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.
Your Mouth
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You put your faith in a hole like that?
You put your trust and your belief
Above your jaw, and no relief
Have I found
I heard your story when you come home
You said you went to see your sister last night
And find a funeral wreath
While you'll be laying in the ground
All alone
So tell me where are you coming from
With all them lies
As you stumble in at the breakin' of the day.
Where are you coming from, my shot-gun say
Because it just might wanna blow you away
'Cause it just might wanna blow you away
An evil woman, can make ya cry
If you believe her every time she lies
Well you can be a big fool
If she makes you loose your cool, and so
I've got me some advice you should try
Just let her talk a little
Oh, just let her talk a little more
Just just let her talk a little more
And when she runs out of words
Just say the same thing that I told you before
Now tell me where are you coming from
With all them lies
As you stumble in the breakin' of the day
Where are you coming from, my shot-gun say
Because it just might wanna blow you away
'Cause it just might wanna blow you away
'Cause it just might wanna blow you away
'Cause it just might wanna blow you away
'Cause it just might wanna blow you away
'Cause it just might wanna blow you away
The lyrics of Frank Zappa's song "Your Mouth" are a critique of people who blindly follow and trust in others, often to their own detriment. The first verse describes the irony of putting one's faith in something as mundane as a mouth. Expressing disbelief, Zappa asks whether it's worth it to trust someone who talks a lot but doesn't back it up with actions. He then warns of the consequences of believing the lies of an evil woman, who can make one cry and lose one's cool. In the chorus, he questions the listener's motives, wondering where they are coming from with all their lies and threatening to blow them away with a shotgun.
The second verse continues the warning of the first, with Zappa recounting a story someone told him about visiting their sister but implying that they were really up to something else. He suggests that the consequences of their actions might involve losing teeth or ending up in a funeral wreath. In contrast, Zappa's advice is to let someone talk until they run out of words and then say something that was said before, perhaps indicating that words are ultimately meaningless and actions are what matter.
The song's lyrics reflect Zappa's typical absurdist and satirical style, highlighting the ridiculousness of trusting in something as insignificant as a person's mouth. The references to shotguns and evil women add to the song's dark tone, suggesting that Zappa is critiquing not only blind trust but also manipulative and dangerous people. Ultimately, the message seems to be to be cautious and skeptical of others, especially when they seem too good to be true.
Line by Line Meaning
Your mouth is your religion
Do you prioritize your mouth more than anything else in your life?
You put your faith in a hole like that?
Do you believe in the power of your mouth above all else?
You put your trust and your belief
Above your jaw, and no relief
Have I found
Because you prioritize your mouth, I haven't found any relief or comfort in anything you say or do.
I heard your story when you come home
You said you went to see your sister last night
Well, you might loose a bunch of teeth
And find a funeral wreath
While you'll be laying in the ground
All alone
I heard the lies you told about seeing your sister last night, but if you keep lying, you might end up getting hurt or even die alone.
So tell me where are you coming from
With all them lies
As you stumble in at the breakin' of the day.
Where are you coming from, my shot-gun say
Because it just might wanna blow you away
'Cause it just might wanna blow you away
Where do you come up with all these lies as you stumble home in the morning? My shotgun might want to hurt you if you don't stop lying.
An evil woman, can make ya cry
If you believe her every time she lies
Well you can be a big fool
If she makes you loose your cool, and so
I've got me some advice you should try
Don't let an evil woman make you cry by believing her lies. If she makes you lose your temper, then you're just making a fool of yourself. Here's some advice to try.
Just let her talk a little
Oh, just let her talk a little more
Just just let her talk a little more
And when she runs out of words
Just say the same thing that I told you before
Just let her keep talking and talking, and when she finally runs out of words, just say the same thing I told you earlier.
Now tell me where are you coming from
With all them lies
As you stumble in the breakin' of the day
Where are you coming from, my shot-gun say
Because it just might wanna blow you away
'Cause it just might wanna blow you away
'Cause it just might wanna blow you away
'Cause it just might wanna blow you away
'Cause it just might wanna blow you away
I'm asking you again, where are all these lies coming from as you stumble home? My shotgun may become necessary if you don't begin to be honest.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Frank Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind