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.
Duck Duck Goose
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK
January 17, 1977
FZ--guitar
Ray White--guitar
Eddie Jobson--violin, keyboards
Patrick O'Hearn--bass
Terry Bozzio--voice
Patrick O'Hearn--voice
Davey Moire--voice?
Roy Estrada--voice
Moire?: What?
O'Hearn: Heh heh heh ye-yes!
Roy:
I never thought you'd go from me
Now that you're gone
I miss you so much
Wha-Wha-Whatcha gonna do when the well runs dry?
O'Hearn: Oh-ooh-h listen to him go!
O'Hearn: Why don't you take it down to C-sharp, or an E?
Roy:
Whatcha gonna do when the well runs dry-y-y-y?
Bozzio: Talk him down, Vic . . .
Moire?: Mmm . . .
O'Hearn: Come on down, Johnny . . .
Moire?: Okay . . .
Moire?: Yeah
O'Hearn?: Nope
The beginning of the song Duck Duck Goose by Frank Zappa features a conversation among the members of the band about the song that they are about to play. They discuss the potential key changes and make suggestions, emphasizing this as a spontaneous performance. The lyrics of the song shift between the members, but the overall theme seems to be dealing with a lost love or relationship. Roy Estrada sings about missing someone who has left him, asking "whatcha gonna do when the well runs dry?" which can be interpreted as a metaphor for the end of a relationship or the feeling of being abandoned.
Throughout the song, there is a sense of urgency and desperation, as though the singer is trying to make sense of their emotions and find a way to move on. The use of multiple voices creates a frantic atmosphere, with each member contributing their own perspective on the situation. The lyrics are open to interpretation, as the song may be about lost love, addiction, or anything else that can leave a person feeling empty and searching for answers.
Line by Line Meaning
I never thought you'd go from me
I didn't expect you to leave me
Now that you're gone
Since you have left
I miss you so much
I feel your absence dearly
Wha-Wha-Whatcha gonna do when the well runs dry?
What will you do when your resources run out?
Oh-ooh-h listen to him go!
He is doing great, keep listening
Why don't you take it down to C-sharp, or an E?
Change the key of the song to C-sharp or E
Whatcha gonna do when the well runs dry-y-y-y?
What will you do when you run out of resources?
Talk him down, Vic . . .
Lower the tempo or volume of the performer's voice, Vic
Come on down, Johnny . . .
Join the performance, Johnny
Yeah
Yes
Nope
No
Contributed by Peyton A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.