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.
Dickie's Such An Asshole
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Two 'n two is twenty-two!
Won't somebody kindly tell me,
What's the government is tryin' t' do...
Dickie's just to tricky
For a chump like me to use
You take that sub-committee seriously, boy
You could get a seizure from the evenin' news
Millions 'n millions of dollars...
Much as he might need...
He could open up a chain of motels, people
On the highway, yes indeed!
Quadrafonic desperation!
Just might be some confinement loaf all up under your bed
If you just might pinch a little loaf in your slumber
The fbi gonna get your number
The fbi
Gonna get your number
The fbi
Gonna get your number
Etc.
Tryin' not to worry
Tryin' not to care
But you know, I get delighted
When that soup goes over there
Can't have no private conversation
Nowhere
In the usa
Can't wait 'til the rest of the people all over the the world
Find out their government
Is just the same ol' way
Every day...
The gangster stepped right up,
'n kissed him on the lips good-bye
Made him a cocksucker by proxy, yes he did,
An' he didn't even bat an eye!
The man in the white house -- oooh!
He's got a conscience black as sin!
There's just one thing I wanna know --
How'd that asshole ever manage to get in?
The song "Dickie's Such an Asshole" by Frank Zappa is a satirical commentary on the state of government and the world at large during the late 1970s. The lyrics are full of wordplay and obscurity, making it a challenging task to decipher the actual meaning. However, the song seems to criticize the government's actions, especially the sub-committees that operate without independent thoughts. The first few lines of the song, "One 'n one is eleven! Two 'n two is twenty-two! Won't somebody kindly tell me, What's the government is tryin' t' do..." are a reference to basic arithmetic and represent the confusion about the government's actions. The government's actions are so tricky and complex that ordinary people cannot understand what they are up to, represented by the line, "Dickie's just too tricky for a chump like me to use." The lyrics imply that the government's actions are pointless and wasteful, as the line "Millions 'n millions of dollars... Much as he might need... He could open up a chain of motels, people On the highway, yes indeed!" suggests.
Zappa criticizes the government's monitoring of its citizens in the lyrics "Can't have no private conversation Nowhere In the usa," implying that there are no privacy laws to protect ordinary citizens. The song also criticizes the hypocrisy of the White House, referring to the President's black conscience as he is continually embroiled in scandals one after another. The lyrics "The man in the White House -- oooh! He's got a conscience black as sin! There's just one thing I wanna know -- How'd that asshole ever manage to get in?" imply this hypocrisy.
Some possible interpretations of the lyric are that Dickie is a representative of the government, and his actions are manipulated by external forces for private gains. The lyrics also criticize the excesses of capitalism and the disregard for ordinary people. The intent of the song seems to be to raise awareness about the government's actions and the need for citizens to take control of their destiny.
Line by Line Meaning
One 'n one is eleven!
The government's actions are so illogical that basic arithmetic doesn't make sense anymore.
Two 'n two is twenty-two!
The government's policies are so convoluted that even simple math seems wrong.
Won't somebody kindly tell me, What's the government is tryin' t' do...
The government's actions are so absurd that no one can figure out what their true intentions are.
Dickie's just too tricky For a chump like me to use
Dickie is too clever for the artist to manipulate or outsmart.
You take that sub-committee seriously, boy You could get a seizure from the evenin' news
Watching the news and paying close attention to the government's sub-committees is enough to cause a seizure due to the overwhelming absurdity.
Millions 'n millions of dollars... Much as he might need... He could open up a chain of motels, people On the highway, yes indeed!
The singer is commenting on the amount of money the government is wasting and how it could be better used to provide practical services for people.
Quadrafonic desperation! Just might be some confinement loaf all up under your bed If you just might pinch a little loaf in your slumber The fbi gonna get your number The fbi Gonna get your number The fbi Gonna get your number Etc.
The FBI is paranoid and invasive, to the point where they will investigate people for no reason at all.
Tryin' not to worry Tryin' not to care But you know, I get delighted When that soup goes over there
The artist is trying to distance themselves from the government's absurdity, but can't help but feel some amusement or satisfaction when things go wrong.
Can't have no private conversation Nowhere In the usa Can't wait 'til the rest of the people all over the the world Find out their government Is just the same ol' way Every day...
The government's surveillance is so extensive that there is no real privacy in the United States, and the artist is waiting for other countries to realize that their governments are the same way.
The gangster stepped right up, 'n kissed him on the lips good-bye Made him a cocksucker by proxy, yes he did, An' he didn't even bat an eye!
The government is corrupt, possibly even working with gangsters or other criminals, and is so used to immoral behavior that they don't even react to it.
The man in the white house -- oooh! He's got a conscience black as sin! There's just one thing I wanna know -- How'd that asshole ever manage to get in?
The singer thinks the President is corrupt and immoral, and is surprised at how such a person could have been elected to office.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Peri Urban
Brilliant! Brock looks like he's tripping out of his tree!
CrazyDigitalMusic
Napoleon was really great at that moment,
Bert.
Peri Urban
@CrazyDigitalMusic Indeed. By far Zappa's greatest front man, IMHO.
CrazyDigitalMusic
@Peri Urban Yes indeed and he was a very kind person, I met him during two days in the 1970's - Amsterdam & Brussels - and we discussed - even backstage, during the concert - about music and he was very open minded,
Bert.
Cesar Vignati
Thank you so mucho for the contento, amigo, very nice quality
CrazyDigitalMusic
Hi, Cesar ! Thanks a lot pal,
Bert
Paul O.
So far ahead of his time.
CrazyDigitalMusic
1973 was a great year, it"s the period I love the most,
Bert
Paul O.
@CrazyDigitalMusic Music was going through some amazing changes back then that's for sure.
CrazyDigitalMusic
@Paul O.
“ndeed, I was a great fan of ‘Rock-Jazz’ and happily we had lots of concerts in Brussels: Weather Report, Mahavishnu & Shakti, The Head Hunters, Return to Forever, J-L Ponty Band, Larry Coryell - The Eleventh House - it was a fascinating period for a young music lover. I also went to see James Brown, Ten Years After, Led Zeppelin and many rock bands at ‘The Jazz Bilzen Festival’ which was one of the first rock concerts of 3 days on the continent.
Bert