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.
Let's Make the Water Turn Black
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I want everyone to listen and believe
It's about some little people from a long time ago
And all the things the neighbors didn't know
Early in the morning daddy dinky went to work
Selling lamps and chairs to San Bernadino squares
And I still remember mama with her apron and her pad
Feeding all the boys at Ed's cafe!
Whizzing and pasting and pooting through the day...
(Ronnie helping Kenny helping burn his poots away!)
And all the while on a shelf in the shed:
Kenny's little creatures on display!
Ronnie saves his numies on a window in his room
(a marvel to be seen: dysentery green)
While Kenny & his buddies had a game out in the back:
Let's make the water turn black
We see them after school in a world of their own
(to some it might seem creepy what they do...)
The neighbors on the right sat and watched them every night
(I bet you'd do the same if they was you)
Whizzing and pasting and pooting through the day...
(Ronnie helping Kenny helping burn his poots away!)
And all the while on a shelf in the shed:
Kenny's little creatures on display!
Ronnie's in the army now and Kenny's taking pills
Oh! how they yearn to see a bomber burn!
Color flashing, thunder crashing, dynamite machine!
(wait till the fire turns green...wait till the fire turns green)
Wait till the fire turns green!
This would be a little bit of vocal teen-age heaven, right here on earth!
Dodn-do-do-dodn-dodn-dodn-dada
Let's Make the Water Turn Black by Frank Zappa is a song that retells the story of a group of individuals, called the “little people,” who lived in a small town in America in the post-World War II era. The song, while being whimsical and satirical in nature, highlights the secret lives of these seemingly normal people, and their eccentric habits that their neighbors were unaware of. The first two stanzas of the song, with lines like “selling lamps and chairs to San Bernadino squares” and “feeding all the boys at Ed's cafe!” sets up the scene of the town and the people living in it, giving a glimpse of the mundane lives they led during the day.
However, things started to become interesting after school, as the little people retreated into their own separate worlds, engaging in peculiar activities like "whizzing and pasting and pooting through the day", and Ronnie "saving his numies on a window in his room (a marvel to be seen: dysentery green)", while Kenny and his friends played a game in the back, called "Let's make the water turn black". The chorus, “whizzing and pasting and pooting through the day, Ronnie helping Kenny helping burn his poots away” adds an element of camaraderie among the little people, and the fact that they’re all having fun together makes it more whimsical than creepy. It’s only when the neighbors start watching them that things start getting weird.
The last verse of the song is the culmination of the “little people’s” secret lives as they yearn to see a bomber burn, with color flashing, thunder crashing, and a dynamite machine that will “wait till the fire turns green...wait till the fire turns green.” The line “this would be a little bit of vocal teenage heaven, right here on earth”, is an interesting way of introducing the concept of an idealized American Dream, where one could do whatever they want without any suppression. It’s at once both satirical and sincere. The song as a whole is an invitation to the audience to imagine themselves as part of the little people and partake in their wild adventures, making it more of a playful jab at small-town life than anything truly sinister.
Line by Line Meaning
Now believe me when I tell you that my song is really true
I want to emphasize that the events detailed in my song actually happened, and I urge you to believe it
I want everyone to listen and believe
My message is so important that I want to ensure everyone hears and accepts it
It's about some little people from a long time ago
The focus of my song is on small individuals from the past who deserve recognition
And all the things the neighbors didn't know
My song divulges secrets that have remained hidden from the neighbors until now
Early in the morning daddy dinky went to work
The workday started early for Daddy Dinky, who sold lamps and chairs to residents of San Bernardino
Selling lamps and chairs to San Bernadino squares
The residents of San Bernardino are referred to derogatorily as "squares"
And I still remember mama with her apron and her pad
My mother used to wear an apron and carry a notepad around while she cooked
Feeding all the boys at Ed's cafe!
My mother would serve food to the boys who hung out at Ed's cafe
Whizzing and pasting and pooting through the day...
Ronnie, Kenny, and their friends spend their day performing a variety of idiosyncratic activities that involve bodily functions
(Ronnie helping Kenny helping burn his poots away!)
Ronnie assists Kenny in relieving himself of flatulence
And all the while on a shelf in the shed:
Kenny's little creatures on display!
Kenny has some sort of collection of figurines or artwork that he keeps in the shed
Ronnie saves his numies on a window in his room
(a marvel to be seen: dysentery green)
Ronnie stores his personal possessions on a windowsill, which is an impressive sight because it's colored green (presumably because of dysentery)
While Kenny & his buddies had a game out in the back:
Let's make the water turn black
Kenny and his friends participate in some sort of activity in which they attempt to discolor the water. This is likely a metaphor for polluting nature or engaging in some form of destruction for fun.
We see them after school in a world of their own
(to some it might seem creepy what they do...)
Ronnie, Kenny, and their friends are witnessed by others while engaging in their strange activities. Some perceive what they do as unsettling or distressing.
The neighbors on the right sat and watched them every night
(I bet you'd do the same if they was you)
The people living next to Ronnie and Kenny observe their behaviors each night, a behavior that is encouraged by the song's narrator
Ronnie's in the army now and Kenny's taking pills
Oh! how they yearn to see a bomber burn!
Ronnie is now serving in the military, while Kenny is addicted to drugs. Both of them yearn to witness an act of destruction, such as a plane burning.
Color flashing, thunder crashing, dynamite machine!
(wait till the fire turns green...wait till the fire turns green)
Wait till the fire turns green!
The artist describes some horrific, apocalyptic event about to unfold with vividly descriptive language designed to elicit awe or fear. The idea of waiting for the fire to turn green could mean waiting for an explosion, waiting for destruction to start.
This would be a little bit of vocal teen-age heaven, right here on earth!
Teenagers would love to experience the events described in the song, which are chaotic and thrilling in nature.
Dodn-do-do-dodn-dodn-dodn-dada
This is a meaningless, nonsensical phrase that likely serves to punctuate the song or to hook listeners in with a catchy tune.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind