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.
Mom and Dad
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Someone said they made some noise
The cops have shot some girls & boys
You'll sit home & drink all night
They looked too weird . . . it served them right
Mama! Mama!
Someone said they made some noise
You'll sit home & drink all night
They looked too weird . . . it served them right
Ever take a minute just to show a real emotion
In between the moisture cream & velvet facial lotion?
Ever tell your kids you're glad that they can think?
Ever say you loved 'em? Ever let 'em watch you drink?
Ever wonder why your daughter looked so sad?
It's such a drag to have to love a plastic Mom & Dad
Mama! Mama!
Your child was killed in the park today
Shot by the cops as she quietly lay
By the side of the creeps she knew . . .
They killed her too.
The lyrics to Frank Zappa's song "Mom & Dad" reflect on the cultural norms and the conflict between the younger generation and the older generation in the 1960s. The opening lines of the song refer to a riot that took place in Sunset Strip, Los Angeles, in November 1966, where the police responded to a protest against the new curfew laws by using excessive force, which resulted in injuries and arrests of several people. The lines, "Someone said they made some noise, The cops have shot some girls & boys" express the frustration and fear of the younger generation towards the authority figures.
The song also critiques the superficiality of the middle-class American family and the lack of emotional connection between parents and their children. The lines, "Ever take a minute just to show a real emotion, In between the moisture cream & velvet facial lotion?" highlight the triviality of the mother's concerns, while the lines, "Ever say you loved 'em? Ever let 'em watch you drink?" point out the disconnect between the parents and their children.
The song's final lines reveal the tragic consequence of this detachment, as the mother's child is shot and killed by the police. The lines, "Your child was killed in the park today, Shot by the cops as she quietly lay, By the side of the creeps she knew...They killed her too." show the tragic reality of police brutality and the victims of it.
Overall, "Mom & Dad" by Frank Zappa is a powerful commentary on the societal tensions of the 1960s and the consequences of societal disconnection.
Line by Line Meaning
Mama! Mama!
Calling out to mother for attention and urgency.
Someone said they made some noise
The incident involved loud and disruptive behavior.
The cops have shot some girls & boys
Law enforcement officers resorted to shooting young individuals.
You'll sit home & drink all night
The mother is neglecting her responsibilities and choosing to consume alcohol instead.
They looked too weird . . . it served them right
The victims' appearance or behavior was considered inappropriate or strange, justifying their violent fate.
Ever take a minute just to show a real emotion
Have you ever let your true feelings show instead of hiding behind superficial products?
In between the moisture cream & velvet facial lotion?
Amidst your cosmetic routine?
Ever tell your kids you're glad that they can think?
Have you ever expressed genuine pride in your children's intellectual ability?
Ever say you loved 'em? Ever let 'em watch you drink?
Have you shown affection to your children? Have you exposed them to your personal weaknesses or vices?
Ever wonder why your daughter looked so sad?
Have you ever reflected on the reasons behind your child's unhappiness?
It's such a drag to have to love a plastic Mom & Dad
It is a difficult burden to love parents who prioritize materialistic desires over genuine affection and guidance.
Your child was killed in the park today
The mother's offspring was fatally shot in a public location.
Shot by the cops as she quietly lay
Law enforcement officers used excessive force and fatally injured the victim while she was non-threatening and still.
By the side of the creeps she knew
The victim was in proximity to questionable individuals.
They killed her too
The victim's acquaintances were also subject to violence by the law enforcement officers involved.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Brian Henneman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@fastnbulbouss
Ever take a minute just to show a real emotion
In between the moisture cream & velvet facial lotion?
Ever tell your kids you're glad that they can think?
Ever say you loved 'em? Ever let 'em watch you drink?
Ever wonder why your daughter looked so sad?
It's such a drag to have to love a plastic Mom & Dad
@j7dharma
Mama, Mama
Someone said they made some noise
The cops have shot some girls and boys
You'll sit home and drink all night
They looked too weird, it served them right
[Chorus 1]
Mama, Mama
Someone said they made some noise
The cops have shot some girls and boys
You'll sit home and drink all night
They looked too weird, it served them right
[Bridge]
Ever take a minute just to show a real emotion
In between the moisture cream and velvet facial lotion?
Ever tell your kids you're glad that they can think?
Ever say you loved 'em? Ever let 'em watch you drink?
Ever wonder why your daughter looks so sad?
It's such a drag to have to love a plastic mom and dad!
[Chorus 2]
Mama, Mama
Your child was killed in the park today
Shot by the cops as she quietly lay
By the side of the creeps she knew...
...They killed her too
@smokinjz
Mama! Mama!
Someone said they made some noise
The cops have shot some girls & boys
You'll sit home & drink all night
They looked too weird . . . it served them right
Mama! Mama!
Someone said they made some noise
The cops have shot some girls & boys
You'll sit home & drink all night
They looked too weird . . . it served them right
Ever take a minute just to show a real emotion
In between the moisture cream & velvet facial lotion?
Ever tell your kids you're glad that they can think?
Ever say you loved 'em? Ever let 'em watch you drink?
Ever wonder why your daughter looked so sad?
It's such a drag to have to love a plastic Mom & Dad
Mama! Mama!
Your child was killed in the park today
Shot by the cops as she quietly lay
By the side of the creeps she knew . . .
They killed her too.
@samlewis7878
This whole album is a masterpiece. Funny, irreverent, great musicianship, timely and yet universal. People will be listening to this for years to come - remembering Frank with awe.
@mac2105
RIP Frank, he would've had a blast being alive today...
@ronaldspies3876
One of the true musicians that lives the life he sings about. His drug of choice was his thought provoking music.
The first three albums by the mothers are all classics. Not one bad song on any of them and also a great history lesson about what was happening the last few years of the 60s.
@limpusshrimpus9810
No
@lilacvelvet4
yea
@koselise1
The greatest composer that spoke up for objective conceptual continuity...
@RipScissor
God, it's incredible how relevant this still is almost 60 years later. We never deserved Zappa.
@thequester7634
This might be one of Zappa's most earnest and genuine songs, lyrically. Zappa's usual sheen of irony or goofiness is absent.
@fastnbulbouss
Ever take a minute just to show a real emotion
In between the moisture cream & velvet facial lotion?
Ever tell your kids you're glad that they can think?
Ever say you loved 'em? Ever let 'em watch you drink?
Ever wonder why your daughter looked so sad?
It's such a drag to have to love a plastic Mom & Dad
@vcp93
"...often".