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.
Tiger Roach
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Frank zappa (guitar)
Janschi (bass)
Vic mortenson (drums)
This album is not available to the public ...
Even if it were, you wouldn't wanna listen to it!
Iron man!
[screams]
That's fine!
Tiger spine!
Work out!
Monza blocks!
Light switch!
Roaches' smocks!
Ice cream!
What a dream!
Memories of
Flyin' machines!
Green lantern!
Funny lizard!
Three-way!
Out'sight!
Buddy learns!
See spot run!
Work out!
Have some fun!
Yeah ...
[screams]
[screams]
Wilhelmina!
Mildew!
[screams]
Billboard!
Night light!
Hammerhead!
Outta sight!
In baghdad
Roaches fly!
Outta sight!
'cross the grassy sky!
Anvils fly!
Mountains burp!
Turpentine!
[deano/duno/tuna/tina werp? ]
Lord gosh!
Oooh ...
[rush eye / musheye? ] ...
[harp imitation, screams and coughs]
What's that noise?
Looks like green!
Maybe it's purple?
[spotlight / spot eye? ]!
Hammer law?
Bend iron!
So fine ...
Tiger roach!
This song "Tiger Roach" is a funky, free-flowing experimental rock piece, as is typical of Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart's collaborations. The lyrics are surreal, stream-of-consciousness ramblings, seemingly inspired by word association and improvisation. The words seem to be mostly nonsense, with occasional references to popular culture or Dick-and-Jane-style children's stories, but ultimately the meaning of the lyrics is up to the listener's interpretation.
The song title itself, "Tiger Roach," is an interesting juxtaposition of two seemingly unrelated animals, which could represent the surreal nature of the lyrics. The line "In Baghdad roaches fly across the grassy sky" is particularly striking in its juxtaposition of a dirty, lowly insect with a fanciful, beautiful image. The song is likely a commentary on society's expectations of language, meaning, and communication - as the lyrics refuse to adhere to any known structure or logic.
Line by Line Meaning
This album is not available to the public ...
Sorry, you can't find this album anywhere.
Even if it were, you wouldn't wanna listen to it!
Even if you could find it, it's not worth listening to.
[mouth noises]
Some unintelligible sounds.
Iron man!
Some random words to create an effect.
[screams]
Loud vocalizations.
That's fine!
That's okay.
Tiger spine!
A reference to a tiger's spine.
Work out!
Exercise.
Monza blocks!
Maybe a reference to car parts.
Light switch!
A device for turning lights on and off.
Roaches' smocks!
Clothing for roaches.
Ice cream!
Frozen dessert.
What a dream!
Dreamy.
Memories of Flyin' machines!
Recollections of planes or other aircraft.
Green lantern!
A comic book superhero.
Funny lizard!
Amusing reptile.
Three-way!
Something involving three things or people.
Out'sight!
Maybe a play on words, meaning both outside and outlook.
Buddy learns!
Someone named Buddy is learning something?
See spot run!
Reference to an early reading book.
Have some fun!
Enjoy yourself.
Yeah ...
Acknowledgment or agreement.
[screams]
More loud vocalizations.
[screams]
Even more loud vocalizations.
Wilhelmina!
A name.
Mildew!
Fungus.
[screams]
Screaming again.
Billboard!
A large advertisement.
Night light!
A small light for use at night.
Hammerhead!
Type of shark.
Outta sight!
Very cool or amazing.
In baghdad Roaches fly!
Roach-related imagery set in Baghdad.
Outta sight 'cross the grassy sky!
Roaches flying across the grassy sky, which is also cool and amazing.
Anvils fly!
Objects that are heavy and normally don't fly.
Mountains burp!
A strange and absurd image.
Turpentine!
A solvent used for various things.
[deano/duno/tuna/tina werp?]
More unintelligible sounds.
Lord gosh!
Expression of surprise, similar to goodness gracious.
Oooh ... [rush eye / musheye? ] ...
Sounds like more nonsense.
[harp imitation, screams and coughs]
A musical interlude and some more loud vocalizations.
What's that noise?
A question about a sound.
Looks like green!
Seeming to be green in color.
Maybe it's purple?
Perhaps it's a different color from what it looks like.
[spotlight / spot eye? ]!
Perhaps being in the spotlight or looking through a spot in something.
Hammer law?
Unclear, possibly a reference to something legal involving a hammer.
Bend iron!
To physically deform a metal object.
So fine ...
Very good, excellent.
Tiger roach!
The subject of the song, a type of insect or animal.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Don Van Vliet, Frank Vincent Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind