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.
Any Way The Wind Blows
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Any way the wind blows, it don't matter to me
'Cause I'm thru with-a fussin' and-a fightin' with-a you
I went out and found a woman who is gonna be true
She makes me oh so happy now, I'm never ever blue
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows
She's my heart and soul and she loves me tenderly
Now my story can't be told just how good she is to me
Yes, she treats me like she loves me and she never makes me cry
I'm gonna stick with her 'till the day I die
She's not like you baby, she would never ever lie
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows
Now that I am free from the troubles of the past
Took me much too long to see that our romance couldn't last
I'm gonna go away and leave you standing at the door
I'll tell you pretty baby I won't be back no more
'Cause you don't even know what love is for
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows
The song "Anyway the Wind Blows" by Frank Zappa is about moving on from a past relationship and finding a woman who treats him better. The singer is saying that no matter how the wind blows, he is fine with it as he is done with the fighting and arguing in his previous relationship. He has found a woman who is honest and true and makes him happy. The singer is comparing his ex-girlfriend and the new woman in his life and saying that the new woman treats him with tenderness and loves him truly. He is affirming his commitment to this new relationship and is not going back to the old relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Any way the wind blows is-a fine with me
I am fine with whatever happens, I am not bothered
Any way the wind blows, it don't matter to me
It really doesn't matter to me which way things go
'Cause I'm thru with-a fussin' and-a fightin' with-a you
I am done with all the quarreling and fighting with you
I went out and found a woman who is gonna be true
I have found someone else who is loyal and faithful
She makes me oh so happy now, I'm never ever blue
She brings me so much joy, I'm never sad
She's my heart and soul and she loves me tenderly
She is my everything and she loves me dearly
Now my story can't be told just how good she is to me
I can't even express how good she is to me
Yes, she treats me like she loves me and she never makes me cry
She treats me like she really loves me and she's never hurt me
I'm gonna stick with her 'till the day I die
I'm going to stay with her for the rest of my life
She's not like you baby, she would never ever lie
She's not like you, she would never deceive me
Now that I am free from the troubles of the past
Now that I am free from all the problems I used to have
Took me much too long to see that our romance couldn't last
It took me too long to realize that our relationship wouldn't work
I'm gonna go away and leave you standing at the door
I'm going to leave you and never come back
I'll tell you pretty baby I won't be back no more
I'm informing you that I won't be returning
'Cause you don't even know what love is for
You don't even understand what true love means
Any way the wind blows,
No matter what happens
Any way the wind blows,
Regardless of what direction
Any way the wind blows
No matter what happens
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Juma
Any way the wind blows is-a fine with me
Any way the wind blows, it don't matter to me
'Cause I'm thru with-a fussin' and-a fightin' with-a you
I went out and found a woman who is gonna be true
She makes me oh so happy now, I'm never ever blue
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows
She's my heart and soul and she loves me tenderly
Now my story can't be told just how good she is to me
Yes, she treats me like she loves me and she never makes me cry
I'm gonna stick with her 'till the day I die
She's not like you baby, she would never ever lie
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows
Now that I am free from the troubles of the past
Took me much too long to see that our romance couldn't last
I'm gonna go away and leave you standing at the door
I'll tell you pretty baby I won't be back no more
'Cause you don't even know what love is for
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows
Chris P.Crock
Any way the wind blows is-a fine with me
Any way the wind blows, it don't matter to me
'Cause I'm thru with-a fussin' and-a fightin' with-a you
I went out and found a woman who is gonna be true
She makes me oh so happy now, I'm never ever blue
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows
She's my heart and soul and she loves me tenderly
Now my story can't be told just how good she is to me
Yes, she treats me like she loves me and she never makes me cry
I'm gonna stick with her 'till the day I die
She's not like you baby, she would never ever lie
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows
Now that I am free from the troubles of the past
Took me much too long to see that our romance couldn't last
I'm gonna go away and leave you standing at the door
I'll tell you pretty baby I won't be back no more
'Cause you don't even know what love is for
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows
johnny zell
Any way the wind blows is-a fine with me
Any way the wind blows, it don't matter to me
'Cause I'm thru with-a fussin' and-a fightin' with-a you
I went out and found a woman who is gonna be true
She makes me oh so happy now, I'm never ever blue
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows
She's my heart and soul and she loves me tenderly
Now my story can't be told just how good she is to me
Yes, she treats me like she loves me and she never makes me cry
I'm gonna stick with her 'till the day I die
She's not like you baby, she would never ever lie
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows
Now that I am free from the troubles of the past
Took me much too long to see that our romance couldn't last
I'm gonna go away and leave you standing at the door
I'll tell you pretty baby I won't be back no more
'Cause you don't even know what love is for
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows
ZootWorld1
Probably the most radio-friendly song Frank made.
Intuitive Samba
This was recorded in his first session for a major label (MGM/Verve). What if Lani Hall sang a version of this? I hear a hint of a(n implied) Samba-like rhythm in this.
Henry Goldman
This is my favorite Zappa album because it has this early work, where he shows off his ability to compose straight rock, just as Picasso showed he could paint realistically before he carried his vision forward.
Haeuptling Aberja
First album by Frank. First double album in history. So many, many gems. Even though Zappa went on to create so many masterpieces (my favorites being the bands in the 70s with Napoleon Murphy Brock, the Fowler brothers, Jean-Luc Ponty, etc, etc) he and the original Mothers always looked back to this record with a great deal of fondness. Trouble Coming Everyday, for example, is as relevant today as it was in 1967.
Rubén
@Haeuptling Aberja Blonde on Blonde got released months before it
CYGNIUS
Most underrated song of the 60s.
Marvin Judson
My favorite Frank Zappa song of all time. MOI song, actually. This could have easily been a top ten hit on the AM radio charts if it had been released as a single. But Frank stayed true to his principles.
Intuitive Samba
This was the first song Frank recorded for a major label (MGM/Verve). It was as safe as milk -- a cheery, melodic (harmless) pop song. Tom Wilson was producing. The next song in those Freak Out! sessions was "Who Are the Brain Police?" ...
Intuitive Samba
Maybe the vocal sound wasn't right for many people. The song is very good melodic Pop writing, for sure -- along with many songs Frank wrote in the 1960s. Check out his pre-Mothers demo recordings that he did in Cucamonga (Studio Z). Now, what if Lani Hall (Brasil '66) did a version of this song? Of all the FZ songs, I think her voice could have worked for this one.
Peter Nagy
Perhaps, but in my opinion, Frank's voice worked just fine.