"My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama" is a song written by Frank Zappa and or… Read Full Bio ↴"My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama" is a song written by Frank Zappa and originally recorded by The Mothers of Invention in 1969. The song was included on 1970's Weasels Ripped My Flesh, a compilation LP of sorts that included various recordings by the band from 1967 to 1969. It was also released as a single on the Bizarre and Reprise labels as "My Guitar". Despite the more conventional naming, "My Guitar" did not chart.

The single version of the song was recorded in June 1969 and differs from the Weasels Ripped My Flesh recording. The album version features a longer break before the second verse is reprised, and is roughly half a minute longer.

"The Central Scrutinizer", the spoken-word track that opens Act I of Joe's Garage, began life as an updated version of "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama". Each of the songs' progressions of chords are identical.

My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama
The Mothers of Invention Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You know, your mama and your daddy

Saying I'm no good to you

They call me dirty from the alley

Till I don't know what to do

I get so tired of sneakin' around

Just to get to your back door

I crawled past the garbage and

Your mama jumped out, screamin'

"Don't come back no more"

I can't take it

My guitar wants to kill your mama

My guitar wants to kill your mama

My guitar wants to burn your dad

I get real mean when it makes me mad

Later I tried to call you

Your mama told me you weren't there

She told me don't bother to call again

Unless I cut off all my hair

I get so tired of sneakin' around

Just to get to your back door

I crawled past the garbage and

Your mama jumped out, screamin'

"Don't come back no more"

Later I tried to call you

Your mama told me you weren't there

She told me don't bother to call again

Unless I cut off all my hair

I get so tired of sneakin' around

Just to get to your back door

I crawled past the garbage and

Your mama jumped out, screamin'

"Don't come back no more"

My guitar wants to kill your mama

My guitar wants to kill your mama

My guitar wants to burn your dad

I get real mean when it makes me mad

Overall Meaning

The Mothers of Invention's song My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama is a satirical take on a rejected suitor's frustration with his girlfriend's overprotective parents. The singer of the song represents a person who is perceived as a stereotypical undesirable influence by the parents of his love interest. The song's main line "My guitar wants to kill your mama" is a hyperbole expressing his anger and frustration. The song implies that the singer's guitar acts as an extension of his frustrated psyche, and through it, he vents his anger over his situation.

Throughout the song, the lyrics paint a picture of the singer's struggle to be with the person he loves, who seems to be under her parents' thumb. The singer's desperation is humorously highlighted by the lengths he goes to get to his love's house, having to sneak around and go through the garbage cans to avoid her mother's notice. The parents' disapproval and their annoyance at the singer are the driving forces behind the song, and they fuel the comic tension in the lyrics.

In conclusion, the song uses an exaggerated narrative to expose the absurdity of overbearing parental control and society's general tendency to ostracize people perceived as undesirable.

Line by Line Meaning

You know, your mama and your daddy
Your parents have told me I'm no good for you

Saying I'm no good to you
Your parents disapprove of our relationship

They call me dirty from the alley
They insult me and call me impure

Till I don't know what to do
I'm at a loss for how to handle their disapproval

I get so tired of sneakin' around
I'm exhausted from hiding our relationship

Just to get to your back door
Going unnoticed to get to your house is hard work

I crawled past the garbage and
I had to crawl through trash to avoid being seen

Your mama jumped out, screamin'
Your mother caught me and yelled at me

"Don't come back no more"
She has banned me from seeing you

I can't take it
I can't handle the pressure and stress of being sneaky anymore

My guitar wants to kill your mama
I am so angry that I wish my guitar would attack your mother