Frank Zappa - Let´s Make The Water Turn Black 1968

[boneyoos]

The song references a guy who pees in a jar and puts it on the shelf and watches change.

[SweetSweetWaldo]

I prefer this one to the sped-up CD version.

[Ian3ize]

im 30 years old, and I love this, Grew up with Zappa! wish it were more popular now days, could help things yes?

[SpongebobMusicUnited]

@Ian3ize totally, i'm so glad my dad got me into zappa at such a young age, and at 15 i consider frank zappa to be on of my favorite artists.

[Noahblondheim2]

this was a whole lot creepier when i actually listened to the lyrics... but still a great song

[chompachangas]

I whistle this at work or on the train :)

[Karmoon7]

I have no clue what the hell this song is about.

This doesn't stop me from loving it, obviously.

[scottberk55]

@Karmoon7 I believe it's about lighting farts on fire.???? Wait till the fire turns green!!!???

[Karmoon7]

@scottberk55

Explains why there's a fart right at the beginning of the song.

The thing is, I always thought lighting your own fart was called 'blue angels'.

Guess it depends on your diet and a host of other factors. lol :)

[BondoFox]

Was that crap at the end actually on the album? If it was, of course it would then cease to be crap, but it was never in the version I used to listen to.

[Karmoon7]

@BondoFox

Yes. It was on the album, i think it's one of the best bits about it. It's just like someone opening a window into utter madness for a few seconds.

It reminds me of the bizarre radio station stuff that me and my brothers used to record as kids :)

[Karmoon7]

@BondoFox

Sorry for the double post, but it was the album 'Strictly Commercial'.

I'm not sure how many albums this song has been featured on.

Most of it was done before I existed.

[fluffydolly]

its zappa....!!!!

[shrewskater]

<3 so good (and weird haha)

[cpdaddy7]

A marvel to be seen, dysentery green

[ramadarose41]

i'd forgotten how much i loved this song! thanks for posting it, vinzer72frie!! btw, does anyone know what "Kenny's little creatures on display" are?? or do i really want to know? lol

[joeshowallme]

@ramadarose41 I know this song was about his neighbors as a child, and the strange things they did in their yard. I think "noomies" are boogers, but I could be wrong.

[ceriess]

@ramadarose41 When Kenny lived in the shed in the backyard, he would urinate in jars and put them on the shelf. Over time it was observed that small tadpole like creatures could be seen swimming in the murky pee.

[MrCook1227]

What a wonderful thing to write music about. So heavy and real.

[MrCook1227]

Thank you. I've long hoped for another word to use when discussing or even singing about boogers.

[sceptile759]

@MrCook1227 What happened was this kid Frank was friends with when he was a kid, would take numies from his nose every single day, and flick them on the window. Then, one day, his mum saw it, and it was just this green color. She used ajax and a chisel clean it.

Fucking disgusting. :P

The whole song is based on actual people, and later he met them again and did an interview which was later released on the album "The Lost Episodes"

[MrCook1227]

What are "numies"?

[sceptile759]

@MrCook1227 Boogers.

[neilrtucker11]

isnt this whole album supposed to spoof the beatles and their music?

[thrashmetalkills]

@neilrtucker11 no just the album cover. There really isn't any disrespect for the beatles in the album, its just parody artwork cover. It's really more of satire on hippies

[equallyeasilyfuqyou]

what the fuck is this song about. i'm not too sure i want to know. :D

[17lio]

@equallyeasilyfuqyou It's actually what you' re thinking about !

FZ' s neighbors , who did exist , spending their time collecting their 'numies' on the window and burning their farts !

Frank ZAPPA at his best !

[csscszcsgv]

Dodn-do-do-dodn-dodn-dodn-dada­

[Redmar85]

One of my favourite album of all time... really great!!!

[HellzSmellz]

Frank was Zappy

[MithranArkanere]

Look for "Mojinos Escozios - El mitico chupachup " in Youtube... hehehe...

[chism26]

Yeap you are right qrant1r

[skrapyard444]

ive been listening to a couple of tracks off this album and man...its some funny shit...

[AlMayer1100]

on the award version the verse with "... with her apron and her pad, feeding all the boys in ed's cafe" was taken out, because the deluded US-censors thought that "pad" was meant to be a sanitary napkin. imagine whats going on in the brain of such people.

[ramadarose41]

@AlMayer1100 i'm reading Frank Zappa's autobiography "The Real Frank Zappa Book", and it says that it was the UK judicial system which originally put him on trial for the right to play certain songs at a live show there (the line about "her apron and her pad" being singled out as meaning a sanitary napkin). i didn't know the US had censored him as well for the same reason. UGH! i LOVE this song, disgusting a it is. haha btw, that book is a really good read! :-)

[jrussellawesome]

see a bomber burn, double meaning!!!!

[simyan2012]

@jrussellawesome how they yearn to see obama burn hah

[Aresftfun]

hAHAHA Brililant.

-Dan

[AndrewGilmore1986]

Somehow I prefer the remastered version where the vocals are sped- I mean this is already a pretty bizarre song and the cartoony sped-up vocals seemed more appropriate by making it even weirder.

[DimensionsofChange]

Take note that Zappa never did Bob Dylan's Friday.

[MOONSIP2]

"Wail til the fire turns green..."

[sourjaws]

If the replay button was an under aged girl I'd be going to jail

[Django5198]

I'm gonna piss in a jar and see if weird creatures spawn

[310claude]

Inoubliable frank zappa.... Pour toujours dans nos coeurs!!!!!

[FlyingCheezBurgers]

someone give the replay button a rape whistle

[Mase58]

does anyone know where i can find a torrent of the original 1968 version of this? or the restoration disk they put out in 95?

[Bogframe]

@Mase58 Restoration Disc? Was that to make up for the botched vinyl disc of this they put in The Old Masters Box 1, or the equally fucked up version on the first CD?

[Staggerbaroque]

This song is actually about kids flinging - never mind, it's too disgusting.

[musiclover01ization]

This is zappa's best album

[Squee36]

@musiclover01ization Definitely one of them. It is phase two of Lumpy Gravy after all :)

[frost0813]

@Squee36 Phase One, actualy

[CodyRicheson]

Really incredible. I love Zappa's fixation on early rock and do wop (sp?).

[anaamee]

it's difficult for me to understand the meaning of a song like this one, because I'm french. Can someone explain what does "making the water turne black" mean ? thx

[Danbrud]

@anaamee Salut! I think the words refer to the habit of kids to take mindless pleasure in making a horrible mess, the twist being that the kids grow up to make a very horrible mess in Vietnam....or Iraq....or Pakistan...etc

[vegasshowgirlshoes]

@anaamee

Nobody can ever understand Zappa , you just have to go with it

It is what it is

[likearollingstone257]

Bahahaha it sounds like a fart at the very beginning.

[whoadude1959]

"whizzing and pasteing and pooting thru the day, Ronnie helping Kenny help him burn his poots away and all the while on a shelf in the shed, Kenny's little creatures on display...."

[jeffhickman10]

This song is about Frank and his childhood friends pissing in mason jars.

[chicchitammuottocifa]

@jeffhickman10 Yea Ronnie and Kenny Williams. Kenny died in the 70's...

[BenAliGtor]

I dated a girl (big Zappa fan ) whose father I used to refer to as "Daddy Dinky"...LOL

[jbow]

My favorite LP in 1968/69... I was in the 10th grade in 1968... great stuff!

[ZZombyWooff]

I've always thought the speed up version was the original. hmm.

[subshrub]

What are Kenny's little creatures on the shelf???

[YourEyeWitness]

@subshrub

FZ talks about this song in his autobiography. It's been 20 years since I read it but I seem to recall that this song is about his weird neighbors. They had a shed full of empty jars, Kenny would use them to piss in, put the lid on it and put em back on the shelf. Eventually the shed shelves were full of piss jars and they noticed that little black tadpole sort of creatures were living in the piss jars.

[makethetransition00]

@subshrub he would piss in half used condement jars and put them on the windowsill in the shed. cultures would grow to macroscopic size and swim around.

[lediszep]

Thumbs up Frank,

[aktallpaul10]

Luv this song.....dysentery green...Will be my next color when I repaint my Living Room.

[purulenko]

I love that its the old mix! not the same as whats on the cds now, Frank remixed and remastered his old albums before they were printed on compact discs... first time I hear the original mix

[Weasel1995]

@purulenko Indeed, I heard this version a shitload then bought the CD when I was like 13.

Good, but this is better.

[DAkkermann]

This song's about jenkem.

[rookieninetynine]

This was one of my favorite Zappa songs. I didn't have this album, but it was on a variety album The Mothers released sometime in the 70's.

[Channel1NewsVideo]

Many thanks to Loom for turning me on to Zappa in the 70's.

[thesmashedarmadillos]

What the heck are they talking about? Making coffee?

[SupperOfTheMightyOne]

@thesmashedarmadillos

Alcohol, I think it is.

[ViciousMaximus]

@thesmashedarmadillos I they shit in the water

[grant1r]

@thesmashedarmadillos

One of Frank Zappa's friends was kicked out of his parents' house and took refuge in the garage. He had no bathroom, so he pissed and crapped in mason jars. Not only that, he left his boogers on the window. Its in any Frank Zappa biography, check it out.

[Meiscochan]

@grant1r that's so gross

[frost0813]

@laylacalif For who ever flagged this... IT IS NOT SPAM... This is part of the further lyrics of the album (From the song "Discorperate".

[mileslake]

Just Groove With It.

[Django5198]

We need Frank back to satirise Bieber

[Antalarion]

@Django5198 Frank wouldn't criticize Bieber because Frank is original. He'd say that criticizing Bieber is conformist.

[clockworkplumbs]

@Antalarion Hed be friends with Bieber but make fun of Biebers fans just like he makes fun of his own fans.

Get it?

[whitedwarf13]

@Django5198 Give it rest.

[mandobanjoguitar]

how could anyone give a thumbs down to Zappa. Especially this song.

[ajeffrey9173]

jennifer from hamilton ontario is drinking wine and loving zappa

[kornlord11]

john lennon was an ass

[Django5198]

Jimmy Carl Black was an amazing drummer!

[d1sailer]

rip frank

[LifeInBrunswick]

I don't understand Frank's music. But I love it!

[wiggaroo]

1:37 to see obama burn?

[wesleyjarrod]

@wiggaroo oh how they yearn to "See a Bomber Burn"

[Sladedestiny]

@wiggaroo to see a BOMBER burn

[BlueFlamingoVlogs]

That's right. In 1968 Frank Zappa was writing songs about Obama. Yep.

[wiggaroo]

@BlueFlamingoVlogs I only meant thats what it sounds like, thought it sounded funny. I dont wish any burnings upon the current president btw

[airsoftjj]

@wiggaroo a bomber burn

[Django5198]

This could only ever happen in Baltimore!

[LiteracyLabyrinth]

whizzing and pacing thru the day, kennys little creatures on display l0l insane genius

[jadeteddy]

kl =D!!!!!!!!!!!

[MeTaLcOrE1616]

Fart at the beginning.

xD

[TheCrazyadam15]

@MeTaLcOrE1616

sound of a needle being scraped against a record*

[beatler11]

@TheCrazyadam15 I would play that part to friends and they would always think my record was fucked up!

[eevlwich]

disentery green....genius!

[TEMPmichaelhansen]

Read the book "The Real Frank Zappa Book" by Frank Zappa, co-written by Peter Occhiogrosso.

[TEMPmichaelhansen]

cant find the "stereo" mix, maybe only on vinyl...

[nosferatuist]

I LOVE THIS SONG!

THANK YOU FRANK!

Thank you Danilo!^^

[TEMPmichaelhansen]

CLASSIC

also in MONO on here

[axeofgod72]

you can spend a lifetime trying to discover zappa's works and words. what a complex twisted genius...

[TEMPmichaelhansen]

bobby brown

[malgray2]

Whizzing and pasting and pooting through the day!

[whyte1988]

I have little creatures too

[VictoryCough]

Frank wrote about this song in a book and said it was a true story about to brothers he knew.

[PurplePlayer99]

Hey i've been a fan of Zappa for a little less than a year, i'm 17 now so I happy for discovering him this early at least. Do you know if he has any score books as well biographies? Or just any books. I've been asking on many zappa pages. Thanks.

[bluelake07]

The Frank Zappa Songbook Vol. 1 is long out of print, but look around on the Web.

[KatieAnd5a5ah]

@PurplePlayer99 I read most of "the negative dialectics of poodle play" in 1999 or so...Zappa had portions of it read TO HIM by the author,while he was sick, and thought it was nonsense..."the real frank zappa book" is better. I read that maybe 4 times or more, all by Library..so it must intrigue me.

[Beatnikzombie]

@PurplePlayer99 I used to have a book about each album. I think it was just called Zappa. Do a search in ebay or amazon.

[ubrokemuthafucka]

yeah dude, check out his own written biography.

"The Real Frank Zappa Book"

[muckbluvid]

@PurplePlayer99

Don't miss Reuben and the Jets!

[yrsnkd]

@PurplePlayer99 I have the same questions, I'm 15 and I've been a Zappa fan since last year too. Tell me if anyone replies with anything!

[fraudowns]

@PurplePlayer99 buy The Real Frank Zappa Book by Frank Zappa its the story of his first band and then later his solo career until the late 80's

[drone5]

@fraudowns: indeed, the Real Frank Zappa Book is a fun read, and includes a perhaps-surprising amount of his ideas on all kinds of subjects not just music.

[Rikk303]

@PurplePlayer99 Start by buying Hot Rats

[UJ96LFA]

@PurplePlayer99 ´Frank Zappa - Electric Don Quijote´ by Neil Slaven is also enthralling read!! Try it out you won´t regret

[namelessguy93]

@PurplePlayer99 Try "Zappa" by Barry Miles. It may be a little bit harsh, but it's well researched and written.

[bigbassballin]

@PurplePlayer99 congrats for finding my favorite musician. I'm only 21 I've been listening to zappa since I was 13 and I still haven't heard all of his albums. as far as biographies go I have only read the barry miles one and to be honest it seemed a little off at times. things that franks as said otherwise in video '

interviews and such. but the zappa family has a website and you can check out "the real frank zappa book." I've been meaning to get that one. what albums are you familiar with?

[beatler11]

@bigbassballin Love the mid 70s LPs . Zoot Allures, Bongofury, One Size Fits All, Zappa In New York... I love em all.

[HisEmptyHouse]

@PurplePlayer99 Try searching amazon? Though be careful with those biographies - Zappa had a lot of very small-minded pin-headed enemies looking to make hack bucks off lambasting or distorting the life of 'that dirty edgy weird guy.'

[HisEmptyHouse]

@PurplePlayer99 To answer your question though, there's a book called 'The Real Zappa' written by Zappa.

[Pstephen]

@PurplePlayer99

There are scores, yes. A full score of "Perfect Stranger" and piano scores of a lot of early songs. Also transcribed guitar solos.

[thisisnotzimbabwe]

@PurplePlayer99 I recommend a special number from the magazine "Mojo" It's quite recent, I bought it jut a week ago, so Iguess it's still quite easy to find. There's the whole biography, interviews with people that knew him...

[choriakus]

@PurplePlayer99 Hot RATS has score book

[SantasEvilHelper]

@PurplePlayer99 apostrophe has a scorebook

[joeknee4767]

@PurplePlayer99 Welcome to the FZ madhouse!! it is great that a young buck like you likes the beauty,wit and genious of Zappas work. Give me a comment on my channel and i will be glad to turn you on to some stuff! hell i am 43 and miss him very much!! .Tabs i dont think you will find, and NOBODY could even play his leads note for note,he is too visceral, but,i have some ideas-might help me too!!lol

[gtr1359]

@PurplePlayer99 there is a transcription book of hot rats and apostrophe. i have them and they are good

[FOWLMUSIC]

@PurplePlayer99

You will want to be getting "The Real Frank Zappa Book" as soon as possible! ENJOY!

In terms of score books, no. There was the Frank Zappa guitar book, but I believe that is out of print now, do a search for guitar transcriptions, and you may still find some PDF's online, I found a copy. Not sure if they still sell scores for individual works at Zappa.com. I bought Black Page and Alien Orifice.

[DimensionsofChange]

@FOWLMUSIC I agree, that book was Hot poop

[DimensionsofChange]

@PurplePlayer99 Major universities like MSU have copies of the Real Frank Zappa book.

[JulianHBurchill]

huh, a year ago. He wrote a nice book himself

Real Frank Zappa Book. You'll find it for sale somewhere.

[fanukavich101]

@JulianHBurchill too bad zappa's dead....

[Imptheshrimp]

@fanukavich101 He's not dead, he just lays around and smells bad.

[matkas1000]

@Imptheshrimp

haha ,real good, it´s like Jazz. This man gave me so many fine time that he never die.

[Imptheshrimp]

@matkas1000 Exactly. He gave his ideas out to us, and years after his death, through his music, his ideas still manifest themselves in out minds. He may die physically, but his through his music, his thoughts will always live on.

[JulianHBurchill]

@fanukavich101

Cheers for that. Notice the full-stop............

[JulianHBurchill]

@fanukavich101 Cheers for that.

Learn how to interpret punctuation dimbo.

[vibronicz]

@PurplePlayer99 There are many Frank Zappa books, look on amazon :P

[TEMPmichaelhansen]

it is in the book "THE REAL FRANK ZAPPA" & the cd "THE LOST EPISODES "

[zevo66]

A perfect example of pure pop (with added sarcasm!!!)

Love It!!!!

Rest easy Frank RIP x

[jonesowski]

classic!!!!

[TheFreemason75]

@jonesowski

An absolute classic....timeless and so very unique...