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.
Mr
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't forget your beans & celery
Don't forget to bring
Your fake I.D.
Eat a bunch of these
MAGNIFICENT
With sauerkraut
MMMMMMMMMMM
Eat a grape, a fig
A crumpet too...
You'll pump 'em right through
Doo-wee-ooo
Eat your shoes
Don't forget the strings
And sox
Even eat the box
Your bought 'em in
You can eat the truck
That brought 'em in
Garbage truck
MMMMMMMMMMMMouldy
Garbage truck
Eat the truck & driver
And his gloves
NUTRITIOUSNESS
DELICIOUSNESS
WORTHLESSNESS
The lyrics of Frank Zappa's song "Mr. Green Genes" are a mixture of nonsensical phrases and commentary on American society. The opening lines to the song encouraging listeners to eat their greens and celery are taken from a public service announcement broadcast in the United States during the 1960s. However, the addition of absurd phrases, such as "don't forget to bring your fake I.D" or "eat a bunch of these MAGNIFICENT with sauerkraut" reflects Zappa's satirical take on American culture, where healthy eating is often associated with peculiar fads and trends.
The lyrics go on to suggest eating shoes, strings, socks, and even the box they came in, epitomizing Zappa's unique brand of absurdity. Additionally, the suggestion that listeners should "eat the truck and driver and his gloves" hints at society's reckless and resource-hungry nature, as well as the willingness to consume all forms of material goods. Overall, the lyrics to "Mr. Green Genes" are a reflection of Frank Zappa's view of the world: a mix of the serious and the comical, the thought-provoking and nonsensical.
Line by Line Meaning
Eat your greens
Make sure to consume healthy vegetables
Don't forget your beans & celery
Include other nutritious food like beans and celery in your diet
Don't forget to bring
Remember to bring along necessary items
Your fake I.D.
Bring your fake identification documents to get into places you shouldn't be
Eat a bunch of these
Consume a large quantity of these food items
MAGNIFICENT
These dietary choices are impressive
With sauerkraut
Add sauerkraut to enhance the taste of the food
MMMMMMMMMMM
Indicates extreme pleasure derived from the consumption of the food
Sauerkraut
Reiteration of the addition of sauerkraut for flavor
Eat a grape, a fig
Include fruits like grapes and figs in your diet
A crumpet too...
Even baked goods like crumpets have their place in a balanced diet
You'll pump 'em right through
These foods will aid in digestion and bowel movement
Doo-wee-ooo
Expression of satisfaction and contentment after consuming nutritious food
Eat your shoes
Jokingly suggesting to consume anything and everything
Don't forget the strings
Even non-edible parts of items can be consumed if necessary
And sox
Suggesting wearing and consuming socks, another humorous line
Even eat the box
Eating the packaging of items is also proposed
Your bought 'em in
When eating the packaging, don't forget to consume the box it came in
You can eat the truck
Joke suggesting to eat even larger inedible objects such as a truck
That brought 'em in
Even the vehicle that delivered these items can be consumed
Garbage truck
Suggesting to eat a garbage truck, which is obviously not possible or healthy
MMMMMMMMMMMMouldy
Exaggerating the pleasure derived from consuming moldy food, which is also not healthy
Garbage truck
Reiteration of the previous humorous line
Eat the truck & driver
Proposal to consume everything, including the driver of the garbage truck
And his gloves
Even the small parts like gloves can be consumed according to the theme of the song
NUTRITIOUSNESS
An ironic statement insinuating that even inedible things are nutritious
DELICIOUSNESS
Praises the idea of consuming everything in a sarcastic way
WORTHLESSNESS
Admitting the futility of the suggestions made in the entire song
Lyrics Β© OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
StfuSiriusly
greatest man of all time
andreat
i love this song! i always thought it sounded like Ray Charles singing with Frank Zappa doing the deeper background singing/doo wopping
Terry Wilson
Great find. I have a 45 from the same era with Frank on vocals and guitars. If I had a way to convert to digital, I'd post it.
hajoh96
True, true. But thing is: I found this song in a discography of Frank Zappa and I don't know the band or lead singer. It wasn't on youtube so I uploaded it so everyone can enjoy this fantastic tune. If you don't like it - well, not my problem mr Wiseguy :)
Joe Maggard
You'll love it it's a way of life.
Frank Leroy
"The genius Frank Zappa singing in the background."
Joepepe lombardo
THIS WAS PHUCKING KEWL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Timsfecalmatter
this is fucking awesome xD
Ed Hunt
Mr. Clean . . . .2day it is still ahead of it's time!
Zev Feldman
beautiful