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.
Sofa
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I am the water
Ich bin der Dreck unter deinen Walzen
(Oh no, whip it on me, honey!)
Ich bin dein geheimer Schmutz
Und verlorenes Metallgeld
(Metallgeld)
Ich bin deine Ritze
I am the clouds
I am embroidered
Ich bin der author aller Felgen
Und Damast Paspeln
Ich bin der Chrome Dinette
Ich bin der Chrome Dinette
Ich bin Eier aller Arten
Ich bin alle Tage und Nächte
Ich bin alle Tage und Nächte
Ich bin hier (Aye-ah!)
Und do bist mein Sofa
Ich bin hier (Aye-ah!)
Und do bist mein Sofa
Ich bin hier (Aye-ah!)
Und do bist mein Sofa
Yeah-ha-ha-ay
Yah-ha
Yeah, my Sofa
Yeah-ha-hey
In Frank Zappa's song Sofa, the singer presents themselves as various entities while claiming to be the listener's sofa. The singer identifies themselves as various elements, such as heaven, water, dirt under the listener's wheels, and secret grime that embeds itself in the person's cracks and crevices. By doing this, the singer presents themselves as omnipotent and ubiquitous or ever-present as they claim to be everything around the person.
The singer then goes on to specify their presence even more by claiming that they are the clouds in the sky that surround the listener, the chrome trimmings, Dinette, and egg connoisseurs. By continuing on this pattern, the singer's message becomes clearer; they see everything and make up all things. Even the space that the person resides is included in their domain, and the singer is also the listener's sofa. This concept appears to be a metaphor for the larger idea that we are all interconnected and make up everything in the universe. We are all here to serve one another, and everything is a part of us; we are part of everything.
Line by Line Meaning
I am the heaven
I am the highest possible state of being
I am the water
I am the source of life and purity
Ich bin der Dreck unter deinen Walzen
I am the dirty and unwanted parts of your life
(Oh no, whip it on me, honey!)
I am willing to accept and endure any negative aspect you bring
Ich bin dein geheimer Schmutz
I am the secret and hidden impurities within you
Und verlorenes Metallgeld
I am the lost and forgotten value within you
(Metallgeld)
I am metallic currency, representative of value
Ich bin deine Ritze
I am the cracks and spaces within you
Ich bin deine Ritze und Schlitze
I am the crevices and openings within you
I am the clouds
I represent the vast and ever-changing nature of possibilities
I am embroidered
I am adorned with intricate and skillful detail
Ich bin der author aller Felgen
I am the creator of all wheel rims
Und Damast Paspeln
I am the elegant and decorative trimmings on fabric
Ich bin der Chrome Dinette
I am the shiny and stylish dining table set
Ich bin Eier aller Arten
I am the eggs of any and all varieties
Ich bin alle Tage und Nächte
I am present at all times, day and night
Ich bin hier (Aye-ah!)
I am currently here, in this moment
Und do bist mein Sofa
And you are my place of comfort and relaxation
Yeah-ha-ha-ay
An expression of happiness and satisfaction
Yah-ha
Another expression of joy and contentment
Yeah, my Sofa
Affirmation that the sofa is mine and provides me with comfort
Yeah-ha-hey
Another expression of happiness and fulfillment
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@luvhatpunk9453
This song evokes such grandeur and beauty; elegant proof of Zappa's musical genius. This song brings a tear to my eye.
@stephendaparma3303
The Maestro never disappoints
@prip
There aren’t many perfect albums, not many perfect Zappa albums. But this is one of them. The tunes, the solos, the recording and production all dead solid perfect.
@stephendaparma3303
The Maestro 🎸
@thedudelebowski69
can this man be put into the Rock&Roll hall-of-fame again, please!?
@randyhowey7414
No Shit !! The Man was Incredible.
Love You Frank !
@thedudelebowski69
i guess we have to ask jay-z if he wrote all the songs already first??
@rickwade6440
You are correct. Once is NEVER enough when it comes to FZ.
@stephendaparma3303
The Maestro 🎸🎶👍🏻
@RodrigoOliveira-gx8fp
@@thedudelebowski69 🤣🤣🤣