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.
Brown Moses
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Steve Vai (guitar)
Ray White (guitar, vocals)
Tommy Mars (keyboards)
Chuck Wild (piano)
Arthur Barrow (bass)
Scott Thunes (bass)
Jay Anderson (string bass)
Chad Wackerman (drums)
Ike Willis (vocals)
Terry Bozzio (vocals)
Dale Bozzio (vocals)
Napoleon Murphy Brock (vocals)
Bob Harris (vocals)
Johnny "Guitar" Watson (vocals)
BROWN MOSES: (singing)
Oh-oh! Wait a minute!
What?
What wickedness id dis?
De way you's carryin' on!
Dis pygmy I be clutchin'
Have been lef' out on de lawn!
De daddy were ne-GLIJ-ible,
De mama were de-FLATE-able,
De trauma to de imfunt
Be mostly not ne-GATE-able
Yo' urgin' to be exitin'
Because of dem fla-min-i-go's
Be thoroughly perplexin' him
Because of where yo' petuh goes
If only you been 'siderate
Erbout dis lil' illiterate
I wouldna been trudgin' cross de san'
Fum way down yonder in E-gyp-lan'
Dey callin' me BROWN MOSES,
Fo' dat id sho'ly what I am,
Ancient an' re-lij-er-mus
Solemn an' pres-tig-i-mus
Wisdom reekin' outa me
'Long wif summa dis baby pee
'Minds me of dem River Weeds
'N all dem ignint Bible deeds
Growed up in de Pharaoh place,
Lef' de sucker in disgrace!
Some dem boys refuse to loin
Somthin' smokin': Somthin' boin!
Somethin' borry: Somethin' blue!
Best keeps a lil' paper
In yo shoe!
Hear me when I's tellin' you:
Leavin' de midgit were
WRONG T'DO!
It's a terr'ble thang, done did to him
Left wit de crab-grass
Over his chin!
Sho'ly one day he will grow,
'N put some shit
In yo' sack o' woe
OL' BROWN MOSES now have spoke!
Could ya lends me 'bout a dollar?
I's a tiny bit broke
I likes my wine
I loves my gin
'N fo a lil' collateral,
I'll gives ya HIM!
A lil' collateral,
I'll gives ya HIM!
A lil' collateral,
I'll gives ya HIM!
I said a lil' collateral,
A lil' collateral,
A lil' collateral,
A lil' collateral,
A lil' collateral,
I'll gives ya HIM!
I'll gives ya HIM!
The lyrics of "Brown Moses" by Frank Zappa, being one of the many examples of his amazing lyrical ability, are quite intricate and challenging to interpret. The song presents a story of a pygmy who has been left out on the lawn due to the negligence of their parents. The pygmy is then picked up by the singer, Brown Moses, who tries to reason with the person holding the pygmy. The song's story takes various twists and turns with amusing phrases like "De mama were de-FLATE-able" and "yo' petuh goes," making it a complex mix of seriousness and humor that is typical of Zappa's work.
The song reflects on various themes related to religion and slavery, with the lead character Brown Moses being portrayed as a wise man with knowledge and insight that exceeds his physical appearance. The song's symbolism also acts as a commentary on human nature, themes of self-discovery, and the value of human life. With haunting melodies and an apocalyptic atmosphere, "Brown Moses" showcases Zappa's vocal and instrumental abilities with a sense of ironic humor.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh-oh! Wait a minute!
Pause and hold on for a second.
What wickedness id dis?
What kind of evil is this?
De way you's carryin' on!
Your behavior is inappropriate.
Dis pygmy I be clutchin'
This little person I am holding.
Have been lef' out on de lawn!
Has been left outside on the lawn.
De daddy were ne-GLIJ-ible,
The father was negligent.
De mama were de-FLATE-able,
The mother was not dependable.
De trauma to de imfunt
The trauma to the infant.
Be mostly not ne-GATE-able
Is hard to ignore or deny.
Yo' urgin' to be exitin'
You are urged to leave.
Because of dem fla-min-i-go's
Because of the flamingos.
Be thoroughly perplexin' him
Is causing confusion in him.
Because of where yo' petuh goes
Because of where your pet goes.
If only you been 'siderate
If only you were considerate.
Erbout dis lil' illiterate
About this little illiterate person.
I wouldna been trudgin' cross de san'
I wouldn't have had to walk across the desert.
Fum way down yonder in E-gyp-lan'
From way down yonder in Egypt.
Dey callin' me BROWN MOSES,
They call me Brown Moses.
Fo' dat id sho'ly what I am,
Because that's surely what I am.
Ancient an' re-lij-er-mus
Ancient and religious.
Solemn an' pres-tig-i-mus
Serious and prestigious.
Wisdom reekin' outa me
Wisdom emanating from me.
'Long wif summa dis baby pee
Along with some of this baby's urine.
'Minds me of dem River Weeds
Reminds me of the river weeds.
'N all dem ignint Bible deeds
And all those ignorant Bible stories.
Growed up in de Pharaoh place,
Grew up in the Pharaoh's palace.
Lef' de sucker in disgrace!
Left the sucker in disgrace.
Some dem boys refuse to loin
Some of those boys refused to learn.
Somthin' smokin': Somthin' boin!
Something smoking; something burning.
Somethin' borry: Somethin' blue!
Something borrowed; something blue.
Best keeps a lil' paper
It's best to keep a little paper.
In yo shoe!
In your shoe!
Leavin' de midgit were WRONG T'DO!
Leaving the midget was the wrong thing to do.
It's a terr'ble thang, done did to him
It's a terrible thing that was done to him.
Left wit de crab-grass
Left with crab-grass stuck to him.
Over his chin!
Over his chin!
Sho'ly one day he will grow,
Surely one day he will grow.
'N put some shit
And put some feces.
In yo' sack o' woe
In your sack of problems.
OL' BROWN MOSES now have spoke!
Old Brown Moses has spoken!
Could ya lends me 'bout a dollar?
Can you lend me about a dollar?
I's a tiny bit broke
I am a little bit broke.
I likes my wine
I like my wine.
I loves my gin
I love my gin.
'N fo a lil' collateral,
And for a little collateral.
I'll gives ya HIM!
I'll give you him!
A lil' collateral,
A little collateral.
I'll gives ya HIM!
I'll give you him!
A lil' collateral,
A little collateral.
I'll gives ya HIM!
I'll give you him!
I said a lil' collateral,
I said a little collateral.
A lil' collateral,
A little collateral.
A lil' collateral,
A little collateral.
A lil' collateral,
A little collateral.
A lil' collateral,
A little collateral.
I'll gives ya HIM!
I'll give you him!
Contributed by London D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.