(Front) Design by Jeffery Fey

Live

Linked material:

You can’t do that on stage anymore Vol. 1

 

Disc 1
  1 The Florida airport tape
  2 Once upon a time
  3 Sofa #1
  4 The mammy anthem {The mammy nuns}
  5 You didn’t try to call me
  6 Diseases of the band
  7 Tryin’ to grow a chin
  8 Let’s make the water turn black + Harry, you’re a beast + The Orange County lumber truck
  9 The groupie routine {Do you like my new car?}
10 Ruthie-Ruthie {Freak me out, Frank + Louie Louie} [Richard Berry]
11 Babbette
12 I’m the slime
13 Big Swifty
14 Don’t eat the yellow snow {+ Nanook rubs it + St. Alfonzo’s pancake breakfast + Father O’Blivion + Rollo}

 

Disc 2
  1 Plastic people [Richard Berry, Frank Zappa]
  2 The torture never stops
  3 Fine girl
  4 Zomby woof
  5 Sweet Leilani [Harry Owens]
  6 Oh no
  7 Be in my video
  8 The deathless horsie
  9 The dangerous kitchen
10 Dumb all over
11 Heavenly bank account
12 Suicide chump
13 Tell me you love me
14 Sofa #2

 

All compositions by Frank Zappa, except as noted above.


Album notes by FZ
This series took 20 years to put together. It provides for those interested in my music a comprehensive collection of previously unreleased live material (ABSOLUTELY NO OVERDUBS), recorded in every available medium (7½ ips analog two-track up through 24 track digital), beginning with the earliest tapes (October 1968, Royal Festival Hall, London, England), to the most recent (featuring material from our 1988 Broadway the hard way world tour).
Great care has been taken throughout to ensure the best audio quality, however early selections of historical interest performed by the original Mothers of Invention, though not exactly “hi-fi” have been included for the amusement of those fetishists who still believe the only “good” material was performed by that particular group. Hopefully, comparisons to recordings by the later ensembles will put an end to that peculiar misconception.
 
THIS COLLECTION IS NOT CHRONOLOGICAL.
The performance of any band from any year can be (and often is) edited to the performance of any other band from any other year, sometimes in the middle of a song.
The selections were chosen as answers to these theoretical questions:
(1) Is this the best available version of THIS SONG by THIS BAND?
(2) Is there some “folkloric” significance to the performance?
(3) Is it a premiere recording?
(4) Is it a “one-time-only” performance of an improvised event?
(5) Is there a good solo in it?
(6) Will it give “Conceptual Continuity Clues” to the hardcore maniacs with a complete record collection?
(7) Does the inclusion of this song help the stylistic flow of the album sequence by providing contrast or relief?
(8) Is there film or video tape of the performance?
I hope you enjoy this volume and will find time to hear the entire 13 hour collection.
“You Can’t Do That on Stage Anymore” is dedicated to the musicians who play on it and to the listeners who have appreciated them for the last two decades.
Thank you.

Disc 1

1. The Florida airport tape


[Notes by FZ on “YCDTOSA Sampler” - reverse translation from Spanish] During this first tour of the “vaudeville band” I always carried with me a portable Uher recorder. This is a short sample of some candid conversations recorded for a future audio documentary.


[The main conversation]
 
[Mark Volman] Can I just ask some any everybody here: did anybody see me puke on stage?
[Howard Kaylan] No, did you?
[Mark Volman] I puked on stage
[Howard Kaylan] You puked on stage?
[Mark Volman] I did, man. I was sing right in the middle of singin’ “Easy meat” or somethin’, an’ all of a sudden I started pukin’ outta my mouth an’ I just put my hand over my mouth, an’ I had…
[Howard Kaylan] Ohhhh…
[Aynsley Dunbar] You didn’t get it on film?
[Howard Kaylan] Outta sight!
[Aynsley Dunbar] Get that in slow motion […]
[Mark Volman] I thought you guys all caught that, man. I got really sick when we were all jumpin’ around and stuff, an’ all that scotch and wine. Which is weird, I only did it for about a second, y’know.
[Aynsley Dunbar] Oh!
[Mark Volman] It was just like a little spew. I kinda shoved it back down my throat and went on singin’.
[FZ] Great
[Howard Kaylan] Phew! Man, that is strange, man
[?] Yeah, it is
[Howard Kaylan] Ratso Rizzo
[FZ] He saved it because he might be hungry later
[Howard Kaylan] Eewwww, get the big pieces!


[The other conversation]
 
[Guy] What are you doin’, tourin’ the country?
[Jeff Simmons] Yeah. We started with San Antonio last night, Miami then Tallahassee tonight, Orlando, and then Jacksonville tomorrow, and then we’re doin’ New York. We have a few days off. We have about ten days off […]
[Guy] That’s a nice way to play. […] pretty good.
[Jeff Simmons] My name’s Jeff
[Guy] Ah, it’s not important who I am. California?
[Jeff Simmons] L.A., man
[Guy] How’s it going?

2. Once upon a time


[Notes by FZ] A week before this show, all our touring equipment was destroyed in a fire at the Montreux Casino in Geneva, Switzerland (remember “Smoke on the water” by Deep Purple?). This was our first concert after scrounging for new band gear. Most of it didn’t work too well. We did our best to put on a good show, however, toward the end of the concert I was knocked off the stage by an irate individual who later told police that we hadn’t given him his money’s worth and that I had been making “eyes” at his girl friend. I spent a month in the hospital and the best part of the following year in a wheel chair. He went to jail for a short while.
 
[FZ] Once upon a time, way back a long time ago, when the universe consisted of nothing more elaborate than Mark Volman
[Mark Volman] Oh, thank you, Frank. And don’t misspell it, that’s not Marc Bolan, it’s Mark Volman. Hiya, friends! I wanna welcome each an’ every one of ya, I wanna say to you tonight, I feel great. I mean, I feel GREAT! Everywhere I go people are always comin’ up to me, and they say: “Mark, Mark, Mark”.
Mark! Mark! Mark!

[Mark Volman]Mark, are you kidding?” Lemme tell you this, friends: I am not kidding. I mean, I am portly and I am maroon. Well, how many people here tonight can guess what I am?
[FZ] I… don’t
[Howard Kaylan] I can’t guess what you are
[Jim Pons] Not me
[Mark Volman] Well, then I’ll give you some clues. And the first clue is: I am portly. Does that help?
[FZ] Not much
[Howard Kaylan] No, I don’t know who you are

[Mark Volman] OK, I got one. Clue number two: I am double knit . That helped?
[FZ] No, not much
[Howard Kaylan] What do you mean?
[Mark Volman] Well, then I have to give you one more clue, I know this is gonna give it away and hate like damn to tell you this, but clue number three:
ICH BIN MAROON

[Howard Kaylan] Ahhh, you’re a sofa!
 
[FZ] Way back a long time ago, when the universe consisted of nothing more elaborate than Mark Volman
[Mark Volman] Thank you, Frank
[FZ] Trying to convince each and every member of this extremely hip audience here tonight that he was nothing more, nothing less, than a fat, maroon sofa, suspended in the midst of a great emptiness, a light shined down from heaven. And there he was, ladies and gentlemen, the good Lord, and He took a… He took a look at the sofa, and He said to Himself: “Quite an attractive sofa. This sofa could be commercial…”
[Mark Volman] Thank you, Frank, hiya friends
[FZ] “With a few more Margaritas and the right company”. However, I digress. “What this sofa needs” said The Big G. “is a bit of flooring underneath of it”. And so, in order to make this construction project possible, He summoned the assistance of the celestial choir of engineers and, by means of a cute little song in the German language, which is the way He talks whenever it’s heavy business, the good Lord went something like this. Take it away, Jim Pons.
 
[Jim Pons] Gib zu mir etwas Fußbodenbelag
Hey!
Unter diesen fetten, fließenden Sofa
Everybody!
Gib zu mir etwas Fußbodenbelag
Unter diesen fetten, fließenden Sofa
 
[FZ] And of course, ladies and gentlemen, that means: “Give unto me a bit of flooring under this fat, floating sofa”. And sure enough, boards of oak appeared throughout the emptiness as far as vision permits, stretching all the way from Belfast to Bognor Regis.
And the Lord put aside His huge cigar and proceeded to deliver unto the charming maroonish sofa the bulk of His message, with the assistance of a small electric clarinet, and it went something like this…

3. Sofa #1


YEAH!
 
Ich bin der Himmel
Ich bin das Wasser
I am the sky and the water
Ich bin der Dreck unter deinen Walzen
Ich bin dein geheimer Schmutz
Und verlorenes Metallgeld
Metallgeld!
Unter deine Ritze
Ich bin deine Ritze und Schlitze
 
Ich bin Wolken
Ich bin bestickt
Ich bin der Autor aller Felgen
Und Damast-Paspeln
Ich bin der Chrome Dinette
Ich bin der Chrome Dinette
Ich bin Eier aller Arten
 
Ich bin alle Tage und Nächte
Ich bin alle Tage und Nächte
 
Ich bin hier
Und du bist mein Sofa
AIEE-AH!
Ich bin hier
Und du bist mein Sofa
AIEE-AH!
Ich bin hier
Und du bist mein Sofa
 

Eddie, are you kidding me?

Eddie, are you kidding me?

Eddie, are you kidding me?

4. The mammy anthem {The mammy nuns}


[Notes by FZ] This was the opening number of the infamous Palermo riot concert. Set #2 features another cut from this show (when the riot begins, with nicely recorded grenade launchers in the background).
 
[Instrumental]

5. You didn’t try to call me


[Notes by FZ] Sony, at this time, was offering bands on tour in Europe the use of their new PCM 1600 2-channel digital recording system. This is from that first digital recording session. It is a live to 2-track original mix, executed from a makeshift “instant studio” set up in the dressing room.
 
[Ike Willis] You didn’t try to call me
Why didn’t you try? I’m so lonely
No matter who I take home, I keep callin’ your name
And you… (I need you so bad) you’re The One, babe
 
Tell me, tell me, who’s lovin’ you now
‘Cause it worries my mind and I can’t sleep at all
I stayed home on Friday just to wait for your call
 
And you didn’t try to call me
Why didn’t you try? I’m so lonely
No matter who I take home, I keep callin’ your name
And you… (I need you so bad) you’re The One, babe
 
Tell me, tell me, who’s lovin’ you now
‘Cause it worries my mind and I can’t sleep at all
I stayed home on Friday just to wait for your call
 
[FZ] I can’t say what’s wrong or what’s right
La la-la-la la la la-la-la la
All you gotta do-do-do is call me, babe
La la-la-la la la la-la-la la
 
[Ike Willis] You make me feel so excited, girl!
I got so hung up on you from the moment that we met
That no matter how I try, I can’t keep the tears
From running down my face, I’m all alone at my place
 
[FZ] You didn’t try to call me
You didn’t try to call me at all, didja?
You didn’t try to call me
You didn’t try to call me at all, didja?
You didn’t try to call me
You didn’t try to call me at all, didja?
You didn’t try to call me
You didn’t try to call me at all or didja?

6. Diseases of the band


[Notes by FZ] Prior to purchasing the UMRK mobile studio, all ‘first class’ live recordings had to be done using rented equipment. This meant that high quality live recordings could only be obtained in major cities where professional gear was available (London or New York).
And so it became a tradition during every European tour that we would do a live recording at the Hammersmith Odeon in London (or the Palladium in New York City if it was a U.S. tour).
The unfortunate aspect of this tradition is that if anybody in the band became ill on the recording day, the results of that handicapped performance wound up on tape… and, conversely, the fantastic performances in the small towns and villages survive only on 2-track or 4-track ‘guerilla recordings’.
On this recording date, many members of the band were ill, but, in spite of it, delivered one of the best concerts of the tour (as you will hear from the last cut on this disc ).
 
[FZ] Howdy, folks? Alright, here’s the deal: this is our last show here in London. Gee… it’s gonna be tough. Got a few… few of the boys are sick tonight but they’re still gonna… give you their all. I want to introduce you to the members of the rocking teen-age combo and tell you which ones are sick and what they’ve got.
Denny Walley on slide and vocals, he has… he has an aluminum finger, and we’re gonna have that removed a little bit later in the show.
This is Ike Willis. Ike has a… now IkeIke is our lead vocalist, our dynamic male vocalist, he’s got a sore throat and all sorts of other things wrong with him, he’ll never be able to get through the show. The only thing he’s got to take care of him is his knitted hat.
And of course, Tommy Mars who also has stomach flu, on keyboards. Eh, do you have any other diseases, Tommy? No? He’s available. OK.
Ed Mann on percussion. Ed is still healthy. Except - and he told me this backstage - except for his mental health, which he hasn’t been doin’… But you have to expect these things in this kind of a group.
And Peter Wolf on keyboards. There’s… There apparently is nothing wrong with Peter yet.
[Band member #1] He’s got stomach flu too
[FZ] You have stomach flu too? Ooh, my goodness…
[Band member #2] He has intestinal flu
[Band member #3] The keyboard disease
[Band member #1] They’re coming up here
[FZ] The circle is closing in. OK, Vince Colaiuta on drums. Now, as you can see from looking at Vince, there is absolutely nothing wrong with him.
[Band member #2] Malnutrition
[Vinnie Colaiuta] Hey, c’mon. I’m workin’ on it.
[FZ] Arthur Barrow, our bass player, he’s got a… he’s having a lot of trouble, he’s been very sick all day, missed the soundcheck and everything, but he’s gonna try, he’s gonna try really hard. And of course, Sofia Warren on guitar.

7. Tryin’ to grow a chin


[Notes by FZ] You will notice that somewhere in the middle of “Tryin’ to grow a chin” Denny Walley forgets the words to the song (which he did frequently on this tune). The references to “Wooly Bully” (“Mattie told Hattie” etc.) are part of another inscrutable band tradition. It appears periodically throughout the series in various incarnations.
 
[Denny Walley] Hey!
I’m only fourteen, sickly an’ thin
Tried all of my life just to grow me a chin
It popped out once, yeah, but my dad pushed it in
Tell me, why did he hurt me?
Lord, he’s my next of kin…
He’s a mex-i-kin
 
I’m lonely an’ green, too small for my shirt
If Simmons was here I could feature my hurt
Scared of the future an’ I hope I don’t grow
Hey, listen, I know nobody likes me
‘Cause everywhere I go
They say no
They say no!
They SAY NO!
 
Argh!
 
They SAY NO!
 
Now that I’m older, I got a place in the town, babe
I got a chin on my shoulder an’ it keeps growing down down down
Scared of the future an’ I wish I was dead

[FZ] Mattie told Hattie
[Denny Walley] Oh
I’d rather be dead instead
Shit!
I’d rather be dead instead
Now dig this:
 
I’d rather be dead
In bed
Please kill me
‘Cause that would thrill me
[FZ] Mattie told Hattie
[Denny Walley] I’d rather be dead
In bed
Please kill me
‘Cause that would thrill me
I’d rather be dead
In bed
Please kill me
‘Cause that would thrill me
I’d rather be dead
In bed
Please kill me
‘Cause that would thrill me
I’d rather be dead
In bed
Please kill me
‘Cause that would thrill me
I’d rather be dead
In bed
Please kill me
‘Cause that would thrill me
 

One more time for the world!
 
I’d rather be dead
In bed
Please kill me
‘Cause that would thrill me
I’d rather be dead
In bed
Please kill me
‘Cause that would thrill me
I’d rather be dead
In bed
Please kill me
‘Cause that would thrill me
I’d rather be dead
In bed
Please kill me
‘Cause that would thrill me
 
I’m horny an’ lonely too!
 
[FZ] Mattie told Hattie about a thing she saw

8. Let’s make the water turn black + Harry, you’re a beast + The Orange County lumber truck


[Notes by FZ] This is a rare recording of the early Mothers of Invention, as constituted on the tour just prior to the band’s break-up (after a concert in North Carolina a few months later).
 
[Instrumental]

9. The groupie routine {Do you like my new car?}


[Notes by FZ] The 1971 band performed this routine every night, and every night it changed a little. This L.A. version has a few good variations in it.
 
[Mark Volman] I mean really… really!
[Howard Kaylan] Rant-ran-n-n-nant rant-rant-rant
[Mark Volman] I mean, you guys, what can I say, you guys are my favorite band. You gotta tell me something: are you here in Hollywood long? I mean, I just…
[Howard Kaylan] No, I’m uh… we’re recording here in town
[Mark Volman] You’re recording?
[Howard Kaylan] Yeah, at the Record Plant
[Mark Volman] The Record Plant. Oh!
[Howard Kaylan] Yeah
[Mark Volman] Bobby Sherman records there. I just love Bobby Sherman, and David Cassidy. Do you know David Cassidy?
[Howard Kaylan] No… I…
[Mark Volman] Have you ever run into any of the members of the Three Dog Night?
[Howard Kaylan] Joe Schermie once…
[Mark Volman] Oh-HHH! They are my favorite band, they’re so professional, I mean, so creative. How aboutDavid Crosby? I mean, he’s so IN, y’know, I…
[Howard Kaylan] No, I never…

[Mark Volman] He’s… He just knows… I mean, he almost cut his hair, but he didn’t, well…
[Howard Kaylan] No, listen, do you know how… do you know how to get to the Chateau Marmont from here?
[Mark Volman] Not exactly, is it by the… by the airport?
[Howard Kaylan] No, no, we don’t… we have a bus on this particular thing
[Mark Volman] Oh!
[Howard Kaylan] Yeah
[Mark Volman] Tell me one thing: do you like my new car?
[Howard Kaylan] Oh yeah, it’s a Pavilion, isn’t it?
[Mark Volman] Oh! Not just a Pavilion, it’s a Pauley Pavilion
[Howard Kaylan] Oh! Bleah! Yeah, it’s real futuristic, I like the little naked man turn signals. So uh… we gotta get up, y’know and go to the studio in the morning, and then we record for about two weeks and then we… we leave again.
[FZ] Ha ha ha ha!
[Mark Volman] Oh, really? Where do you play when you go from here?
[Howard Kaylan] Uh… Let me see… NEEDLES
[Mark Volman] Oh, you guys are so professional!
[Howard Kaylan] No, it’s nothing…
[Mark Volman] I mean the way you get to travel to…
[Howard Kaylan] It’s a…
[Mark Volman] To all those exotic towns you get to play in, and playin’ all these great sounding halls, I mean…
[Howard Kaylan] I’m immune to it, you know
[Mark Volman] Tell me something: do you really have a hit single in the charts now, right now I mean, with a BULLET? That’s really important.
[Howard Kaylan] Listen, baby, would I lie to you just to run my fingers through your pubes?
[Mark Volman] DON’T TALK TO ME THAT WAY!
[Howard Kaylan] No, what I was saying…
[Mark Volman] I AM NOT A GROUPIE!
[Howard Kaylan] I never said you’re a…
[Mark Volman] I am not a groupie, neither are my friends here, Jim and Ian and Aynsley and Don and Frank, none of us are groupies
[Howard Kaylan] Pleased to meet all you girls
[FZ] Hi, Howie
[Jim Pons] Take for a…
[Mark Volman] Tell ‘em, tell ‘em, we don’t, we aren’t groupies
[Jim Pons] Howard
[Howard Kaylan] Yeah
[Jim Pons] We only like musicians for friends
[?] Yeah
[Howard Kaylan] That’s right
[Jim Pons] You… You know? You understand?
[FZ] We still wanna hear your record
[Mark Volman] And we’d still like to come in your bus
[Howard Kaylan] Yeah? Listen now, on the other side of record didn’t you say that you get off being juked with a baby octopus and spewed upon with creamed corn, and that your harelipped queen-o bass-playing girlfriend with the crossed eyes and the tits on his shirt had to have it with a hot Seven-Up bottle or he went up the WALL?
[Mark Volman] Oh, Howie
[Howard Kaylan] What’s the deal, MAMA?
[Mark Volman] Howie, all that’s true, Howie, and sometimes I even dig it with a jack-in-the-box ring job. But Howie, we are not…
[Howard Kaylan] At last!
[Mark Volman] We are not groupies, Howie, I told Robert Plant that…
[Howard Kaylan] Plant-uh?
[Mark Volman] I told Elton John, I told Steve Stills
[Howard Kaylan] Yeah
[Mark Volman] And he didn’t even want to ball me
[Howard Kaylan] I can see that. Listen. The thing is, baby, I want some action, y’know? I’m only here for a coupla weeks recording at the Record Plant with the naked statue in the bathroom an’ stuff, I’m horny as fuck. Listen to me. I want a steaming, succulent, juicy, drippy, ever-widening kind of a smelly, slimy, many-folded sort of in-and-out contracting sphincter kind of a hole with a… with a… with a… Let’s see, there’s gotta be a way I can put this discreetly…
[FZ] Ha ha ha!
[Howard Kaylan] Let’s say we hop in the aisle over those guys in the blue and FUCK, BABY!
[Mark Volman] Hey hey hey! I’m in this band, man! I told you that many times. No matter what goes on. Listen, it just so happens tonight… I mean, this is unbelievable. Are you a Virgo?
[Howard Kaylan] No
[Mark Volman] I mean it just so happens tonight me and my girlfriends, well, we came here lookin’ for a guy from a group…
[Howard Kaylan] Ahhh!
[Mark Volman] But just not ANY guy from ANY group…
[Howard Kaylan] Yeah?
[Mark Volman] We’re lookin’ for a guy from a group with a DICK!
[Howard Kaylan] Well! I can show you…
[Mark Volman] But he’s gotta have a dick WHICH IS A MONSTER!
WAHHHH!
 
[Howard Kaylan] THAT’S ME! You peeked. That’s me, you little Westwood wench NIPPLE QUEEN! Take me, I’m yours, you hole, fulfill my wildest dreams.
[Mark Volman] Oh oh oh, anything for you, my most seductive pop-star of a man
[Howard Kaylan] Yeah?
[Mark Volman] Picture this if you can…
[Howard Kaylan] OK, I’ll try
[Mark Volman] Bead jobs
[Howard Kaylan] Bead jobs!
[Mark Volman] Knotted nylons. Bamboo canes. Three unreleased recordings of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young fighting at the Fillmore East.
[Howard Kaylan] Oh no
[Mark Volman] Two unreleased recordings of… of the Grateful Dead sitting in with Mel Tormé
[Howard Kaylan] Yeah. No, I… oh, man, oh, I… I just… I CAN’T STAND IT! YOU UNDERSTAND ME, BABY, I MEAN… I CAN’T STAND IT! I CAN’T STAND IT! I CAN’T STAND IT! BEAD ON FIRE! I’M GOING HOME! I GOTTA SEE MY BABY! I’M GONNA LOVE HER SO MUCH! I CAN’T STAND IT!

10. Ruthie-Ruthie {Freak me out, Frank + Louie Louie}


[Notes by FZ] The 1974 band had nightly routines, also… improvised “folkloric news flashes” dealing with the previous day’s road activities which, in some instances, bordered on science fiction. Examples included on other sets of this series will bear this out.
 
[FZ] I… I can’t see you, but I know that you’re out there. It’s that little voice, that same little voice at all of the concerts, of the guy in the back of the room.
Weh-ne-heh hehn-weh-ni-heh-ni-heh mini-mini-heh mini-hehn
Coupla years ago, there was a guy that used to come to all the concerts on the East Coast, I swore I heard him every night for a month, there he was somewhere in the audience, an’ he would… (it’s this little voice) and he would say: “Freak me out, Frank! Freak me out! Freak me out, Frank!”
OK, here we go! Arf arf.
Weh-ne-heh
Arf
 
[Napoleon Murphy Brock] Ruthie-Ruthie
Where did you go?
Oh, Ruthie-Ruthie, yeah, yeah, yeah wow wow wow wow
Where did you go?
 
Last night at Chatham Center
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I wanna tell you a story
Right after Ruth got through barfin’
WO-ULK!
She pushed her tray out the door, Xerox man came crashin’ in, said…
 
Ruthie-Ruthie
Where did you go?
What did you do, now what did you do?
Ruthie-Ruthie
Oh yeah
What did you do?
Where did you go, go?
Lookit here!
 
Ruthie had on a thin night gown
She wasn’t feelin’ very well, no, no, no, no
She pushed her tray out the door, some guy tried to come in
She kicked him in the nuts, he said: “Oh oh oh oh!”
 
Ruthie-Ruthie
What did you do?
Now, what did you do? What did you… What did you do?
Ruthie-Ruthie
Ruthie-Ruthie, that was the best thing anybody could do
What did you do, now?
 

[FZ] Well, we have another song for you that goes far beyond “Louie Louie”, “Ruthie-Ruthie”, or even “Brian-Brian”, this song is so advanced it takes us all the way from 1955 directly to approximately 1957, which is when it should have been written, but actually it was written about 1970. This is a song… We’d like to dedicate this song to Marty, our road manager, who has a fondness for the canine species, and the orifice attendant thereto.

11. Babbette


[Napoleon Murphy Brock] Don’t tell me no, Babbette
I mean, Duke
Don’t you tear my dream
Don’t you break my heart
Darling, we could share a love so fine
Please, doggy, won’t you be mine?
Hi-aye-hi yah!
 
Don’t tell me no, Babbette
Can’t you see that I
Don’t wanna make you cry
You’re the only one like this before
Please, Babbette, it’s you I adore!
You I a-do-ore!
 
Oh-oh! Oh-ow
Oh, how I want you
I really, really want you
I need your love to guide my way
Oh oh oh!
Oh, how I need you
I really, really need you
Don’t try to bark
And I’ll take you to the park
Arf arf arf
 
No, Babbette
Don’t you tear my dream
Don’t you break my heart
OH AH AH!
We could share a love
We…
We could share a love
Y’know…
We could share a love
Babbette
We could share a love
I know I had to go on a tour with Zappa
That’s what Marty said, he said, but Babbette
Well, y’know, when I need a little bit of your lovin’, Babbette
I brought along a whistle around my neck
So I could call ya, Babbette
I said: “WHAAA-AAAAH-OOOOH!”
Could nobody hear that whistle but Babbette
Oh, it’s a strange dog whistle
The only dogs that answer are great Danes
German shepherds, Dobermann pinschers, all Marty’s women
 
You know I said, no, no, no, Babbette
Share my love
Don’t make me cry-y
Don’t let me cry
Oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh, Babbette
Share my love
Don’t make me, don’t make me, don’t make me cry
Oh-ooh-ow-ow-ow, well, arf arf arf arf arf
Please (It’s what Marty say to all his dogs)
 
[FZ] (Marty, there’s a phone call for you)
Please

12. I’m the slime


[Notes by FZ] These two selections give a feeling for the early days of the 1973 group (which tended to be pretty happy, in spite of our crummy equipment and rather “under-rehearsed” sound).
 
[FZ] I’m gross and perverted
I’m obsessed an’ deranged
I have existed for years
But very little has changed
 
I’m the tool of the government
And industry too
For I am destined to rule
And regulate you
 
I may be vile and pernicious
But you can’t look away
I make you think I’m delicious
With the stuff that I say
 
I am the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
Well, I’m the slime oozin’ out from your TV set
 
You will obey me while I lead you
And eat the garbage that I feed you
Until the day that we don’t need you
Don’t go for help… no one will heed you
 
Your mind is totally controlled
It has been stuffed into my mold
And you will do as you are told
Until the rights to you are sold
 
That’s right, folks… don’t touch that dial!
 
Well, I am the slime from your video
Oozin’ along on your livin’ room floor
I am the slime from your video
Can’t stop the slime, people, lookit me go
I am the slime from your video
Oozin’ along on your livin’ room floor
I am the slime from your video
Can’t stop the slime, people, lookit me go
 
[Instrumental]

13. Big Swifty


[Instrumental]

14. Don’t eat the yellow snow {+ Nanook rubs it + St. Alfonzo’s pancake breakfast + Father O’Blivion + Rollo}


[Notes by FZ] Try and imagine a band with the diseases described in the earlier segment pulling this little number off.
 
Dreamed I was an Eskimo
Frozen wind began to blow
Under my boots an’ around my toe
Frost had bit the ground below
Was a hundred degrees below zero
And my momma cried:
“You don’t really look like an Eskimo
(That’s right, mom!)
And my momma cried again:
“You don’t really look like an Eskimo
(I know, mom, but it’s a… it’s a way to earn a living)
And my momma cried one more time:
“You don’t really look like an Eskimo
Nanook, no, no
Nanook, no, no
Don’t be a naughty Eskimo, hey!
 
Get back home with yo’ mama”
“That’s right”, answered the llama
“Save your money: don’t go to the show”
Well, I turned around an’ I said:
“HO HO”
Well, I turned around an’ I said one more time:
“HO HO”
Well, I turned around an’ I said (just for Vinnie):
“HO HO”
An’ the northern lites commenced t’glow
 
“WATCH OUT WHERE THE HUSKIES GO
AN’ DON’T YOU EAT THAT YELLOW SNOW
WATCH OUT WHERE THE HUSKIES GO
AN’ DON’T YOU EAT THAT YELLOW SNOW”
 
Well, right about that time, people
A fur trapper
Who was strictly from commercial
Strictly commercial
Had the unmitigated audacity to jump up from behind my igyaloo
Peek-a-boo
And he started in to whippin’ on my fav’rite baby seal
With a lead-filled snow shoe…
 
“With a lead…
Lead…
Filled…
Lead-filled…
With a lead-filled snow shoe…”
Snow shoe
He said: “Peak-a-boo”
Peek-a-boo
“With a lead…
Lead…
Filled…
Lead-filled…
With a lead-filled snow shoe…”
Snow shoe
He said: “Peak-a-boo”
Peek-a-boo / (Butzis too)
 
He went right upside the head of my favorite baby seal
Hit him on the nose
(That’s right!)
Hit him on the fin, yes
He went WHAP!

An’ that got me just about as evil as an Eskimo boy can be…
So I bent down an’ I reached down an’ I scooped down an’ I gathered up a generous mitten full of the deadly…
YELLOW SNOW
The DEADLY YELLOW SNOW from right there where the huskies go
(Over by Butzis’ room)
 
An’ then I proceeded to rub it all into his beady little eyes with a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the citizens of Canarsie

But destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology
The vigorous circular motion… here it goes, RUB IT!
 
HEY HEY HEY
 
[FZ] Alright, now this is the really exciting part of the show. This is the part I always like the best, because this is where I get to find out what you guys are made of. And you gals, too. This is the part where we have… we are purported to have, audience participation. Now, I know it’s a matinee, and y’know, you’re probably in a hurry to go get something to EAT, but I figure that this little audience participation that we’re gonna do right now is SO TOTALLY STUPID that it’s… well, just think of it as an aperitivo, y’know what I mean? So, OK, everybody, stand up. Stand up NOW. Alright, that’s very good. OK, a lot of you people are still sitting down… No, don’t walk forward, just stand up. Stand where you are. OK, is everybody standing up? Well, most of you are standing up, OK, the ones who aren’t standing up, hey, eat chain. Enforced recreation, live on stage in London.
Now, we’re gonna do away with the fur trapper now, the guy’s been hittin’ my baby seal quite a bit, baby seal doesn’t look too good. Bleeding from the mouth and rectum, looks terminal. So what we’re gonna do, is we’re altogether gonna jump up and down this son of a bitch, now watch me. I’ll do the stupid thing first, and then you, shy people, follow. Ready? Here we go. Hi, are you OK?
[Angus] Fine
[FZ] I know…
[Angus] I love you
[Ike Willis] Relative of Joey Psychotic
[FZ] Hello, how ya doin’?
[Angus] Can I come up an’ recite a po-im?
[FZ] No, but I’ll tell you what: you can stay there and recite a poem. Here, what’s your name? I’ll hold it, it’s OK, it might break.
[Angus] Angus O’Riley O’Patrick McGinty
[FZ] Don’t hold it
[Denny Walley?] Joey Narcotic
[Angus] Angus O’Riley O’Patrick McGinty
[FZ] Wanna recite your poem now?
[Angus] Yeah
 
[Angus] Burnt wind
Heart stinks
Charred man
Burns
Squirms screaming
 
[FZ] Is there more?
 
[Angus] PAIN!
 

[FZ] Very essential. And now… Thank you! Alright, now, as if… as if that weren’t enough, watch this. I’m going to do something completely stupid and then after I demonstrate the stupidity of it all. You’re gonna do the same thing and that will sort of bind us together in some sort of cosmic, hands across the water, kind of symbolic, kind of… just forget it. OK? Here we go, watch this.
[Denny Walley] It’s Jumbo
[FZ] Eh eh, it’s Jumbo. That’s right!

[Denny Walley] Jumbo, come back!
 
[FZ] Now you pounce
And you pounce again
Jump up an’ down on the chest of a…

Great Googly-Moogly!
You’re gonna do it too, now. Hey, wasn’t that really stupid?
[Ike Willis] Sure that isn’t “bounce”?
[FZ] OK, tonight, though, we’re… we’re adding a new dimension to this. When we get to the fast part, when you jump up and down on the chest of a… we’re gonna vamp for an extra coupla bars, now this is very important (bring the band on down behind me, boys, so they can understand this) when the band plays very quietly after we jump up and down on the chest of a… EVERYBODY’S gonna recite a poem, whaddya say? OK? And I’m gonna be listening. No mistakes. Ready? Now, everybody jumps.
 
Now you pounce
You pounce again
You jump up an’ down on the chest of a… and recite a poem
 
Wait, wait a minute, wait a minute, I think I like the poem better than the jumping. More poetry, please!
 
[Two guys in the audience] Rotten gulls beating with large rubber sails! Who cares? Now it is light!
 

[FZ] Alone in the hissing laboratory of his wishes, Mr. Pugh minces among bad vats and jeroboams, spinneys of murdering herbs, and prepares to compound for Mrs. Pugh a venomous porridge hitherto unknown to toxicologists which will scald and viper through her, ‘til her ears fall off like figs, her toes grow big and black as balloons, and steam comes screaming out of her navel.

Cakes! Cakes! Cakes!
[FZ] Now listen. The f Sit down. The fur trapper was pretty fucked up. He had just been stomped upon and recited to by the entire contents of this audience. And you know what that can do to a guy who’s wearing a… a parka. So he gets up…
And looks around
And looks around
And looks around again
And then he says (and you can sing along if you know the words):
“I CAN’T SEE”
No no no no no… yeah!
“I CAN’T SEE”
No no no no no!
“I CAN’T SEE”
No no no no no!
“I CAN’T SEE”
No no no no no!
 
“He took a dog-doo snow cone an’ stuffed it in my right eye
He took a dog-doo snow cone an’ stuffed it in my other eye
An’ the huskie wee-wee, I mean, the doggie wee-wee has blinded me
An’, great Googly-Moogly, I can’t see, temporarily”
(This is really stupid, isn’t it?)
 
Well, it was at that time that the fur trapper remembered the ancient Eskimo legend
Wherein it is written
On whatever it is that they write it on up there
That if anything bad ever happens to your eyes
As a result of ENFORCED RECREATION LIVE ONSTAGE IN LONDON
The only way that you can get it fixed up
Is to go trudgin’ across the tundra…
Mile after mile
Trudgin’ across the tundra…
Right down to the parish of Saint Alfonzo…
(What, another poem?)
 

[Guy] I want a garden
I want a garden where the flowers have no flowers
I want a garden where the trees have no leaves
I want a garden where the tree-weeds don’t even grow
I want a garden
I want MY garden
I want a garden where there are no colors
I want to water that garden
I’ll garden that with my tears
Whilst that garden busted trees
Busted leaves, water me with my own…
 
[FZ] Sounds like a bunch of cakes for me
[Denny Walley] Oh, you want kindergarten!
[Guy] Hah-hah!
[?] Denny strikes!
[FZ] Not bad, not bad. What’s… What’s the title of that?
[Guy]Broadmoor
[FZ]Broadmoor”, alright. Warren, do you know one called “LeFrak City”? Where’s… Where’s Butzis?
[Ike Willis] Prob’ly somewhere bendin’ over
[FZ] Where is he? Are you… Send Malkin up here. Uh…
[?] He’s probably gettin’ a hand job
[FZ] Yeah, I know that’s just what I was thinking! Ha ha. He’s in the lobby getting a blow job. Alright, sorry, maybe next show, we’ll find him. One of these days we’ll get him up here. Now, some of you people are probably not very religious, and one could hardly blame you. However, those of you who are religious, and who have been paying money into the church for years and years and are still waiting to get your money’s worth, here’s a little bit of information for ya. I don’t know what you’re gonna do with this information but…
Saint Alfonzo is, and probably will continue to be for the duration of this show, the patron saint of the smelt fishermen of Portuguese extraction. Do you know what Portuguese extraction is? Very good. Anyway, in order that you may reach a higher level of consciousness, which is obviously the aim of our show, Ed Mann, who has been working on this little lick all afternoon, Ed, who only (he’s… he’s not sick, he only has bad mental health) Ed is going to play THE BIG ALFONZO MOTIF, LET’S HEAR IT FOR HIM!
 
That’s right, here we are!
 
At Saint Alfonzo’s pancake breakfast
Where I stole the mar-juh-rene
An’ widdled on the bingo cards in lieu of the latrine
 
I saw a handsome parish lady
Make her entrance like a queen
Why, she was totally chenille and her old man was a Marine
Oh, cakes!
 
As she abused a sausage pattie
And said: “Why don’t you treat me mean?”
Hurt me, hurt me, hurt me, oooooh!
(Pittie! Pattie! Pootie! Bootie-pootie!)
 
At Saint Alfonzo’s pancake breakfast
Hah! Good God! Get off the bus!
Where I stole the mar-juh-rene…
 
[Instrumental]
 
Saint Alfonzo
Saint Alfonzo
Saint Alfonzo
Saint Alfonzo
Ooo-ooo-WAH
 
Father Vivian O’Blivion
Resplendent in his frock
Was whipping up the batter
For the pancakes of his flock
He was looking rather bleary
(He forgot to watch the clock)
 
‘Cause the night before
Behind the door
A leprechaun had stroked…
(He stroked it!)
 
The night before
Behind the door
A leprechaun had stroked…
(He stroked it!)
 
The night before
Behind the door
A leprechaun had stroked his…
Sma-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah
Ahhh
Stroked his smock
 
Set him off in such a frenzy

He sang Lock around the crock
An’ he topped it off with a…
An’ he topped it off with a…
An’ he topped it off with a…
WOO WOO WOO
WOO WOO WOO
WOO WOO WOO
 
As he stumbled on his COCK
Cakes! Cakes! Cakes! Cakes!
He was delighted as it stiffened
And ripped right through his sock
“Oh, Saint Alfonzo would be proud of me
PROUD OF ME
PROUD OF ME”
 
He shouted down the block
 

Dominus vo-bisque’em
Et cum spear a tu-tu, oh
Won’t you eat my sleazy pancakes
Just for Saintly Alfonzo?
They’re so light an’ fluffy-white
We’ll raise a fortune by tonite
They’re so light an’ fluffy-white
We’ll raise a fortune by tonite
They’re so light an’ fluffy-brown
They’re the finest in the town
They’re so light an’ fluffy-brown
They’re the finest in the town
 

Good morning, Your Highness
Ooo-ooo-ooo

I brought you your snow shoes
Ooo-ooo-ooo yeah!
Good morning, Your Highness
Ooo-ooo-ooo
I brought you your snow shoes
Ooo-ooo-ooo
 
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-Nanook
Na-na-na-na-na-Nanook-oh
Nanook
Rubs it
Saint…
Al…
Al…
Fo-fo-fo…
Fo-fo-fo-fo-fo-fonzo
 
Saint Alfonzo really loves it when he rubs it for him
 
I have seen him rubbin’ it
I have seen him rubbin’ it
I have… I have a-seen him stroke his weenie
It was teenie
Rub it, rub it, rub it, rub it, rub
Nanook rubs it, Alfie loves it
Nanook rubs it, Alfie loves it
Nanook rubs it, Alfie loves it
Nanook’s rubbin’ it, an’ Alfie’s lovin’ it
 
Saint Alfonzo, can you hear us praying to you?
Can you fix my Chevy?
Boy, you’re really heavy!
Here’s the church and here’s the steeple
Open up and see the people
Some are kneelin’, some are standin’
All the money they are handing
To some asshole with a basket
Where it goes we dare not ask it
 
Nanook rubs it, Alfie loves it
This here basket, really shoves it
Here’s your quarter, here’s your dollar
Let’s play “Ring around the collar”
Hup! HEY, GET IT NOW!
Hey, get it now! We took all your little gifts
 
THANK YOU
THANK YOU
THANK YOU
THANK YOU
THANK YOU
THANK YOU
THANK YOU
THANK YOU, FRIENDS!
 
[FZ] Denny, Ikey, Tommy, Eddie, Petey, Vinnie, Artie, Sofia Warren on guitar; I forgot your name on poetry but thanks for reciting it anyway. Thanks for coming to the show, hope you enjoyed it, and good night!

Disc 2

1. Plastic people


[Notes by FZ] The spring tour of 1969 was a bus tour. It was cold and miserable. Many of the venues we were performing in were small and “unfashionable”. This rare recording finds the Mothers playing a bar in the Bronx, for an audience that probably would have preferred the Vanilla Fudge.
 
[Roy Estrada?] Eeee!
 
[FZ] Alright, there’s a green Chevy, license number 650 BN in Barry’s lot. Gotta move it. I repeat: there is a green Chevy, license number 650 BN in Barry’s lot.
[Guy #1] There’s a ‘54 out there too, Frank
[FZ] There’s a what?
[Guy #1] A ‘54
[FZ] There’s a ‘54 what?
[Guy #1] A ‘54 what?
[Guy #2] Did you announce the Action burgers?
[Guy #3] Action burgers
[Guy #1] It’s a Ford-uhhhh…
[FZ] Please do yourself a favor and move you short before somebody takes it away. They’re serving burgers in the back! If you go for burgers, you’ll LOVE the burgers here. They have some burgers in this place… when you open ‘em up, y’know… you hold ‘em like this, and go way in the back where nobody can see you. Some people eat them that way.
[Guy #4] Take ‘em back to Philadelphia, Frank!
[FZ] What?
[Guy #4] Philadelphia!
[FZ] What about Philadelphia?
[Guy #4] Cream cheese
[FZ] That’s it
 

[FZ] Now, if you’ll analyze what we’re playing here, if you use your ear and listen, you can learn something about music, y’see? “Louie Louie” is the same as the other song with one extra note, see?
 
They’re… They’re very closely related and they mean just about the same thing
 
Plastic people
You gotta go
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
 
Plastic people
You gotta go-uh!
 
A fine little girl, she waits for me
She’s as plastic as she can be
She paints her face with plastic goo
And wrecks her hair with some shampoo
 
Plastic people
You gotta go-uh!
 
Plastic people
You gotta go
(Sure gonna miss ya)
 
Take a day and walk around
Watch the Nazis run your town
Then go home and check yourself
You think we’re singing ‘bout someone else
But you’re…
 
Plastic people
You gotta go
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
 
Plastic people
You gotta go
 
Three nights and days I walk the streets
This town is full of plastic creeps

Their shoes are brown to match their suits
They got no balls, they got no roots
Because they’re…
 
Plastic people
You gotta go
(Sure gonna miss ya, bop, bop, bop)
 
Plastic people
You gotta go
 

Me see a neon moon above
I searched for years and found no love
I’m sure that love will never be
A product of plasticity

2. The torture never stops


[Notes by FZ] Recordings of performances in this German venue have usually been good. The high concentration of U.S. Service Men in the audience here has tended to give the Nurnberg concerts a “special” flavor.
 
[FZ] Flies all green an’ buzzin’ in his dungeon of despair
Prisoners grumble and piss their clothes and scratch their matted hair
A tiny light from a window hole a hundred yards away
Is all they ever get to know about the regular life in the day
 
An’ it stinks so bad, the stones been chokin’ an’ weepin’ greenish drops
In the room where the giant fire puffer works an’ the torture never stops
The torture never stops
The torture…
The torture…
The torture never stops
 
Slime an’ rot, rats an’ snot an’ vomit on the floor
Fifty ugly soldiers, man, holdin’ spears by the iron door
Knives an’ spikes an’ guns and the likes of every tool of pain
An’ a sinister midget with a bucket an’ a mop…
A sinister midget with a bucket an’ a mop…
A sinister midget with a bucket an’ a mop where the blood goes down the drain
 
An’ it stinks so bad, the stones been chokin’ an’ weepin’ greenish drops
In the room where the giant fire puffer works an’ the torture never stops
The torture never stops
The torture…
The torture…
The torture never stops
 
Flies all green an’ buzzin’ in his dungeon of despair
An Evil Prince eats a steamin’ pig in a chamber right near there
He eats the snouts an’ the trotters first
The loins an’ the groins is soon dispersed
His carvin’ style is well rehearsed
 
He stands and shouts:
“All men be cursed”
“All men be cursed”
“All men be cursed”
“All men be cursed”
And disagree (hey, nobody would disagree with him) no-one durst
He’s the best of course of all the worst
He’s the best of course of all the worst
Some wrong been done, he done it first
Some wrong been done, he done it first
 
An’ he stinks so bad, his bones been chokin’ an’ weepin’ greenish drops
In the night of the iron sausage where the torture never stops
The torture never stops
The torture…
The torture…
The torture never stops
TORTURE TIME NOW!
 
[Instrumental]
 
Flies all green an’ buzzin’ in his dungeon of despair
Who are all these people that is locked away down there?
Are they crazy?
Are they sainted?
Are they zeros someone painted?
 
Well, it’s never been explained since at first it was created
But a dungeon, just like a sin
Requires naught but lockin’ in
Of everything that’s ever been
Look at her
Look at him
 
That’s what’s the deal we’re dealing in
That’s what’s the deal we’re dealing in
That’s what’s the deal we’re dealing in
That’s what’s the deal we’re dealing in
 
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!

3. Fine girl


[Notes by FZ] The 1982 Milan show will live in band folklore for several reasons. First, the venue: a vacant lot with a fence around it, next to a mosquito-infested “lake” near an industrial area (apparently in Northern Italy such a place qualifies as a “park”).
There were approximately 50,000 people in attendance. Most of them got in by breaking down the fence. When the show began and the lights came up, the entire band was swarmed by mosquitoes. We spent the rest of the evening swatting them off and trying to dodge the discarded disposable syringes tossed on stage by the unfortunate users in the front row. The cartoon illustration on the cover of “The Man from Utopia” album commemorates this event.
 
WELL YEAH WELL
 
Oh yeah
She was a fine girl
She could get down…
Wit de get down
All de way down
 
She do yer laundry
She change a tire
Chop a little wood for de fire
Poke it around… if it died down
 
Oh yeah
She was a fine girl
She go up in the mornin’
She go down in the evenin’
All de way down
 
She do the dishes
If you wishes
Silverware too
She make it look brand new
When she get through
Oh yeah
She was a fine girl
Outta this world
 
WELL YEAH WELL YEAH WELL YEAH WELL
 
Oh yeah
Oh yeah, yeah!
She was a fine girl
Fine girl!
She could get down…
Woo-hoo!
Wit de get down
All de way down
Yeah!
 
She do your laundry
I don’t like the laundry!
She change a tire
Why yeah yeah yeah yeah
Chop a little wood for de fire
Ooh
Poke it around… if it died down
 
Oh yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!
She was a fine girl
Fine girl, hey
With a lovely smile
With a bucket on her head
Fulla water from de well
She could run a mile
Oh yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!
She wouldn’t spill a drop
It’d stay on top
Her head was kinda flat
But her hair covered that
She was a fine girl
Fine girl, fine girl, hey
She didn’t need no school
She was built like a mule
With a thong sandal
Woo-hoo!
It wasn’t no kinda job
She could not handle
She could get down…
Get do-win!
Wit de get down
Yeah, yeah, yeah
All de way down
Wooh!
 
We need some more like dat
In dis kinda town
Well, we…
We need some more like dat
In dis kinda town
[Repeat]

4. Zomby woof


Three hundred years ago
I thought I might get some sleep
I stretched myself out onna antique bed

An’ my spirit did a midnite creep
 
You know I’ll never sleep no more
 
It seem to me that it just ain’t wise
Didja ever wake up in the mornin’
With a zomby woof behind your eyes?
 
Just about as evil as you could be
 
I am the zomby woof
I’m that creature all the ladies been talkin’ about
I am the zomby woof
They all seek for shelter when I come chargin’ out
 
Tellin’ you all the zomby troof
Here I’m is, the zomby woof
Tellin’ you all the zomby troof
Here I’m is…
 
Reety-awrighty, he da zomby woof
 
Reety-awrighty, he da zomby woof
 
They said awreety
An’ they was awrighty
An’ I was a zomby for you, little lady…
 
[Instrumental]
 
I got a great big pointed fang
Which is my zomby toof
My right foot’s bigger than my other one is
Like a reg’lar zomby hoof
 
If I raid your dormitorium
Don’t try to remain aloof…
I might snatch you up screamin’ through the window all nekkid
An’ do it to you up on the roof, don’t mess with the zomby woof
 
I am about as bad as a boogie man can be!
 
Tellin’ you all the zomby troof
Here I’m is, the zomby woof
Tellin’ you all the zomby troof
Here I’m is, the zomby woof

5. Sweet Leilani


[Notes by FZ] The exact recording date of these two selections is not known, but can be placed roughly in the same month as the Bronx concert.
The audience at this show (in a dance hall) also seemed to prefer the dynamic musical stylings of the Vanilla Fudge. (At another concert on Long Island some members of the audience were actually chanting: ‘Youse guys stink… bring on the Fudge’).
 
[Announcer] The Mothers of Invention
 
[Guy in the audience] Turn it on!
[FZ] It’s on
[?] That’s one of our mikes, isn’t it? These two?
 
[FZ] “Sweet Leilani”. In A. Just pretend it was thirty years ago, and this was the first song of the night for the kind of a band that your mother and father used to go and cream over.
 
[Instrumental]

6. Oh no


[Instrumental]

7. Be in my video


[Notes by FZ] About a month into the 1984 tour, we videotaped two shows at the Pier in New York City. Some selections from this concert appear in a Home Video release called “Does Humor Belong in Music?”. The little intro tape segment before “Be in my video” is from an actual backstage situation circa 1970.
 
[Aynsley Dunbar] Yeah
[Girl #1] I would go to Orlando if you uh… would let me on your plane
[Girl #2] That’s what I said about this
[Aynsley Dunbar] You gonna gimme a quick knob job, then, on the way down?
[Girl #1] Sure
[Girl #2] That’s the price
[Aynsley Dunbar] Yeah?
[Girl #1] Sure
[?] This guy’s crude!
[Girl #2] You know, there’s always a catch
[Aynsley Dunbar] She’ll come down, she’ll come down. We might as well get it. You’ll do the whole band?
[Girl #1] Sure
[Aynsley Dunbar] Yeah?
 
Be in my video
Darling, every night
I will rent a cage for you
And mi-j-i-nits dressed in white
Teeny-little-tiny-little…
 
Twirl around in a lap dissolve
Pretend to sing the words
I’ll rent a gleaming limousine
Release a flock of ber-herna-herna-herna-herna-her-nerds
 
Why don’t you
Wear a leather collar
And a dagger in your ear?
Stabbinitin-stabbinitin-stabbinitin-stabbinitin-you!
I will make you smell the glove
And try to look sincere
Then we’ll…
 
Dance the blues
Oh yes, we’ll dance the blues

Let’s dance the blues
What a terrific idea!
Let’s dance the blues

Oh, you’ll love it, it’s a way of life

Under the megawatt moonlight
 

Pretend to be Chinese
One-hung-low

I’ll make you wear red shoes
There’s a cheesy atom bomb explosion all the big groups use
Atomic light will shine
Through an old Venetian blind
Making patterns on your face
Then it cuts to outer space
With its billions & billions & billions & billions
 
Oh, be
Be in my video
In my video
Darling, every night
Darling, every night
Everyone in cable-land
Everyone in cable-gable-land
Will say you’re outasite
Will say you’re really outasite
 
You can show your legs
You can show your pretty legs
While you’re getting in the car
In my red hot rod car, then I…
Then I will look repulsive
With my big ears and all
While I mangle my guitar
 
Reen-toon-teen-toon-teen-toon-tee-nu-nee-nu-nee
MOO-AHHH
Reen-toon-teen-toon-teen-toon-tee-nu-nee-nu-nee
MOO-MOO-AHHH
Reen-toon-teen-toon-teen-toon-tee-nu-nee-nu-nee
MOO-AHHH
Tee-nu-nee
MOO-AHHH
Tee-nu-nee
Moo-wah-wah-wah-ooo
 
After all the close-up shots of you
In bondage leather

They’ll spray an alley with a hose
And then we’ll mine the harbor
 
Dance de blude agin
Led dance de blude agin
Oh yeah
Led dance de blude agin
In de middle o’ de alley
 
Let’s dance your face
Let’s dance your lips
Let’s dance your nose
And then we’ll dance your sinus
 
It’s definitely a case of MOO-AHHH!

8. The deathless horsie


[Instrumental]

9. The dangerous kitchen


[FZ] The dangerous kitchen
If it ain’t one thing it’s another
In the middle of the night when you come home
The bread things are all dry an’ scratchy
The meat things where the cats ate through the paper
The soft little things on the floor that you step on
They can all be DANGEROUS
 
Sometimes the milk can hurt you
(If you put it on your cereal before you smell the plastic container)
And the stuff in the strainer
Has a mind of its own
So be very careful
In the dangerous kitchen
When the night time has fallen
AND THE ROACHES are crawlin’
In the kitchen of danger
You can feel like a stranger
 
The bananas are black
They got flies in the back
And also the chicken
In the dish with the foil
Where the cream is all clabbered
And the salad is frightful
Your return in the evening
Can be less than delightful
 
You must walk very careful
You must not lean against it
It can get on your clothing
It can follow you in
As you walk to the bedroom
And you take all your clothes off
While you’re sleeping it crawls off
It gets in your bed
It could get on your face then
It could eat your complexion
You could die from the danger
Of the dangerous kitchen
 
WHO THE FUCK WANTS TO CLEAN IT?
 
It’s disgusting and dirty
The sponge on the drainer
Is stinky and squirty
If you squeeze it when you wipe up
What you get on your hands then
Could unbalance your glands and
Make you blind or whatever
In the dangerous kitchen
At my house tonight

10. Dumb all over


[Notes by FZ] These three selections were broadcast live as part of an early MTV concert special. It is unlikely that they’ll ever let us get away with that again.
 
[FZ] Hotel room mo-mo-mo-mom mo-mo-mom
Hotel room mo-mo-mo-mom mo-mo-mom
Ay-ay-ay- ay!
 
Whoever we are, wherever we’re from
We shoulda noticed by now our behavior is dumb
And if our chances expect to improve
It’s gonna take a lot more than tryin’ to remove
The other race or the other whatever
From the face of the planet altogether
 
They call it “the Earth”, which is a dumb kinda name
But they named it right ‘cause we behave the same…
We are dumb all over
Dumb all over, yes we are
Dumb all over, near an’ far
Dumb all over, black an’ white
People, we is not wrapped tight
 
Nurds on the left, nurds on the right
Religious fanatics on the air every night
Sayin’ the Bible tells the story
An’ makes the details sound real gory
‘Bout what to do if the geeks over there
Don’t believe in the Book you got over here
 
You can’t run a race without no feet
An’ pretty soon there won’t be no street
For dummies to jog on or doggies to dog on
Religious fanatics can make it be all gone
(It won’t blow up an’ disappear
It’ll just look ugly for a thousand years…)
 
You can’t run a country by a book of religion
Not by a heap or a lump or a smidgeon
Of foolish rules of ancient date
Designed to make you all feel great
While you fold, spindle and mutilate
Those unbelievers from a neighboring state
 
To arms! To arms! Hooray! That’s great
Two legs ain’t bad unless there’s a crate
They ship the parts to mama in
For souvenirs: two ears (Get down!)
Not his, not hers (But what the hey?)
The Good Book says: “It gotta be that way”
But their book says: “Revenge the crusades
With whips an’ chains an’ hand grenades”
Two arms? Two arms?
Have another and another
Our God says: “There ain’t no other
Our God says: “It’s all OK”
Our God says: “This is the way”
 
It says in the Book: “Burn an’ destroy
Repent an’ redeem an’ revenge an’ deploy
An’ rumble thee forth to the land of the unbelieving scum on the other side
‘Cause they don’t go for what’s in the Book an’ that makes ‘em bad”
So verily we must choppeth them up
And stompeth them down
Or rent a nice French bomb
To poof them out of existence
While leaving their real estate just where we need it
To use again
For temples in which to praise
OUR GOD
(“‘Cause He can really GO HAWAIIAN!”)
 
And when his humble TV servant
With a brown suit
Glasses
Maybe a blonde wife who takes phone calls
Tells us
It’s OK to do this stuff
Then we gotta do it
‘Cause if we don’t do it
We ain’t GWINE up to hebbin!
Ain’t that right?
It’s right
I mean seriously
This television evangelist stuff is DANGEROUS BUSINESS
Don’t let ‘em get ya
Anyway, listen
We can’t really be dumb
If we’re just following God’s Orders
After all He wrote this Book here an’ in the Book it says:
“He made us all to be just like Him”
So… if we’re dumb… then God is dumb
(An’ maybe even a little ugly on the side)
 
Dumb all over
A little ugly on the side
Dumb all over
A little ugly on the side

11. Heavenly bank account


[Ray White] And if these words you do not heed
Your pocketbook just kinda might recede
When some man comes along and claims a godly need
He will clean you out right through your tweed
 
[FZ] That’s right, remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over…
 
[FZ & Ray White] He’s got twenty million dollars in his Heavenly Bank Account…
All from those chumps who was born again
Oh yeah, oh yeah
He’s got seven limousines and a private plane
All for the use of his Special Friends
Oh yeah, oh yeah
He’s got thousand-dollar suits and a Wembley tie
Girls love to stroke it while he’s on the phone
Oh yeah, oh yeah
At the House of Representatives he’s a groovy guy
When he Gives Thanks he is not alone
 
He is dealin’, he is really dealin’, IRS can’t determine where The Hook is
It is easy with the bible to pretend that you’re in Show Biz
And a-one, and a-two, and a…
They won’t get him, they will never get him for the naughty stuff that he did
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
It is best in cases like this to pretend that you are stupid
DOH!
 
He’s got Presidential Help all along the way
He says the grace while the lawyers chew
Oh yeah, they sure do
And the governors agree to say: “He’s a lovely man”
He makes it easier for them to screw
All of you… yes, that’s true
‘Cause he helps put The Fear Of God in the Common Man
Snatchin’ up money everywhere he can
Oh yeah, oh yeah
He’s got twenty million dollars in his Heavenly Bank Account…
You ain’t got nothin’, people
(TAX THE CHURCHES!)
You ain’t got nothin’, people
(TAX THE BUSINESSES OWNED BY THE CHURCHES!)
You ain’t got nothin’, people, thank the man…
Oh yeah
 
[FZ] That’s right, you ain’t got nothin’ and they got it all
And your miserable ass is up against the wall
The only thing you have not tried
It’s the sport of chumps and that’s SUICIDE!

12. Suicide chump


[FZ] You say there ain’t no use in livin’
It’s all a waste of time
An’ you wanna throw your life away
Well, people, that’s just fine
 
Go ahead on an’ get it over with then
Find you a bridge an’ take a jump
Just make sure you do it right the first time
‘Cause nothin’s worse than a Suicide Chump
 
You say there ain’t no light a-shinin’
Through the bushes up ahead
An’ we’re all gonna be so sorry
When we find out you are dead
 
Go ahead on an’ get it over with then
Find you a bridge an’ take a jump
Just make sure you do it right the first time
‘Cause nothin’s worse than a Suicide Chump
 
Now maybe you’re scared of jumpin’
An’ poison makes you sick
But you want a lil’ attention
An’ you need it pretty quick
Don’t wanna mess your face up
Or we won’t know if it’s you
Aw, there’s just so much to worry about
Now what you gonna do?
 
Go ahead on an’ get it over with then
Find you a bridge an’ take a jump
Just make sure you do it right the first time
‘Cause nothin’s worse than a Suicide Chump
(Oh, tell ‘em one time!)
 
[Instrumental]
 
[FZ] Maybe you’re scared of jumpin’
An’ poison makes you sick
But you want a lil’ attention
An’ you need it pretty quick
Don’t wanna mess your face up
Or we won’t know if it’s you
Aw, there’s just so much to worry about
Now what you gonna do?
 
Go ‘head on an’ get it over with then
Go ‘head on an’ get it over with then
Go ‘head on an’ get it over with then
Go ‘head on an’ get it over with then
Go ‘head on an’ get it over with then
Go ‘head on an’ get it over with then
Go ‘head on an’ get it over with then
 
You’re on the bridge, scared to leap
But a girl walks over to take a peep

She says: “DON’T DO IT!”
But wouldn’t you know
The girl’s got a head like a buffalo
 
With a little red hair all over the top
An’ her breath would make the traffic stop
She says: “I LOVE YOU… BUT FIRST, LET’S EAT!
And all you can say as you run down the street is…

13. Tell me you love me


[Notes by FZ] Italy had just won an important game of the World Cup soccer finals when we arrived for the soundcheck. We were performing in the city soccer stadium. This festive occasion was nearly spoiled by the demise of the air conditioner in the recording truck and potential gastric distress.

(You’d think that Christopher Columbus’ home town would have at least one good pizza place… but NO-O-O! When we sent out for this rare delicacy after the soundcheck, the driver, who claimed to know of the best pizza place in town, returned with a thoroughly frightening half-cooked sort of “food simulation” with a mound of mushrooms - from a can, in water - poured over the top of it. Tommy Mars ate it anyway).
 
Tell me you love me, tell me you love me
Like I want you to
Tell me you love me, tell me you love me
GIRL! GIRL! GIRL!
I love you so hard now, I’m cryin’ for you
Don’t make me lose my pride
I wanna come inside
And grab a hold of you
And grab a hold of you
 
Tell me you love me, tell me you love me
Like I want you to
Tell me you love me, tell me you love me
GIRL! GIRL! GIRL!
I wanna feel it, give me your love now
Don’t make me steal it
Don’t make me steal it
Tell me you love me, tell me you love me, tell me you love me
TELL ME YOU LOVE ME!
Tell me you love me, tell me you love me, tell me you love me
TELL ME YOU LOVE ME!
 
Tell me you love me, tell me you love me
Like I want you to
Tell me you love me, tell me you love me
GIRL! GIRL! GIRL!
I love you so hard now, I’m cryin’ for you
Burnin’ with fire
I gotta hot desire
‘Cause I gotta make love with you
‘Cause I gotta make love with you
‘Cause I gotta make love with you
‘Cause I gotta make love with you
 
Tell me you love me, like I want you to
Tell me you love me, like I want you to
Tell me you love me, like I want you to

14. Sofa #2


[Instrumental]
 
[FZ] Ray White
Tommy Mars
Chad Wackerman
Ed Mann
Bobby Martin
Scott Thunes
Steve Vai
 
Thanks for coming to the show. Hope you liked it. Good night.


English lyrics from site Information Is Not Knowledge.