It Can't Happen Here (Who Could Imagine... Frank Zappa)

Freak Out | Jan 8, 2020 | Frank Zapp

[dontreadthis]

knockin’ the little jockeys off the rich people’s lawns

[Biggirl]

The good news is that Americans are ARMED to the teeth.

[plain talk]

yep

[dfwgator]

Plastic People

FZ: Ladies and gentlemen the president of the United States
RC as the President: Fellow Americans
FZ: He’s been sick. I think his wife will bring us some chicken soup

[Chorus]
Plastic people
Oh baby how you’re such a drag

FZ: I know it’s hard to defend such unpopular policy every once in awhile

[Chorus]
Plastic people
Oh baby how you’re such a drag

FZ: There’s this guy from the CIA and he’s creeping around Laurel canyon

[Verse]
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

[Chorus]
Plastic people
Oh baby how you’re such a drag

FZ: I don’t know, sometimes I just get tired of ya honey
It’s a your hairspray or somethin’

[Chorus]
Plastic people
Oh baby you’re such a drag

FZ: I here the sound of marching feet down Sunset boulevard to Crescent heights and there at Pandora’s Box we are confronted with a vast quantity of plastic people

[Verse]
Take a day
And walk around
Watch the Nazi’s
Run your town
Then go home and check yourself
You think we’re singing ‘bout someone else...
But you’re plastic people
Now baby you’re such a drag

[instrumental break]

[Verse]
Me see a neon
Moon above
I searched for years
I found no love
I’m sure that love
Will never be
A product of
Plasticity

RC: Plastic people are; your foot, your hair, your nose, your arm. You eat, suck, your being is you plastic people. Blah blah blah. Plastic pebbles
(some Spanish cannot make out)
FZ: A prune is not a vegetable. Cabbage is a vegetable

[dayglored]

> ...executed precisely...

And I notice that I dated this as Jan 8 2020 instead of 2021 (muscle memory is still on last year), and I misspelled "Zappa" as "Zappe" at the end of the lyrics.

Frank would not be impressed. OTOH I have an excuse -- it's 2:40pm and I haven't had a chance to get any coffee yet today.

[Biggirl]

The good news is that Americans are ARMED to the teeth.

[discostu]

Of course the point of the song is that it WAS happening here.

[lee martell]

That’s understandable. However, I was referring to the intro to Steven Still’s “For What It’s Worth”.
You’re right about Zappa though.

[DoodleBob]

[dayglored]

> I was referring to the intro to Steven Still’s “For What It’s Worth”.

And you're quite right. It's absolutely identifiable.

It's a kick to play those harmonics at a live show. I always have my tongue in my teeth, hoping they ring out as intended, and that my finger isn't a little "off" and I get a "dink" instead of a "ping".

Someone pointed out one time that the alternating tonic/fifth pings evoke a sound of warning in much the same way that the two-tone European police siren does.

[RC one]

Was listening to an interview with him last night where he was trashing Nixon too. I really don’t listen to Zappa for his political views. I just appreciate his guitar work. That being said, “it” almost certainly can and will happen here but it isn’t going to be done by conservatives.

[dfwgator]

I think like many artists of that era, who were around in the 50s, it was Joe McCarthy that was the reason they pretty much hated all Republicans, and associated any Republican with McCarthy.