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.
Cocaine Decisions
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cocaine decisions
You are a person with a snow job
You got a fancy gotta-go job
Where the cocaine decision that you make today
Will mean that millions somewhere else
Will do it your way
You are a person who is high class
You are a person not in my class
And the cocaine decision that you make today
Will mean nothing later on
When you get nose decay
I don't want to know
'Bout the things that you pull
Outta your nose
Or where they goes
But if you are wasted
From the stuff you're stickin' in it
I get madder every day
'Cause what you do 'n what you say
Affects my life in such a way
I learn to hate it every minute!
I don't want to know
'Bout the things that you pull
Outta your nose
Or where they goes
But if you are wasted
From the stuff you're stickin' in it
I get madder every day
'Cause what you do 'n what you say
Affects my life in such a way
I learn to hate it every minute!
Cocaine decisions
You are a doctor or a lawyer
You got an office with a foyer
And the cocaine decision that you make today
Will not be discovered till it's over 'n done
By the customers you hold at bay
Cocaine decisions
You are a movie business guy
You got accountants who supply
The necessary figures
To determine when you fly
To Acapulco
Where all your friends go
Cocaine decisions
We must watch the stuff you make
You have let us eat the cake
While your accountants tell you Yes Yes Yes
You make EXPENSIVE UGLINESS
(How do you do it? Let me guess)
Cocaine decisions
Cocaine decisions
Cocaine decisions
Cocaine decisions
Cocaine decisions
Cocaine decisions
Cocaine decisions
Cocaine decisions
The song 'Cocaine Decisions' is a commentary on the impact of drug use not only on the person doing the drugs, but also on those around them. The lyrics begin by addressing people who make decisions about cocaine and the potential consequences of those decisions. The lines "Where the cocaine decision that you make today / Will mean that millions somewhere else / Will do it your way" suggest that those in power have a responsibility to consider the impact of their actions on society as a whole.
The song then takes a personal turn, with the singer expressing disgust at the drug use of someone close to him. The lines "I don't want to know / 'Bout the things that you pull / Outta your nose / Or where they goes" convey a sense of revulsion at the physical act of snorting cocaine. However, the singer's anger is not just directed at the individual's drug use, but also at the ways in which it affects the people around them. The lines "Affects my life in such a way / I learn to hate it every minute!" suggest that the singer feels the drug use is impacting his own life in negative ways.
The song goes on to address different professions and how cocaine use impacts them. The lines "You are a doctor or a lawyer / You got an office with a foyer / And the cocaine decision that you make today / Will not be discovered till it's over 'n done / By the customers you hold at bay" suggest that those in positions of power or trust have a heightened responsibility to consider the impact their drug use could have on others. The final verses address the film industry and the ways in which expensive and ugly movies are made, potentially at the expense of more meaningful and thought-provoking films. The repetition of the phrase "Cocaine decisions" throughout the song highlights the central theme of the song and draws attention to the destructive effects of drug use.
Line by Line Meaning
Chop a line now
Do some cocaine right this moment
Cocaine decisions
The choices one makes when using cocaine
You are a person with a snow job
You're lying to yourself and others about your drug use
You got a fancy gotta-go job
You have a high-status job with many responsibilities
Where the cocaine decision that you make today
Will mean that millions somewhere else
Will do it your way
Your cocaine use has a negative impact on others and could influence them to make the same choices
You are a person who is high class
You have a high social status and wealth
You are a person not in my class
We are not of the same social or financial status
And the cocaine decision that you make today
Will mean nothing later on
When you get nose decay
Your drug use will have negative consequences on your health and it won't matter what social status you have when that happens
I don't want to know
'Bout the things that you pull
Outta your nose
Or where they goes
I don't want to know about the details of your drug use because it's disgusting
But if you are wasted
From the stuff you're stickin' in it
I get madder every day
'Cause what you do 'n what you say
Affects my life in such a way
I learn to hate it every minute!
Your drug use affects me and makes me angry, especially if it leads to irresponsible behavior and choices
You are a doctor or a lawyer
You got an office with a foyer
And the cocaine decision that you make today
Will not be discovered till it's over 'n done
By the customers you hold at bay
Your high-status job is allowing you to hide your drug use, but eventually, it will be discovered and will impact your clients' lives
You are a movie business guy
You got accountants who supply
The necessary figures
To determine when you fly
To Acapulco
Where all your friends go
You have a job in the entertainment industry, and your wealth allows you to take extravagant trips with those also using drugs
We must watch the stuff you make
You have let us eat the cake
While your accountants tell you Yes Yes Yes
You make EXPENSIVE UGLINESS
(How do you do it? Let me guess)
We need to monitor and hold accountable those in positions of power who use drugs and have a negative impact on the art and entertainment industries
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jonbbaca5580
The final falsetto solo at the end from the keyboard player is still one of my favorite vocal solos of all time. It's equal parts perfectly pitched and genius, and totally goofy, over the top and hilarious. It epitomizes Frank Zappa. Musically brilliant and virtuosic, and completely and truly funny
@dixonxiii8297
I cried laughing the first time I heard that part. They were truly one of a kind.
@brianhaesche5633
Bobby Martin on keys, no pun intended 😂
@Informatisse
I love the form of Zappa's universe, the shape, the taste, what it lets in my heart, in opposite of many modern musics. No matter of what I listen to, I always go back to Zappa. The notes are so perfect, so clean, so funny and serious at the same time :D
@kelso896
AFFECTS MY LIFE IN SUCH A WAY,
I LEARN TO HATE IT EVERY MINUTE!
@alejoparedes2388
Best part of the song
@AI-Artist7
Agreed my favorite line. This music is so approachable compared with what he was doing in the 60s through about '77 or so.
@gordonm7038
"Putting a spoon up your nose doesn't make you groovy."
- Zappa
@NaneuxPeeBrane
How wrong was he! **sniffles
@caioramalho22
"Drugs are a a license to be an asshole" - one of my favorite quotes by this man.