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.
Once Upon a Time Sofa
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mark volman (vocals)
Howard kaylan (vocals)
Jim pons (bass, vocals)
Don preston (keyboards, electronics)
Ian underwood (keyboards, alto saxophone)
Aynsley dunbar (drums)
Way back a long time ago,
When the universe consisted of nothing more elaborate than
Mark bolman
Oh, thank you frank
And don't misspell it,
That's not marc bolan
That's mark volman
Hiya friends
I wanna welcome each and everyone of you
I wanna say to you tonight
I feel great
I mean, I feel great
Everywhere I go people are always comin' up to me
And they say mark, mark, mark
Mark are you kiddin'
Lemme tell you this friends:
I am not kiddin'
I mean, I am portly and I am maroon
Well, how many people here tonight can guess what I am?
Aaaah
I can't guess what you are
Well, then I'll give you some clues
And the first clue is
I am portly
Does that help?
Not much
No, I don't know who you are
Okay, I got one
Clue number two:
I am double knit
Does that help?
No, not much
Whaddya mean?
Well, then I've to give you one more clue
I know this is gonna give it away
And I hate like damn to tell you this
But clue number three:
Ich bin maroon!
Ahhhhhhhh you're a sofa!
Once upon a time
Way back a long time ago,
When the universe consisted of nothing more elaborate than
Mark volman ...
Thank you, frank
... trying to convince each and every member
Of this extremely hip audience here tonight,
That he was nothing more, nothing less
Than a fat maroon sofa,
Suspended in the midst of a great emptiness
A light shined down from heaven (* twinkling sounds *)
And there he was ladies and gentleman, the good lord
And he took, he took a look at the sofa,
And he said to himself
"quite an attractive sofa"
"this sofa could be commercial"
With a few more margaritas and the right company
However, I digress
"what this sofa needs" said the big 'g'
"is a bit of flooring underneath of it"
And so in order to make this construction project possible,
He summoned the assistance of the celestial corp of engineers,
And, by means of a cute little song in the german language
(which is the way he talks whenever it's heavy business)
The good lord went something like this:
(take it away jim pons!)
Gib zu mir etwas fussbodenbelag
Unter diesen fetten fliessenden sofa
Everybody!
Gib zu mir etwas fussbodenbelag
Unter diesen fetten fliessenden sofa
And of course ladies and gentlemen that means:
"give unto me a bit of flooring under this fat floating sofa"
And sure enough boards of oak appeared throughout the emptiness
As far as vision permits,
Stretching all the way from belfast to bogner regis
And the lord put aside his huge cigar
And proceeded to deliver unto the charming maroonish sofa
The bulk of his message
With the assistance of a small electric clarinet
And it went something like this...
Take it away jim pons!
Gib zu mir etwas fussbodenbelag
Unter diesen fetten fliessenden sofa
Everybody!
Gib zu mir etwas fussbodenbelag
Unter diesen fetten fliessenden sofa
And of course ladies and gentlemen, that means:
Give unto me a bit of flooring under this fat floating sofa
And sure enough boards of oak appeared throughout the emptiness as far as vision permits, stretching all the way from belfast to bagner regious and the lord put aside his huge cigar and proceeded to deliver unto the charming maroonish sofa the bulk of his message with the assistance of a small electric clarinet and he went something like... this:
The song "Once Upon A Time" by Frank Zappa is a humorous and surreal account of the origin story of a "fat maroon sofa". The lyrics are narrated by Mark Volman, who describes himself as the sofa, and his attempts to convince the audience of this fact. The narrative takes an unexpected turn when the "good lord" appears and decides to give the sofa a bit of flooring, with the help of celestial engineers and a German language song. The song ends with the lord delivering a message to the sofa with the help of a small electric clarinet.
The lyrics of "Once Upon A Time" are typical of Frank Zappa's irreverent and absurdist style. The song is a parody of religious themes and the idea of divine intervention in everyday life, as well as a commentary on the consumerist culture of the 1960s. Zappa uses humor and wordplay to create a surreal and fantastical world, where the boundaries between reality and fantasy are blurred.
Line by Line Meaning
Once upon a time
In the distant past
Way back a long time ago
In a time far, far away
When the universe consisted of nothing more elaborate than Mark volman
When the world was simple and Mark Volman was the only complex thing
Oh, thank you frank
Expressing gratitude towards Frank Zappa
And don't misspell it, That's not marc bolan That's mark volman
Clarifying the correct spelling of Mark Volman's name
I wanna welcome each and everyone of you
Extending a warm welcome to the audience
I feel great
Expressing a positive feeling
Everywhere I go people are always comin' up to me And they say mark, mark, mark
People recognize and approach Mark Volman
Mark are you kiddin' Lemme tell you this friends: I am not kiddin'
Proving that he isn't joking and being serious
I am portly and I am maroon
Describing his physical appearance
Well, how many people here tonight can guess what I am?
Posing a question to the audience
Ich bin maroon!
Revealing his color in German
trying to convince each and every member Of this extremely hip audience here tonight, That he was nothing more, nothing less Than a fat maroon sofa, Suspended in the midst of a great emptiness
Mark Volman portraying himself as an object in an empty universe
A light shined down from heaven (* twinkling sounds *)
Describing the appearance of a heavenly light
And there he was ladies and gentleman, the good lord
Introducing the presence of God
And he took, he took a look at the sofa, And he said to himself
God paying attention to the sofa
"quite an attractive sofa" "this sofa could be commercial"
God admiring the sofa's qualities and potential
"what this sofa needs" said the big 'g' "is a bit of flooring underneath of it"
God identifying the sofa's need for flooring
Summons the assistance of the celestial corp of engineers
Calling upon the help of divine engineers
A cute little song in the german language (which is the way he talks whenever it's heavy business)
Describing God's use of German in important situations
Gib zu mir etwas fussbodenbelag Unter diesen fetten fliessenden sofa
God singing a request for flooring in German
Give unto me a bit of flooring under this fat floating sofa
Translating God's German request to English
And the lord put aside his huge cigar And proceeded to deliver unto the charming maroonish sofa The bulk of his message
God pausing his cigar smoking to address the sofa
With the assistance of a small electric clarinet
God using an instrument to convey his message
Gib zu mir etwas fussbodenbelag Unter diesen fetten fliessenden sofa
God repeating his request in song
Give unto me a bit of flooring under this fat floating sofa
Translating God's German song to English
Sure enough boards of oak appeared throughout the emptiness as far as vision permits, stretching all the way from belfast to bagner regious
Flooring appears throughout the empty universe
And the lord put aside his huge cigar And proceeded to deliver unto the charming maroonish sofa The bulk of his message With the assistance of a small electric clarinet
God delivering his message while using a clarinet
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Charles Strouse, Lee Adams
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Paola Marin
Love Zappa!
Douglas Machacek
The story goes, that Frank was pushed into the orchestra pit after this show cause some irate fan felt gipped. This was after the whole smoke on the water thing and they had to scramble to get new instruments. What a dick! Ive been listening to this for decades and wish to God I was at this show!
Zolar Czakl
@Andre Gluxariv
His next two albums, and mounted the Grand Wazoo tour nine months to the day after the incident. That's amazing.
The average "pop star" of the time, having suffered the same fate, would likely take fistfulls of pain killers and stare off into space. Zappa got right back to work. He probably took the least amount of pain killers he could.
Andre Gluxariv
In fact, he recorded his next album in a wheelchair
Steven Kelly
Music is the best