Smoke
Vienna D.C. Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

We all came out to Montreux
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

Smoke on the water, fire in the sky

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

Overall Meaning

The song "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple is based on a true event that happened in Montreux, Switzerland. The band was planning to record their album "Machine Head" at the Montreux Casino, but on 4th December 1971, the Casino was burned down during a concert by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The fire was started by a fan who fired a flare gun into the ceiling of the venue, which caught fire and destroyed the entire building. The smoke from the burning casino could be seen from the band's hotel room across Lake Geneva, inspiring the lyrics "Smoke on the water, fire in the sky".

The song tells the story of the band's experience in Montreux. The first verse describes the band's excitement to record their album at the Montreux Casino with a mobile recording studio. The second verse recounts the events of the fire, where people were killed and injured, and the efforts of Funky Claude, a member of Zappa's crew, to rescue people from the burning building. In the final verse, the band moves to the Grand Hotel in Montreux to complete their recording in makeshift conditions but with the Rolling Stones' mobile truck service outside the hotel.

The song is known for its powerful riff played by Ritchie Blackmore, an iconic guitar solo by Blackmore, and memorable lyrics by Ian Gillan. It is one of the most recognized rock songs of all time and has been covered by numerous artists.

Line by Line Meaning

We all came out to Montreux
We all went to Montreux

On the Lake Geneva shoreline
We went to the lakeshore of Lake Geneva

To make records with a mobile
We planned to record our music with a mobile studio

We didn't have much time
We were in a rush

Frank Zappa and the Mothers
Frank Zappa and his band were also there

Were at the best place around
They were playing at the best venue

But some stupid with a flare gun
However, someone stupidly fired a flare gun

Burned the place to the ground
And burnt the building to ground

Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
Smoke and fire were everywhere

They burned down the gambling house
They also destroyed a casino

It died with an awful sound
The place was destroyed with a disturbing sound

Funky Claude was running in and out
A man named Funky Claude was running in and out of the building

Pulling kids out the ground
He was rescuing children from the building

When it all was over
After the destruction was over

We had to find another place
We had to find a new venue

But Swiss time was running out
We had a limited amount of time in Switzerland

It seemed that we would lose the race
It looked like we might not find a new venue on time

Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
Smoke and fire were still present

We ended up at the Grand Hotel
We eventually went to the Grand Hotel

It was empty cold and bare
The hotel was cold and empty

But with the Rolling truck Stones thing just outside
But we had the Rolling Stones' mobile studio nearby

Making our music there
We recorded our music in that location

With a few red lights and a few old beds
We had minimal equipment in our makeshift studio

We make a place to sweat
We worked hard and created a suitable recording environment

No matter what we get out of this
Regardless of the outcome of our recording sessions

I know we'll never forget
We'll always remember this experience

Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
Smoke and fire continued to affect 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

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS