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.
City of Tiny Lights
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't you wanna go
Hear the tiny auto horns
When they tiny blow
Tiny lightin'
In the storm
Tiny blankets
Keep you warm
Tiny sheets
Talkin' bout those tiny cookies
That the peoples eats
City of tiny lites
Maybe you should know
That it's over there
In the tiny dirt somewhere
You can see it any time
When you get the squints
From your downers and your wine
You're so big
It's so tiny
Every cloud is silver line-y
The great escape for all ot you
Tiny is as tiny do
Tiny is as tiny do
Tiny is as tiny do
Tiny is as tiny do
City of tiny lites
Don't you wanna go
Hear the tiny auto horns
When they tiny blow
Tiny lightin'
In the storm
Tiny blankets
Keep you warm
Tiny pillows
Tiny tiny sheets
Talkin' bout them tiny cookies
That the peoples eats
That the peoples eats
That the peoples eats
That the peoples eats
And it's over there
It's over there
It's over there
It's over there
"City of Tiny Lights" is a whimsical and absurd song by Frank Zappa that employs a playful use of language and wit to poke fun at the idea of miniaturization while touching on themes of isolation and escapism. The song essentially describes a world in miniature, where everything from the automobile horns to the cookies people eat is tiny. The City of Tiny Lights is presented as an idyllic place, where even in a storm, the lighting is tiny, and the blankets and pillows are small and cozy.
However, the song's refrain - "Don't you wanna go" - suggests that this tiny city serves as an escape or a form of consolation for the listener, as something to dream about. The final lines of the song, "You can see it any time/When you get the squints/From your downers and your wine/You're so big/It's so tiny," reinforce this idea. The City of Tiny Lights represents a way to escape from the pressures and burdens of the larger, "real" world, into something small and controllable.
Overall, "City of Tiny Lights" is a charming and humorous song that uses its playful language and imagery to address deeper themes of escapism and the human desire for comfort and control.
Line by Line Meaning
City of tiny lites
A place where small lights abound.
Don't you wanna go
Wouldn't you like to visit?
Hear the tiny auto horns
Listen to the sounds of small car horns.
When they tiny blow
When they blow in their small size.
Tiny lightin' In the storm
Small flashes of light during a storm.
Tiny blankets Keep you warm
Little blankets to keep you comfy.
Tiny pillows Tiny sheets
Small pillows and sheets for your bed.
Talkin' bout those tiny cookies That the peoples eats
Talking about the small cookies that people eat.
Maybe you should know That it's over there In the tiny dirt somewhere
You should know that it's located in the small dirt somewhere.
You can see it any time When you get the squints From your downers and your wine
You can see it whenever you squint after taking drugs or drinking alcohol.
You're so big It's so tiny Every cloud is silver line-y
You're big while everything else is small. Everything seems perfect to you.
The great escape for all ot you Tiny is as tiny do
Tiny things are your escape and it's better to do small things.
Tiny is as tiny do Tiny is as tiny do Tiny is as tiny do
it's important to do small things.
Talkin' bout them tiny cookies That the peoples eats That the peoples eats That the peoples eats
Talking about the small cookies that people eat.
And it's over there It's over there It's over there It's over there
It is located over there.
Contributed by Bella O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
teco trovao
Eternamente Frank Zappa.
Jesse H
What a great album 😎👍🎵🎶🤠
AURAL FIXXATION
Thank you for posting this album. I have such fond memories of hearing this years ago the first time. Changed my view on music.
Captain America
Zappa was such a creative force. His music may have been weird but it left such an impact on modern music.
Peter Martell
when a talent like Zappa can make you laugh while amazing you with his arrangement at the same time. Beyond entertainment. Blew speakers playing Hot Rats outside.
Tom Sherwood
Now I remember, listening to this album takes alot out of you. The energy level drags you along and pounds you like a drum. Can you keep up?
Primitive In The Extreme
The synthesisers in this song are a space wonder!
Charlie Bay
Just saw Adrian Belew play this not too long ago. Most excellent.
Terry Bilbrey
Ahh…the late 70’s , what a fun time to be alive and well…
Jesse H
I lost 90 percent of my Frank Zappa record collection which really broke my heart but I have a select few and this album is one of them. 😎👍🎵🎶