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.
Don`t Eat The Yellow Snow
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Frozen wind began to blow
Under my boots and around my toes
The frost that bit the ground below
It was a hundred degrees below zero
And my mama cried
And my mama cried
Nanook, a-no-no
Don't be a naughty Eskimo
Save your money, don't go to the show
Well I turned around and I said oh, oh oh
Well I turned around and I said oh, oh oh
Well I turned around and I said ho, ho
And the northern lights commenced to glow
And she said, with a tear in her eye
Watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow
Watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow
The lyrics of Frank Zappa's Don't Eat the Yellow Snow describe a dream in which the singer, a self-identified Eskimo, is traversing through the harsh, frozen terrain of the Arctic. The opening lines paint a vivid picture of the inhospitable environment: "Frozen wind began to blow / Under my boots and around my toes / The frost that bit the ground below / It was a hundred degrees below zero." The humor of the song comes through in the chorus, where the singer's mother warns him not to be a "naughty Eskimo" and to "save your money, don't go to the show." The repeated refrain advises the listener to "Watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow."
The imagery of the song juxtaposes the chilling, unforgiving environment of the Arctic with the silly warning not to eat yellow snow. It's a clever play on words that suggests that something expelled from the body could be mistaken for something benign like snow, but could be dangerous if ingested. On a deeper level, the warning could be seen as a metaphor for avoiding harmful or toxic situations in life. The song is also a humorous critique of modern consumer culture, with the singer's mother urging him to save his money and not fall into the traps of consumerism.
Line by Line Meaning
Dreamed I was an Eskimo
The singer is describing a dream where he was an Eskimo
Frozen wind began to blow
The wind was cold enough to make everything freeze
Under my boots and around my toes
The cold wind was making the singer's feet feel numb
The frost that bit the ground below
The artist is talking about how the frost was so cold that it felt like it was biting the ground
It was a hundred degrees below zero
The temperature was extremely cold
And my mama cried
The singer's mother is upset about something
Nanook, a-no-no
The singer's mother is warning against doing something like Nanook, a character from a movie who makes bad choices
Don't be a naughty Eskimo
The artist's mother is warning him against doing something foolish
Save your money, don't go to the show
The artist's mother is telling him to save his money and not waste it on something frivolous like going to the movies
Well I turned around and I said oh, oh oh
The artist is surprised by something and is exclaiming
Well I turned around and I said ho, ho
The singer is laughing
And the northern lights commenced to glow
The aurora borealis started to appear in the sky
And she said, with a tear in her eye
The singer's mother is emotional and possibly worried about her child's safety
Watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow
The singer's mother is warning him to be careful about where he goes and not to eat yellow snow, which could be harmful
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Vincent Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Luis Jurgen Yangali Martinez
Dreamed I was an eskimo
Frozen wind began to blow
Under my boots and around my toes
The frost that bit the ground below
It was a hundred degrees below zero...
And my mama cried
And my mama cried
Nanook, a-no-no
Nanook, a-no-no
Don't be a naughty eskimo
Save your money, don't go to the show
Well I turned around and I said oh, oh oh
Well I turned around and I said oh, oh oh
Well I turned around and I said ho, ho
And the northern lights commenced to glow
And she said, with a tear in her eye
Watch out where the huskies go,
And don't you eat that yellow snow
Watch out where the huskies go,
And don't you eat that yellow snow
HappySisyphus
Dreamed I was an Eskimo
(Bop-bop ta-da-da bop-bop Ta-da-da)
Frozen wind began to blow
(Bop-bop ta-da-da bop-bop Ta-da-da)
Under my boots 'n around my toe
(Bop-bop ta-da-da bop-bop Ta-da-da)
Frost had bit the ground below
(Boop-boop aiee-ay-ah!)
Was a hundred degrees below zero
(Booh!)
(Bop-bop ta-da-da bop-bop Ta-da-da)
And my momma cried:
Boo-a-hoo hoo-ooo
And my momma cried:
Nanook-a, no no (no no . . . )
Nanook-a, no no (no no . . . )
Don't be a naughty Eskimo-wo-oh
(Bop-bop ta-da-da bop-bop Ta-da-da)
Save your money: don't go to the show
Well I turned around an' I said:
HO HO
(Booh!)
Well I turned around an' I said:
HO HO
(Booh!)
Well I turned around an' I said:
HO HO
An' the Northern Lites commenced t' glow
An' she said
(Bop-bop ta-da-da bop . . . )
With a tear in her eye:
WATCH OUT WHERE THE HUSKIES GO
AN' DON'T YOU EAT THAT YELLOW SNOW
WATCH OUT WHERE THE HUSKIES GO
AN' DON'T YOU EAT THAT YELLOW SNOW
Well right about that time, people,
A fur trapper
Who was strictly from commercial
(Strictly Commershil)
Had the unmedicated audacity to jump up from behind my igyaloo
(Peek-a-Boo Woo-ooo-ooo)
And he started in to whippin' on my fav'rite baby seal
With a lead-filled snow shoe...
I said:
With a lead
Lead
Filled
Lead-filled
A lead-filled snow shoe
Snow shoe
He said Peak-a-boo
Peek-a-boo
With a lead
Lead
Filled
Lead-filled
With a lead-filled snow shoe
SNOW SHOE
He said Peak-a-boo.
Peek-a-boo
He went right up side the head of my favorite baby seal
He went whap!
With a lead-filled snow shoe
An' he hit him on the nose 'n he hit him on the fin 'n he...
That got me just about as evil
As an Eskimo boy can be... so I bent down 'n I reached down 'n I scooped down
An' I gathered up a generous mitten full of the deadly...
Yellow snow
The deadly Yellow Snow from right there where the huskies go
Whereupon I proceeded to take that mitten full
Of the deadly Yellow Snow Crystals
And rub it all into his beady little eyes
With a vigorous circular motion
Hitherto unknown to the people on this area,
But destined to take the place of THE MUD SHARK
In your mythology
Here it goes now...
The circular motion... (rub it)...
(Here Fido... Here Fido)
And then, in a fit of anger, I...
I pounced
And I pounced again
Great googly-moogly
I jumped up 'n down on the chest of the...
I injured the fur trapper
Well, he was very upset, as you can understand
And rightly so
Because
The deadly Yellow Snow Crystals
Had deprived him of his sight
And he stood up
And he looked around
And he said:
I can't see
(Do... Do do-do do do do... Yeah!)
I can't see
(Do... Do do-do do do do... Yeah!)
Oh woe is me
(Do... Do do-do do do do... Yeah!)
I can't see
(Do... Do do-do do do do... Well!)
No no
I can't see
No... I...
He took a dog-doo sno-cone
An' stuffed it in my right eye
He took a dog-doo sno-cone
An' stuffed it in my other eye
An' the huskie wee-wee,
I mean the doggie wee-wee
Has blinded me
An' I can't see
Temporarily
Well the fur trapper
Stood there
With his arms outstretched
Across the frozen white wasteland
Trying to figure out what he's gonna do
About his deflicted eyes
And it was at that precise moment that he remembered
An ancient Eskimo legend
Wherein it is written
On whatever it is that they write it on up there
That if anything bad ever happens to your eyes
As a result of some sort of conflict
With anyone named Nanook
The only way you can get it fixed up
Is to go trudgin' across the tundra...
Mile after mile
Trudgin' across the tundra...
Right down to the parish of Saint Alfonzo...
Yes indeed, here we are!
At Saint Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast
Where I stole the mar-juh-reen
An' widdled on the Bingo Cards in lieu of the latrine
I saw a handsome parish lady
Make her entrance like a queen
Why she was totally chenille
And her old man was a Marine
As she abused a sausage pattie
And said why don't you treat me mean?
(Hurt me, hurt me, hurt me, oooooh!)
At Saint Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast
(Hah! Good God! Get off the bus!)
Where I stole the mar-juh-reen . . .
Saint Alfonzo
Saint Alfonzo
Saint Alfonzo
Saint Alfonzo
Ooo-ooo-WAH . . .
Get on your feet an' do the funky Alfonzo!
Father Vivian O'Blivion
Resplendent in his frock
Was whipping up the batter
For the pancakes of his flock
He was looking rather bleary
(He forgot to watch the clock)
'Cause the night before
Behind the door
A leprechaun had stroked, yes . . .
The night before
Behind the door
A leprechaun had stroked (he stroked it) . . .
The night before
Behind the door
A leprechaun had stroked . . . his . . .
Sma-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah
Ahhh (stroked his smock)
Which set him off in such a frenzy
He sang LOCK AROUND THE CROCK
An' he topped it off with a . . .
An' he topped it off with a . . .
An' he topped it off with a . . .
WOO WOO WOO
WOO WOO WOO
WOO WOO WOO
As he stumbled on his [?]
He was delighted as it stiffened
And ripped right through his sock
Oh, Saint Alfonzo would be proud of me
PROUD OF ME
He shouted down the block
Dominus Vo-bisque 'em
Et come spear a tu-tu,
Oh!
Won't you eat my sleazy pancakes
Just for Saintly Alfonzo
They're so light 'n fluffy-white
We'll raise a fortune by tonite
They're so light 'n fluffy-white
We'll raise a fortune by tonite
They're so light 'n fluffy-brown
They're the finest in the town
They're so light 'n fluffy-brown
They're the finest in the town
Good morning, your Highness
Ooo-ooo-ooo
I brought you your snow shoes
Ooo-ooo-ooo
Good morning, your Highness
Ooo-ooo-ooo
I brought you your snow shoes . . .
Tony Dardi
This stuff was so far ahead of it’s time it’s still ahead of its time.
Daniel Land
@Janine Turbitt 👍😊🙃😜🤪🍺🍺🍺😁🍹
Daniel Land
🙃😜🤪🍺🍺😊👍
Andrew Bates
Ahead of it's time??? I have to argue. Truly timeless music cannot be ahead of it's time by defenition....
James Brown
The US has been following back, as a matter of fact she has never even tried to make up the difference.
kermit brown
This shit is eternally ahead of time. This dude was on a different wavelength or something. Hahaha love zappa edit: I just realized a bunch of people made the same comment as me
Mateo
This really is as good as it gets, right? It has the most perfect balance between, music, theater, humor and bonkers originality that you only get with Zappa on top form
Benson Dead from the neck up
Frank got me hooked with the humor and weirdness.
Al Whyte
Every time I make pancakes, I listen to this.
Al Whyte
He was a musical polymath. My hero.