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.
Lost In A Whirlpool
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bobby zappa (rhythm guitar)
Frank zappa (lead guitar)
Well, I'm lost in a whirlpool
Yeah, baby, my head is goin' round
Well, ever since my baby flushed me
Oh, I been goin round, yeah around and around
I keep goin' down and down
There's a big brown fish
Lookin at me
He ain't got no eyes
How could that motherfucker possibly see
Ooh, baby baby
I'm gonna be afraid it gonna touch me
Well I'm lost in this whirlpool
Oh, I can't even see
Baby, won't you come help me
Pour some drano down,
And get the plunger right after me
I'll let you know a little secret, baby
I'm gettin' tired of all this pee
Don't go strange, mother goose
Ooh, my head's in a noose
In this song, Frank Zappa tells the story of a man who has been discarded by his lover and has fallen into a whirlpool of despair. He describes his head as spinning and his body constantly descending into the whirlpool. He encounters a big brown fish that has no eyes and is wondering how it can see. He is scared of the fish and believes it might touch him. He cries out for help to his lover and asks her to pour some drano down and get the plunger after him. He also confesses to being tired of all the "pee," suggesting that he is tired of being in this situation and wants to get out of it.
The meaning of the song is quite clear, that the singer is in a situation that he cannot get out of, and he is hoping that someone would help him out of it. He is lost in a whirlpool of emotions and situations that have overtaken him. The fish with no eyes is symbolic of his situation, he cannot see a way out of it, and he is scared that he might be touched by something that he cannot comprehend or control.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I'm lost in a whirlpool
I'm feeling overwhelmed and disoriented.
Yeah, baby, my head is goin' round
I'm experiencing dizziness.
Well, ever since my baby flushed me
My girlfriend broke up with me and I feel like I'm spiraling out of control.
Oh, I been goin round, yeah around and around
I can't stop obsessing over the breakup and it's making me feel like I'm caught in a cycle.
I keep goin' down and down
My spirits are sinking lower and lower.
There's a big brown fish
Lookin at me
He ain't got no eyes
How could that motherfucker possibly see
I'm feeling paranoid and seeing things that aren't really there.
Ooh, baby baby
I'm gonna be afraid it gonna touch me
I'm afraid of being attacked or hurt.
Oh, I can't even see
Baby, won't you come help me
I'm feeling lost and in need of assistance.
Pour some drano down,
And get the plunger right after me
Please help me clear my head and get through this difficult time.
I'll let you know a little secret, baby
I'm gettin' tired of all this pee
I'm tired of feeling like I'm swimming in my own problems and ready to move forward.
Don't go strange, mother goose
Ooh, my head's in a noose
I'm afraid of losing my mind or getting into trouble.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Don Van Vliet, Frank Vincent Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind