the song's lyrics. The song seems to be about a young man who falls for a woman's charm and ends up with his heart broken like so many before him. The opening line talks about the singer's realization that his heart was blind to the woman's true intentions. He then goes on to describe how the woman came on strong with a fast car, a class ring, sad eyes, and some other attractive features that he got taken in by. The next two lines confirm that he fell for her trap and ends up feeling as though he has been fooled like the rest.
Throughout the song, the singer voices his regret at falling for her traps and his inability to resist her. The line 'I fell for the whole thing' suggests that the woman has done this many times before. The use of the phrase 'breaks hearts like they were nothing at all' is significant as it speaks volumes about the woman's character. Lastly, he ends the lyrics with the line, 'Now I know just what it feels like,' suggesting that he has learned a lesson about love and relationships the hard way.
Overall, the song's interpretation is about the pitfalls of falling for someone's charm and being played by those who know how to use it. It's a cautionary tale warning against falling in love too easily and getting caught up in someone's spell.
Line by Line Meaning
One, Two, Buckle my Shoe
Starting off with a counting rhyme to set the mood for the song.
Do-dos, and yips yips, assorted improv
Use of non-sensical syllables to create a soundscape that is not connected to the song itself.
I tired to find How my heart could be so blind,
Expressing the confusion and bewilderment of falling in love and subsequently getting hurt.
Wanna buy some Penzo?
A random and unrelated line that could be interpreted as the artist being propositioned by a shady character for drugs or other illegal substances.
Dear
A term of endearment to the person who is being addressed, but could also imply a sense of sarcasm or irony.
How could I be fooled just like the rest
Acknowledgment of the fact that many people have gone through similar experiences of blind love and heartbreak.
You came on strong with your
Referring to the person who caused the singer's heartbreak.
Fast car and your class ring
Mentioning the material possessions and trappings of the person who the artist fell for.
Sad eyes and your ... ...
Another attribute of the person in question- their sad eyes- is left incomplete, further emphasizing the mystery and complexity of human relationships.
I fell for the whole thing
Admitting the artist's own naivete and susceptibility to romantic illusions.
I don't regret for having met
Despite the heartbreak, the singer does not regret the experience and the lessons learned from it.
Up with a girl who Breaks hearts
Acknowledging the person in question's reputation for breaking hearts too.
Like they were nothing at all (Here's one for mother)
A sarcastic reference to the heartbreaker's ease and nonchalance with which they break people's hearts, and a possible nod towards the concept of inherited behavior learned from one's mother.
I've done it too
Revealing that the singer has also broken someone's heart at some point, further emphasizing the cycle of heartbreaks and the universality of human relationships.
Now I know just what it feels like
Learning from one's experiences and gaining insight into the nature of human emotions and relationships.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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