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.
Oh No
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't believe it
You say that you think you know
The meaning of love
You say love is all we need
You say
With your love you can change
All of the fools
I think you're probably
Out to lunch
Oh no
I don't believe it
You say that you think you know
The meaning of love
Do you really think it can be told?
You say that you really know
I think
You should check it again
How can you say
What you believe
Will be the key to a
World of love?
All your love
Will it save me?
All your love
Will it save the world
From what we can't understand?
Oh no
I don't believe it
And in your dreams
You can see yourself
As a prophet
Saving the world
The
Words from your lips
I just can't believe
You are such
A fool
The song "Oh No" by Frank Zappa is a critique of idealism and naivety in relationships and love. The lyrics describe a person who claims to know the meaning of love and believes that love can solve all of the world's problems. Zappa, however, disagrees with this notion and states that the person is "out to lunch" for thinking that way. The song challenges the idea that love is a cure-all for the world's problems and questions how anyone can claim to truly understand love's meaning.
The lyrics express a sense of skepticism and doubt towards the idealistic view of love. The repetition of the phrase "I don't believe it" reinforces the idea that the singer has little faith in the person's understanding of love. The line "Do you really think it can be told?" implies that love is perhaps too complex and personal to be defined in simple terms. By the end of the song, the singer outright calls the person a "fool," suggesting that their idealism is misguided and naive.
Overall, "Oh No" is a critical examination of one of our society's most treasured and overused concepts. It questions whether love truly has the power to change the world and suggests that embracing a simplified view of love may be more harmful than helpful in our relationships and in society.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh no
Expressing disbelief or surprise
I don't believe it
Reiterating the disbelief or surprise
You say that you think you know
Someone claims to have knowledge about something
The meaning of love
Love is the subject under discussion
You say love is all we need
Someone claims that love is necessary for happiness or success
You say
Emphasizing that the singer is the one claiming something
With your love you can change
Someone claims that their love can cause change
All of the fools
The person speaking is claiming they can change foolish people
All of the hate
The person speaking is claiming they can change hateful attitudes
I think you're probably
The artist believes that what the other person is saying is incorrect
Out to lunch
The person is crazy or delusional
Do you really think it can be told?
The artist is questioning if love can be understood and explained
You say that you really know
Someone is making a claim about their knowledge of love
I think
The singer is voicing their opinion or belief
You should check it again
The singer is advising the person to reconsider their statement
How can you say
Questioning the claim that was made
What you believe
The belief that was shared earlier is being questioned again
Will be the key to a
The belief is being challenged as a solution for a problem
World of love?
The singer is questioning if love can solve all the world's problems
All your love
The artist is referring to the amount of love someone claims to have
Will it save me?
Someone is questioning if love can save them from their problems
Will it save the world
Someone is questioning if love can save the entire world
From what we can't understand?
The singer is questioning if love can solve the problems that are beyond human comprehension
And in your dreams
The artist is highlighting the unrealistic nature of someone's beliefs
You can see yourself
Someone is imagining something that may not be true
As a prophet
Someone is imagining themselves to have a divine message or power
Saving the world
Someone is imagining themselves to be the savior of the entire world
The words from your lips
The artist is referring to the words someone is speaking
I just can't believe
The artist is exasperated at the belief someone is professing
You are such
The person being addressed is being characterized as something negative
A fool
The singer is explicitly calling the person being addressed a fool
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind