Guest appearances through various Six Feet Under albums include Ice-T on True Carnage's "One Bullet Left" and Karyn Crisis of Crisis fame on the True Carnage song "Sick and Twisted." Many consider this the first death metal duet between a male and female.
World-renowned tattoo artist Paul Booth is known to do most of Six Feet Under's album art.
2) 6 Feet Under was Nanette DeLaune, Jerry Dobb, Scott Julian, Duane Ulgherait, Jay Crystal, Hector Tico Torres. Formed in 1966 out of the ashes of the Marc 5 and The Sonix, this Colonia, NJ ensemble captured the changing times and sociological upheaval of the pre-Woodstock Nation. Like the Jefferson Airplane, Neighb'rhood Childr'n and The United States Of America, Six Feet Under was blessed with a dynamic diva who soared amidst searing fuzz leads, swirling organ chords, and gifted songwriting with prophetic lyrics. (from their CD-release "In Retrospect 1969-'70")
Smoke On The Water
Six Feet Under Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On the Lake Geneva shoreline
To make records with a mobile
We didn't have much time
Frank Zappa and the Mothers
Were at the best place around
But some stupid with a flare gun
Burned the place to the ground
They burned down the gambling house
It died with an awful sound
Funky Claude was running in and out
Pulling kids out the ground
When it all was over
We had to find another place
But Swiss time was running out
It seemed that we would lose the race
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
We ended up at the Grand Hotel
It was empty cold and bare
But with the Rolling truck Stones thing just outside
Making our music there
With a few red lights and a few old beds
We make a place to sweat
No matter what we get out of this
I know we'll never forget
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
The lyrics to Six Feet Under's cover of Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" tell the story of the recording of the iconic rock song, which was famously inspired by a real-life event. The first verse describes the band's journey to Montreux, Switzerland, where they were set to record with a mobile studio. They planned to join forces with Frank Zappa and the Mothers at the Montreux Casino, which was rumored to be the best venue in the area. Unfortunately, the situation took a turn for the worse when someone in the crowd fired a flare gun during a show by the band "Trigger," which ignited the casino and caused extensive damage.
The second verse describes the aftermath of the fire, with "Funky Claude" (who was the stage manager for the event) rushing in and out to rescue children who were trapped beneath the rubble. The band was left with a dilemma, as Swiss law mandated that they had to leave the country within 72 hours. Despite the setback, the band was able to find refuge at the Grand Hotel, where they were able to complete the recording of "Smoke on the Water" using the Rolling Stones' mobile studio.
Overall, the lyrics capture the chaos and confusion surrounding the fire at the Montreux Casino, as well as the resilience and creativity of the musicians who were determined to make the best of a difficult situation.
Line by Line Meaning
We all came out to Montreux
We all traveled to Montreux
On the Lake Geneva shoreline
We were near Lake Geneva
To make records with a mobile
We were there to record music using a mobile studio
We didn't have much time
We were on a tight schedule
Frank Zappa and the Mothers
Musicians Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention were also there
Were at the best place around
They were performing at the best venue in the area
But some stupid with a flare gun
However, someone foolishly used a flare gun
Burned the place to the ground
And burned down the concert venue
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
The resulting smoke and fire were visible throughout the area
They burned down the gambling house
The casino adjacent to the concert venue was also destroyed
It died with an awful sound
The sound of the casino burning was terrible
Funky Claude was running in and out
A man named Funky Claude was helping people escape the fire
Pulling kids out the ground
He was pulling children to safety
When it all was over
After the fire was put out
We had to find another place
We needed to find a new location to record music
But Swiss time was running out
We were running out of time in Switzerland
It seemed that we would lose the race
We thought we might not be able to finish recording on time
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
The smoke and fire were still visible
We ended up at the Grand Hotel
We eventually recorded music at the Grand Hotel
It was empty cold and bare
The hotel was not very hospitable
But with the Rolling truck Stones thing just outside
However, the Rolling Stones' mobile studio was parked outside
Making our music there
We were able to record our music there
With a few red lights and a few old beds
We had limited resources, but were able to make the most of them
We make a place to sweat
We created a place where we could work hard and make music
No matter what we get out of this
We knew that whatever the outcome, we would remember this experience
I know we'll never forget
We were all impacted by the events in Montreux
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
The memory of the fire and smoke stayed with us
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger D Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind