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.
I'm So Cute
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Adrian belew (rhythm guitar, vocals)
Tommy mars (keyboards, vocals)
Peter wolf (keyboards)
Patrick o'hearn (bass, vocals)
Terry bozzio (drums, vocals)
Ed mann (percussion, vocals)
Napoleon murphy brock (background vocals)
Randy thornton (background vocals)
Davey moire (background vocals)
One two three four!
Feelin' sorry
Feelin' sad
So many ugly people
I feel bad
I'm so cute
They're so homely
Some of them
At home 'n' lonely
Wish they could be
Very cute like me
But they will never
Get to be
Some folks got it
Some folks don't
Some so ugly
They never won't
Everybody
See his hair
See his clothes
I'm sure you care
Terry ted
Is really sweet
Watch the way he keep the beat
Sweet as honey
He's a piece of cake
>from the ginseng root
'n' stuff he take
Vitamin e
'n' all the be's
He's so cool he'll make you freeze
Make you freeze
Make you freeze
Excuse me please
Step aside
I'm gonna ride
I'm gonna strut
I'm gonna slide
Hey, ugly folks,
Go get some cyanide
An' die
Die die die die
A-ren-nen-nen-ah-ren-nen-nen
A-ren-nen-nen-uh-rennda
A-ren-nen-nen-ah-ren-nen-nen
A-rennda-rennda-rahhh
(etc. repeats)
Ugly is bad
And bad is wrong
And wrong is sinful
And sin leads to eternal damnation
An' hot burnin' fire
Hot burnin' fire
Hot burnin' fire
Hot burnin' fire
Screams of agony
Screams of agony
Screams of agony
Screams of agony
Arrrrrrrghhhhhhh!
One two three four
I'm so cute!
I'm so cute!
I'm so cute!
I'm so cute!
(etc. repeats)
In "I'm So Cute," Frank Zappa appears to mock those who obsess over their looks, dismissing it as a futile pursuit which ultimately leads to unhappiness. The opening lines set the tone, with Zappa feeling sorry and sad about the ugly people around him, contrasting his own cuteness against their homeliness. The song continues with Zappa asserting his superiority over those he deems unattractive, taunting them with the suggestion they should go and swallow cyanide pills, leading to their eternal damnation, hot burning fire and screams of agony.
However, the song seems to be a parody, in the sense that it makes fun of extreme narcissism, highlighting the ridiculousness of thinking one's worth is solely based on physical appearance. Zappa is utilizing irony and hyperbole to show the consequences of being vain, cruel and judgmental. By ridiculing such attitudes, he encourages people to take a more balanced approach to beauty, where inner and outer qualities are both important.
In the end, "I'm So Cute" is not a serious song that makes a definitive statement, but rather, it functions as a satire with a biting sense of humor, mocking society's ideals while making us laugh.
Line by Line Meaning
Feelin' sorry
I'm in a bad mood
Feelin' sad
I'm feeling down
So many ugly people
There are a lot of unattractive people around me
I feel bad
Seeing so many unattractive people makes me unhappy
I'm so cute
I'm attractive
They're so homely
Those other people are unattractive
Some of them
There are a few people
At home 'n' lonely
Who are alone and unhappy
Wish they could be
They want to be
Very cute like me
As attractive as I am
But they will never
They won't ever be as attractive as me
Get to be
They won't become more attractive
Some folks got it
Some people have natural talent or beauty
Some folks don't
Others don't have that natural talent or beauty
Some so ugly
Some are really unattractive
They never won't
They will never be attractive
Everybody
Everyone
See his hair
Look at his hair
See his clothes
Look at his clothes
I'm sure you care
I think you're interested
Terry ted
A nickname for someone named Terry
Is really sweet
He's a kind person
Watch the way he keep the beat
See how well he plays rhythm on his drums
Sweet as honey
He's really nice
He's a piece of cake
He's really easy
From the ginseng root
He eats healthily
'n' stuff he take
He takes other health supplements
Vitamin e
A specific health supplement
'n' all the be's
He takes all sorts of vitamins
He's so cool he'll make you freeze
He's really impressive
Make you freeze
Astound you
Excuse me please
I'm sorry to interrupt
Step aside
Get out of my way
I'm gonna ride
I am going to succeed
I'm gonna strut
I'm going to be confident
I'm gonna slide
I'm going to easily move forward
Hey, ugly folks,
You unattractive people
Go get some cyanide
Kill yourselves
An' die
Just die
A-ren-nen-nen-ah-ren-nen-nen
Nonsensical vocalization
A-ren-nen-nen-uh-rennda
More nonsensical vocalization
A-ren-nen-nen-ah-ren-nen-nen
Even more nonsensical vocalization
A-rennda-rennda-rahhh
And more nonsensical vocalization
Ugly is bad
Being unattractive is undesirable
And bad is wrong
Being undesirable is morally wrong
And wrong is sinful
Being morally wrong is a sin
And sin leads to eternal damnation
Being a sinner will get you sent to hell
An' hot burnin' fire
Punishment in hell is a burning fire
Screams of agony
The pain in hell is unbearable
Arrrghhhhhhh!
Agony
One two three four
Counting
I'm so cute!
I am very attractive
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@13traaa
Lyrics
One two three four!
Feelin' sorry
Feelin' sad
So many ugly people
I feel bad
I'm so cute
They're so homely
Some of them
At home 'n' lonely
Wish they could be
Very cute like me
But they will never
Get to be
Some folks got it
Some folks don't
Some so ugly
They never won't
Everybody
See his hair
See his clothes
I'm sure you care
Terry ted
Is really sweet
Watch the way he keep the beat
Sweet as honey
He's a piece of cake
>from the ginseng root
'n' stuff he take
Vitamin e
'n' all the be's
He's so cool he'll make you freeze
Make you freeze
Make you freeze
Excuse me please
Step aside
I'm gonna ride
I'm gonna strut
I'm gonna slide
Hey, ugly folks,
Go get some cyanide
An' die
Die die die die
A-ren-nen-nen-ah-ren-nen-nen
A-ren-nen-nen-uh-rennda
A-ren-nen-nen-ah-ren-nen-nen
A-rennda-rennda-rahhh
(etc. repeats)
Ugly is bad
And bad is wrong
And wrong is sinful
And sin leads to eternal damnation
An' hot burnin' fire
Hot burnin' fire
Hot burnin' fire
Hot burnin' fire
Screams of agony
Screams of agony
Screams of agony
Screams of agony
Arrrrrrrghhhhhhh!
One two three four
I'm so cute!
I'm so cute!
I'm so cute!
I'm so cute!
@beeragainsthumanity1420
"Watch the way he keep the beat"
Bozzio in beast mode.
Punk perfection.
@krsna1961
A-ren-nen-nen-ah-ren-nen-nen a-ren-nen-nen-uh-rennda a-ren-nen-nen-ah-ren-nen-nen....
@williamweiss6128
My cousin gave this to me for my birthday. Little did he know it would propel me into a life of sleazery with some road crew...etc, etc.
@davidcora2751
“Music can get you pretty fucked up”Take a tip from Joe! 😁. Joes Garage is a brilliant album!😁
@MeissnerEffect
Leather? 😊
@williamweiss6128
@@MeissnerEffect ever beat the crap out of the f ing drums 2 shows 2 nights in a row, I mean I can't take that kind of crap. Feel like I've been beating my hands with a gd hammer.
@rods6405
Where you the person stuck to seat 38 on fido 3
@williamweiss6128
@@rods6405 🤣
@joaoypsilon
The best news, i was down, and now Zappa is here
@TheRubberStudiosASMR
Zappa’s music is phenomenal for depression 😊