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.
Chana in De Bushwop
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ike willis (rhythm guitar, vocals)
Ray white (rhythm guitar, vocals)
Bobby martin (keyboards, vocals)
Scott thunes (bass)
Chad wackerman (drums)
Hana in de bushwop
In de bushwop
Chana in de bushwop
In de bushwop
Chana in de bushwop
In de bushwop
Chana in de bushwop
In de bushwop
Chana in de bushwop
In de bushwop
Chana in de bushwop
In de bushwop
Chana in de bushwop
In de bushwop
Chana in de bushwop
She live in a tree
(they call her chana in de bushwop)
Nine foot three
(they call her chana in de bushwop)
Larger than me
(shes a chana in de bushwop)
And shes a mystery
(shes a chana in de bushwop)
They call her chana in de bushwop
In de bushwop
Chana in de bushwop
In de bushwop
Where she goes...
Nobody knows she eats a horse
(shes a chana in de bushwop)
Its very large of course
(like a chana in de bushwop)
She wears a dog
(chaka chana in de bushwop)
And she loves that frog
(chaka chana in de bushwop)
They call her chana in de bushwop
In de bushwop
Chana in de bushwop
In de bushwop
Where she goes...
Nobody knows chana, chana, chana, chana
In de bushwop
Chana, chana, chana, chana
In de bushwop
Chana, chana, chana, chana
In de bushwop
Chana, chana, chana, chana
In de bushwop
Chana in de bushwop
In de bushwop
Chana in de bushwop
In de bushwop
Isnt that amazing? ? ?
She went to france
(like a chana in de bushwop)
And she tried to dance
(like a chana in de bushwop)
She raised a big fuzz
(like a chana in de bushwop)
In the back of the bus
(like a chana in de bushwop)
Gonna go to it with a long loaf of bread
Made a big mistake when it turned and said:
"chana in ze bushwop
Hey! nice volcano!
Chana in ze bushwop
Ho ho ho!"
She banged his head
(like a chana in de bushwop)
With a loaf of bread
(like a chana in de bushwop)
She had this sucker weepin
(like a chana in de bushwop)
bout that sausage hes keepin
(like a chana in de bushwop)
He stood there weepin on the crumb
She said: "isnt that amazing? ? ? " oh!
Thats right! ... isnt that amazing? ? ?
Chana, chana, chana, chana
In de bushwop
Chana, chana, chana, chana
(its on the house tonight!)
In de bushwop
Chana, chana, chana, chana
In de bushwop
Chana, chana, chana, chana
In de bushwop
Chana in de bushwop
From de bushwop
Chana from de bushwop
From de bushwop
Ooh!
Whered she go?
Well, I dont know!
Idaho!
Ty-ee-ty-o!
The song "Chana in De Bushwop" is a humorous song by Frank Zappa that is filled with nonsensical lyrics. The song talks about a certain Chana who lives in the bushwop (a made-up word) and is known to be a mystery. She is so large that she is nine-foot-three, and she wears a dog while loving a frog. The lyrics suggest that Chana is a force to be reckoned with as she has banged someone's head with a loaf of bread and made him weep over his sausage. The song ends with Chana disappearing, and nobody knows where she has gone.
Overall, the song is an enjoyable, nonsensical romp through Frank Zappa's imagination. The lyrics are full of clever wordplay and made-up words that add to the song's absurdity. It is a song that can't be taken seriously and is meant to be enjoyed for the light-hearted fun that it is.
Line by Line Meaning
Hana in de bushwop
The subject of the song is Chana from the bushwop
In de bushwop
Chana is from the bushwop
She live in a tree
Chana lives in a tree
(they call her chana in de bushwop)
Chana is known as Chana in the bushwop
Nine foot three
Chana is nine feet and three inches tall
Larger than me
Chana is taller than the singer
(shes a chana in the bushwop)
Chana is also referred to as Chana in the bushwop
And shes a mystery
Chana is mysterious
Where she goes...
Nobody knows
It is unknown where Chana goes
she eats a horse
(like a chana in the bushwop)
Chana eats horses, much like how she brings a mystery to her image
Its very large of course
(like a chana in the bushwop)
The horses that Chana eats are large in size
She wears a dog
(chaka chana in the bushwop)
Chana wears a dog for some unknown reason
And she loves that frog
(chaka chana in the bushwop)
Chana loves a particular frog or makes a sound similar to 'chaka chana'
She went to france
(like a chana in the bushwop)
Chana went to France, which is strange considering she is known for living in the bushwop
And she tried to dance
(like a chana in the bushwop)
Chana tried to dance in France
She raised a big fuzz
(like a chana in the bushwop)
Chana caused a big argument or disturbance
In the back of the bus
(like a chana in the bushwop)
The disturbance caused by Chana happened in the back of the bus
Gonna go to it with a long loaf of bread
The singer plans to engage with Chana while holding a long loaf of bread
Made a big mistake when it turned and said:
"chana in ze bushwop
Hey! nice volcano!
Chana in ze bushwop
Ho ho ho!"
The singer makes an error in what they say when talking to Chana, saying something about a volcano
She banged his head
(like a chana in the bushwop)
Chana strikes the artist on the head with the long loaf of bread, exhibiting violence
With a loaf of bread
(like a chana in the bushwop)
Chana uses a loaf of bread as a weapon
She had this sucker weepin
(like a chana in the bushwop)
Somebody cried due to Chana's actions
bout that sausage hes keepin
(like a chana in the bushwop)
The person is upset about a sausage they were keeping
He stood there weepin on the crumb
She said: "isnt that amazing? ? ? " oh!
This man is found weeping in a vulnerable position and Chana comments on the situation as if it is normal or amusing
(its on the house tonight!)
Perhaps in a change of tune, Chana offers something to the singer for free, though it is not specified what that is
From de bushwop
Reiteration that Chana is from the bushwop
Ooh!
Exclamation meaning something enticing or interesting has just happened
Whered she go?
Well, I dont know!
Idaho!
Ty-ee-ty-o!
The song ends with a play on words and nobody knows where Chana went. Idaho is a state in the United States, and 'Ty-ee-ty-o' is nonsense that serves as a pseudo-rhyme with Idaho
Contributed by Riley T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.