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.
WPLJ
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
WPLJ, won't you take a drink with me
Well, it's a good good wine
It really make you feel so fine
(So fine, so fine, so fine)
I went to the store when they opened up the door
I said, "Please please please gimme some more"
White Port & Lemon Juice,
White Port & Lemon Juice,
Ooh what it do to you!
You take the bottle, you take the can
Shake it up fine, you get a good good wine.
White Port & Lemon Juice,
(Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah...)
White Port & Lemon Juice,
White Port & Lemon Juice,
Ooh what it do to you!
The W is the White,
The P is the Port,
The L is the Lemon,
The J is the Juice
White Port & Lemon Juice,
White Port & Lemon Juice,
White Port & Lemon Juice,
Ooh what it do to you!
Well I feel so good, I feel so fine
I got plenty lemon, I got plenty wine
White Port & Lemon Juice,
White Port & Lemon Juice,
I said White Port & Lemon Juice,
Ooh what it do to you!
Roy: Por qué no consigues tu... tu carnal que nos compre some wine ese, ándale, pinche bato, puto, hombre, no te hagas nalga, hombre... (chale!) no seas tan denso, hombre (chale!), ándale, dile, porque no merecer, ándale, pinche vino, más sua... más suave es, más... más lindo que la chingada, hombre, ándale, pinche bato, hombre, quiere tu carnal, hombre, tu carnal ese, tú, tú sabes, tú sabes esto de la movida, tú sabes la movida, ese, tú sabes cómo es, tú sabes, pinche vino, puta, ándale, pinche bato, cabrón, ándale
?: This is getting me in trouble...
Roy: Ándale, hombre, por qué no, hombre?
?: Sorry!
Roy: Te digo que sí, hombre, te digo, chingao ese, está más... está más meco, hombre, ponemos más mecos que la chingada, ay! Ay, bato pinche, ay!
God, that's--They get to you after a while
In Frank Zappa's song WPLJ, the lyrics describe the pleasures of drinking White Port and Lemon Juice, which really "taste good" and "make you feel so fine." The first stanza features an invitation to drink, followed by the chorus extolling the virtues of the drink, which sounds like it would be sweet and citrusy, yet also potent. The second verse tells a story of the singer going to a store as soon as it opens to buy more of this drink, which seems to be in high demand. The third verse breaks down the letters of "WPLJ," explaining that the drink is made up of these four components: White Port, Lemon, and Juice. The song concludes by reiterating the positive effects of the drink, causing the singer to feel "so good" and "[have] plenty of lemon...and plenty of wine."
Overall, the song is a tribute to the drink WPLJ, which is a combination of white port wine and lemon juice. It's a simple and catchy tune, with almost childlike lyrics, that seems to celebrate the pleasures of getting happily drunk. The repetitive chorus, which repeatedly sings "White Port & Lemon Juice, Ooh what it do to you!" underscores the way that this drink can work its magic on its drinkers.
Line by Line Meaning
I say WPLJ, really taste good to me
Frank Zappa enjoys drinking White Port and Lemon Juice (WPLJ)
WPLJ, won't you take a drink with me
Frank Zappa invites his audience to drink with him
Well, it's a good good wine
Frank Zappa considers White Port wine good
It really make you feel so fine
(So fine, so fine, so fine)
Frank Zappa believes that White Port wine makes you feel good
I went to the store when they opened up the door
Frank Zappa went to the store as soon as it opened
I said, "Please please please gimme some more"
Frank Zappa asks politely for more of White Port and Lemon Juice
White Port & Lemon Juice,
White Port & Lemon Juice,
White Port & Lemon Juice,
Ooh what it do to you!
Frank Zappa repeats the recipe for White Port and Lemon Juice and asks rhetorically how it makes you feel
You take the bottle, you take the can
Shake it up fine, you get a good good wine.
Frank Zappa describes how to create good wine by shaking the ingredients
White Port & Lemon Juice,
(Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah...)
White Port & Lemon Juice,
White Port & Lemon Juice,
Ooh what it do to you!
Frank Zappa repeats the recipe of White Port and Lemon Juice along with an enthusiastic exclamation
The W is the White,
The P is the Port,
The L is the Lemon,
The J is the Juice
Frank Zappa explains each letter of WPLJ
White Port & Lemon Juice,
White Port & Lemon Juice,
White Port & Lemon Juice,
Ooh what it do to you!
Frank Zappa repeats the recipe of White Port and Lemon Juice and asks rhetorically how it makes you feel
Well I feel so good, I feel so fine
I got plenty lemon, I got plenty wine
Frank Zappa feels good and has enough ingredients to make more White Port and Lemon Juice
White Port & Lemon Juice,
White Port & Lemon Juice,
I said White Port & Lemon Juice,
Ooh what it do to you!
Frank Zappa repeats the recipe of White Port and Lemon Juice and asks rhetorically how it makes you feel
Roy: Por qué no consigues tu... tu carnal que nos compre some wine ese, ándale, pinche bato, puto, hombre, no te hagas nalga, hombre... (chale!) no seas tan denso, hombre (chale!), ándale, dile, porque no merecer, ándale, pinche vino, más sua... más suave es, más... más lindo que la chingada, hombre, ándale, pinche bato, hombre, quiere tu carnal, hombre, tu carnal ese, tú, tú sabes, tú sabes esto de la movida, tú sabes la movida, ese, tú sabes cómo es, tú sabes, pinche vino, puta, ándale, pinche bato, cabrón, ándale
Roy speaks in Spanish to someone to ask them to buy more White Port wine
?: This is getting me in trouble...
An unknown person expresses their discomfort with the situation
Roy: Ándale, hombre, por qué no, hombre?
Roy continues to encourage the person to buy more wine
?: Sorry!
The unknown person apologizes
Roy: Te digo que sí, hombre, te digo, chingao ese, está más... está más meco, hombre, ponemos más mecos que la chingada, ay! Ay, bato pinche, ay!
Roy continues to use vulgar language to convince the person to buy more wine
God, that's--They get to you after a while
Frank Zappa reacts to the vulgar conversation and comments on how it can affect a person
Lyrics © ZELLS MUSIC COMPANY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rick Roy
I was so pumped when I heard this song! Imagine finding another human who enjoys this tune as much as you do!
Peruanas0
JAJAJJAJA! Roy ... TODOS EXTRAÑAMOS AL TÍO FRANK!!
Kellen Mitchell
I was randomly searching for a fragment of a memory and typed “Zappa lemon juice” without expecting much, and Youtube instantly directed me to that very memory
Marniee Sjolander
Awesome cover, very catchy!
chebrneck
My older brother had this album when it came out and I didn’t get it. Probably because it was ahead of it’s time or I was just too young to know better.
lghalihaf haflgh
DAMN! EXACTLY WHAT I NEED IN THE STATE I AM IN
Jezebell Pecoraro
I remember when the radio station in NYC would play this for their Station Identification moments. 95.7FM, if memory serves.
Anyone else?
yes fan77
95.5
Hipolito alvarez guajardo
i use to program this song in monterrey Mexico on XERG 690 and in the last minute and a half we used to fade becouse in the original record you can listen a lot of "maldiciones"(bad words)in spanish,and this was in 1972 in a program of Progresive Rock,so we sweat a lot
Mario Serna
Hipolito alvarez guajardo saludos Polo!!!