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 Come From Nowhere
Frank Zappa Lyrics
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Steve vai (guitar)
Ray white (rhythm guitar, vocals)
Tommy mars (keyboards)
Bobby martin (keyboards, saxophone, vocals)
Ed mann (percussion)
Chad wackerman (drums)
Roy estrada (vocals)
Bob harris (vocals)
Patrick o'hearn (bass)
I come from nowhere
And you should go there
Just try it for a while
The people from nowhere
Always smile
Their eyes are all frozen over
The sides of their faces pooch out at the corners
Because that's what happens when their mouths turn up
On both sides
Which is why we can tell they're smiling
They never frown
They never let their eyebrows turn down
They like going around with their teeth showing
All the time
They are from nowhere
Your teeth are showing
So maybe you been there
You could have the disease of nowhere people
Where the air gets stuck all over their gums
When their nowhere lips roll back
For real excitement
They stand still
They shut up
Then they don't do nothing
Out there in nowhere
The lyrics of "I Come From Nowhere" by Frank Zappa are a satirical take on the concept of nowhere as a physical and emotional state. According to Frank Zappa, nowhere is a place where people are always happy, but their happiness is superficial and based on a detachment from reality. The people of nowhere are characterized by their frozen eyes and smiling faces, which never seem to change even in the face of difficult situations. Their perpetual smile is a result of the mouth turning up on both sides, which causes the sides of their faces to pooch out at the corners.
The song suggests that the people of nowhere are disconnected from the world around them and have no sense of purpose or direction. They stand still, shut up, and don't do anything, even when presented with an opportunity to explore new experiences or ideas. The disease of nowhere people is described as being stuck in their gums, which reflects the idea that they are trapped in a state of complacency and cannot imagine a life beyond their current circumstances.
Overall, the lyrics of "I Come From Nowhere" offer a critique of a society that values happiness above all else, even if that happiness is hollow and meaningless. According to Frank Zappa, true happiness comes from engaging with the world in all of its complexity, including its pain and suffering.
Line by Line Meaning
I come from nowhere
I don't have a specific place of origin
And you should go there
You should experience being from nowhere
Just try it for a while
Give it a chance and see what it's like
The people from nowhere
The individuals who are also from nowhere
Always smile
They are always happy
Their eyes are all frozen over
Their eyes are permanently stuck in a wide-open position
The sides of their faces pooch out at the corners
The corners of their mouths are always turned up, leading to protrusions on the side of their face
Because that's what happens when their mouths turn up
The corners of their mouth protrude because their mouths are always turned up into a smile
On both sides
Both sides of their face have protrusions
Which is why we can tell they're smiling
The protrusions allow us to see that their mouth is turned up into a smile
They never frown
They never have a sad expression on their face
They never let their eyebrows turn down
They never have a displeased expression on their face
They like going around with their teeth showing
They frequently smile or laugh, showing their teeth
All the time
Constantly
They are from nowhere
Their origin is unknown
Your teeth are showing
You are smiling or laughing, just like the people from nowhere
So maybe you been there
Perhaps you have experienced being from nowhere
You could have the disease of nowhere people
It's possible that you have contracted the 'disease' of always being happy and smiling
Where the air gets stuck all over their gums
When they smile or laugh, air gets trapped between their teeth and gums
When their nowhere lips roll back
When they smile, their lips move back towards their ears
For real excitement
Because they are genuinely happy
They stand still
They become motionless
They shut up
They stop talking
Then they don't do nothing
They don't move or talk until their excitement passes
Out there in nowhere
In the unknown place where they are from
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Vincent Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind