Beat The Boots

Beat The Boots I: Unmitigated Audacity

(Frank Zappa, July 1991)

Song timings and track separations from Castle ESMCD 959 (CD, 1991)

  1. Dupree's Paradise 0:53
  2. It Can't Happen Here 2:19
  3. Hungry Freaks, Daddy 2:46
  4. You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here 2:40
  5. How Could I Be Such a Fool? 3:46
  6. Ain't Got No Heart 2:20
  7. I'm Not Satisfied 2:18
  8. Wowie Zowie 3:18
  9. Let's Make the Water Turn Black 2:23
  10. Harry, You're a Beast 0:53
  11. Oh No 8:15
  12. More Trouble Every Day 7:53
  13. Louie Louie 1:55
  14. Camarillo Brillo 5:05

Notre Dame University, South Bend, Indiana
May 12, 1974

FZ—lead guitar/vocals
Jeff Simmons—guitar/vocals
Napoleon Murphy Brock—sax/vocals
George Duke—keyboards/vocals
Don Preston—keyboards/synthesizer
Walt Fowler—trumpet
Bruce Fowler—trombone
Tom Fowler—bass
Chester Thompson—drums
Ralph Humphrey—drums

 

1. Dupree's Paradise 0:53

 

2. It Can't Happen Here 2:19

It can't happen here
It can't happen here
I'm telling you, my dear
That it can't happen here
Because I been checkin' it out, baby
I checked it out a couple of times

Oh darling, it's important that you believe me
(Bop bop bop bop)
That it can't happen here

Who could imagine that they would freak out somewhere in Kansas . . .
(Kansas . . . Kansas . . . )
Who could imagine that they would freak out in Minnesota . . .
(Mama Minnesota . . . )
Who could imagine . . .

FZ: How about this one here? . . . How about that one there again? . . . It's still not good enough, one more time. Everybody together on the downbeat of that little honk. Let's hear it . . .

Who could imagine
That they would freak out in Washington, D.C.
(AC/DC bop-bop-bop)
(AC/DC bop-bop-bop)
(AC/DC bop-bop-bop)
Wait a minute . . .

I remember (tu-tu)
I remember (tu-tu)
I remember (tu-tu)
They had a swimming pool
I remember (tu-tu)
I remember (tu-tu)
They had a swimming pool
I remember (tu-tu)
I remember (tu-tu)
They had a swimming pool

And they thought it couldn't happen here
(Duh duh duh . . . )

FZ: Suzy?
Suzy: Yes
FZ: Suzy, Suzy Creamcheese, this is the voice of your conscience, honey. I just want to tell you one thing, one night only. Suzy Creamcheese, my dearest, my darling . . .
Suzy: Yes?
FZ: Do you really think you'll be able to get a job as a Playboy bunny? Just tell me the truth. Yes or no? Do you think you'll be able to . . . ?
Suzy: Yes.
FZ: Funny, you didn't look like a dyke when I first met you.

3. Hungry Freaks, Daddy 2:46

includes a quotation from Lohengrin (Wagner)

Mister America
Walk on by
Your schools that do not teach
Mister America
Walk on by
The minds that won't be reached
Mister America
Try to hide
The emptiness that's you inside
When once you find that the way you lied
And all those corny tricks you tried
Will not forestall the rising tide of
Hungry freaks, Daddy

They won't go
For no more
Great Midwestern hardware store
Philosophy that turns away
From those who aren't afraid to say
What's on their minds
The left-behinds of the Great Society

Hungry freaks, Daddy

Mister America
Walk on by
Your supermarket dream
Mister America
Walk on by
The liquor store supreme
Mister America
Try to hide
The product of your savage pride
The useful minds that it denied
The day you shrugged and stepped aside
You saw their clothes and then you cried
Those hungry freaks, Daddy!

They won't go
For no more
Great Midwestern hardware store
Philosophy that turns away
From those who aren't afraid to say
What's on their minds
The left-behinds of the Great Society

4. You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here 2:40

You're probably wondering
Why I'm here
And so am I
So am I

Just as much as you wonder
'Bout me bein' in this place
(Yeah!)
That's just how much I marvel
At the lameness on your face

You rise each day the same old way
And join your friends out on the street
Spray your hair and think you're neat
I think your life is incomplete
But maybe that's not for me to say
They only pay me here to play

(I wanna hear "Caravan" with a drum solo! Come on!)

You're probably wondering
Why I'm here
And so am I
So am I

Just as much as you wonder
'Bout me starin' back at you
(Yeah!)
That's just how much I question
The corny things you do

You paint your face and then you chase
To meet the gang where the action is
Stomp all night and drink your fizz
Roll your car and say "Gee whiz!"
You tore a big hole in your convertible top
What will you tell your Mom and Pop?

(Hey, Mom! I tore a big hole in the convertible! Come on! Don't whip me!)

You're probably wondering
Why I'm here
And so am I
So am I

Just as much as you wonder
If I mean just what I say
(Yeah!)
That's just how much I question
The social games you play

You told your Mom you're stoked on Tom
And went for a cruise in Freddie's car
Tommy's asking where you are
You boogied all night in a cheesy bar
Plastic boots and plastic hat
And now you think you know where it's at?

You're probably wondering
Why I'm here

5. How Could I Be Such A Fool? 3:46

FZ: Not that it makes a heck of a lot of difference to you but watch George . . .

When I won your love
I was very glad
Every happiness in the world
Belonged to me
Then our love was lost
You went away
Now I shed my tears
In lonely misery

I know now
You never really loved me
Oh, it hurts me now to think
You never ever really cared
I sit and ask myself a thousand times
To try and find
What really happened
To the love
That we shared

How could I be such a fool
How could I believe
All those lies you told me
How could I be taken in
By your sweet face
You spoiled our love
You ruined my life
I'm so tore down
I'm a terrible disgrace

There will come a time
You'll regret the way
You treated me as if
As if I was a fool and didn't know
The many times you lied
About your love for me
Someone is gonna know
Your love is just a show

How could I be such a fool
How could I believe
All those lies you told me
How could I be taken in
By your . . .
You spoiled our love
You ruined my life
How could I
How could I
Be, be, be, be
Such a fool
Such a fool
Such a fool
Such a fool

6. Ain't Got No Heart 2:20

includes a quote from Willie The Pimp

Ain't got no heart
I ain't got no heart to give away
I sit and laugh at fools in love
There ain't no such thing as love
No angels singing up above today

Girl, I don't believe
Girl, I don't believe in what you say
You say your heart is only mine
I say to you, you must be blind
What makes you think that you're so fine
That I would throw away
The groovy life I lead
'Cause, baby, what you got, yeah
It sure ain't what I need

Girl, you'd better go
Girl, you'd better go away
I think that life with you would be
Just not quite the thing for me
Why is it so hard to see my way

Why should I be stuck with you
It's just not what I want to do
Why should an embrace or two
Make me such a part of you
I ain't got no heart to give away

Ain't got no heart
Ain't got no heart
Ain't got no heart
Ain't got no heart to give away

7. I'm Not Satisfied 2:18

Good God!

Got no place to go
I'm tired of walking
Up and down the street all by myself
No love left, left for me to give
I tried and tried
But no one wants me the way I am
Why should I pretend I like
To roam from door to door
Maybe I'll just kill myself
I just don't care no more

Because
I'm not satisfied
Everything I've tried
I don't like the way
Life has been abusing me

Who, I said who would care if I was gone
I never met no one
Who'd care if I was dead and gone
Who, I said who needs me to care for them
Nobody needs me
Why should I just hang around?
Why should I just sit and watch
While the others smile
I just wish that someone cared
If I was happy for a while

Because
I'm not satisfied
Everything I've tried
I don't like the way
Life has been abusing me

No, oh, yeah . . .

8. Wowie Zowie 3:18

Wowie Zowie, your love's a treat
Wowie Zowie, you can't be beat
Wowie Zowie, baby, you're so neat
I don't even care if you shave your legs

Wowie Zowie, baby, you're so fine
Wowie Zowie, baby, please be mine
Wowie Zowie, up and down my spine
I don't even care if you brush your teeth

Dream of you each mornin'
I dream of you each night
Just the other day I got so shook up
I dreamed of you in the afternoon

Yo' mama
Yo' mama
Yo' mama

I dream of you each mornin'
I dream of you each night
Just the other day I got so shook up
I had a flash in the afternoon

Wowie Zowie, baby, love me do
Wowie Zowie, and I'll love you too
Wowie Zowie, baby, I'll be true
I don't even care if your dad's the heat
I don't even care if your dad's the hurt
I don't even care if your dad's the shirt
I don't even care . . . wah-ah-ah . . .

Wowie, Wowie Zowie
Wowie, Wowie Zowie
Wowie, Wowie Zowie
Wowie, Wowie Zowie
Wowie, Wowie Zowie
Wowie, Wowie Zowie
Wowie, Wowie Zowie
Wowie, Wowie Zowie

9. Let's Make The Water Turn Black 2:23

Now believe me when I tell you that my song is really true
I want everyone to listen and believe
It's about some little people from a long time ago
And all the things the neighbors didn't know
Early in the morning Daddy Dinky went to work
Selling lamps and chairs to San Ber'dino squares
And I still remember Mama with her apron and her pad
Feeding all the boys at Ed's Cafe

Whizzing and pasting and pooting through the day
Ronnie helping Kenny helping burn his poots away
And all the while on a shelf in the shed
Kenny's little creatures on display

Ronnie saves his numies on a window in his room
A marvel to be seen: dysentery green
While Kenny and his buddies play a game out in the back
Let's make the water turn black

We see them after school in a world of their own
To some it might seem creepy what they do
The neighbors on the right sat and watched them every night
I'll bet you'd do the same if they was you

Whizzing and pasting and pooting through the day
Ronnie helping Kenny helping burn his poots away
And all the while on a shelf in the shed
Kenny's little creatures on display

Ronnie's in the Army now and Kenny's taking pills
Oh, how they yearn to see a bomber burn
Color flashing, thunder crashing, dynamite machine
Wait till the fire turns green
Wait till the fire turns green
Wait till the fire turns green . . .

I'm gonna tell you the way it is
And I'm not gonna be kind or easy
Your whole attitude stinks, I say
And the life you lead is completely empty

10. Harry, You're A Beast 0:53

includes part of The Orange County Lumber Truck

You paint your head
Your mind is dead
You don't even know what I just said
That's you: American Glitter Boy!

You're phony on top
You're phony underneath
You lay in bed and grit your teeth

David . . .
Alice . . .
Iggy . . .
It's Lou

Don't come in me, on me
Don't come on me, in me
Don't come in me, on me
Don't come on me . . .

11. Oh No 8:15

includes The Orange County Lumber Truck

All of the fools, all of the hate
I think you're probably out to lunch

Oh no, I don't believe it
You say that you think you know the meaning of love
Do you really think it can be told?
You say that you really know
I think you should check it again
How can you say what you believe
Will be the key to a world of love?

All your love will it save me?
All your love will it save the world
From what we can't understand?
Oh no, I don't believe it

And in your dreams
You can see yourself
As a prophet
Saving the world
(Help me out, Bebe!)
The words from your lips
(I am not a crook)
I just can't believe you are such
A fool
(An asshole)

I just can't believe
You are such a fool
I just can't believe
You are such a fool
I just can't believe
You are such a fool
I just can't believe
You are such a fool

12. More Trouble Every Day 7:53

includes a quote from Pygmy Twylyte

Well I'm about to get sick
From listening to this monitor system
Been checkin' out my ears
Since this tour began
I mean to say that every day
(Well, yeah)
It's just another miserable soundcheck after another
And when it's gonna change, my friend
Is one of those things that you worry about when you're a mother

Well I'm watchin' and I'm waitin'
Hopin' for the best
Even think I'll go to prayin'
Every time I hear 'em sayin'
There's no way to delay
That trouble comin' every day
There's no way to delay
That trouble comin' every day

Wednesday I watched the riot
I seen the cops out on the street
I watched 'em throwin' rocks and stuff
And chokin' in the heat
I listened to reports
About the whisky passin' 'round
I've seen the smoke and fire
And the market burnin' down
I watched while everybody
On his street would take a turn
To stomp and smash and bash and crash
And slash and bust and burn

I'm watchin' and I'm waitin'
Hopin' for the best
Even think I'll go to prayin'
Every time I hear 'em sayin'
There's no way to delay
That trouble comin' every day
There's no way to delay
That trouble comin' every day

13. Louie Louie 1:55

(Richard Berry)

Well . . .

FZ: Ladies & Gentlemen, thank you very much for coming to the concert tonight. Hope you liked it. Bring the band on down behind me boys. Not literally, of course, don't put yourself out. Bruce Fowler on trombone, Walt Fowler on trumpet, Napoleon Murphy Brock on tenor saxophone & vocals, Don Preston on synthesizer, Ralph Humphrey on drums, Chester Thompson on drums, Tom Fowler on bass, Jeff Simmons on guitar, George Duke on keyboards.

14. Camarillo Brillo 5:05

She had that Camarillo brillo
Flamin' out along her head
I mean her Mendocino bean-o
By where some bugs had made it red

She ruled the Toads of the Short Forest
And every newt in Idaho
And every cricket who had chorused
By the bush in Buffalo

She said she was a Magic Mama
And she could throw a mean Tarot
And carried on without a comma
That she was someone I should know

She had a snake for a pet
And an amulet
And she was breeding a dwarf
But she wasn't done yet
She had gray-green skin
A doll with a pin
I told her she was awright
But I couldn't come in
(Yeah, I couldn't come in right then . . . )

And so she wandered through the door-way
Just like a shadow from the tomb
She said her stereo was four-way
An' I'd just love it in her room

Well, I was born to have adventure
So I just followed up the steps
Right past her fuming incense stencher
To where she hung her castanets

She stripped away her rancid poncho
An' laid out naked by the door
We did it till we were un-concho
An' it was useless any more

She had a snake for a pet
And an amulet
And she was breeding a dwarf
But she wasn't done yet
She had gray-green skin
A doll with a pin
I told her she was awright
But I couldn't come in
(Actually, I was very busy then)
(No no no)

And so she wandered through the door-way
Just like a shadow from the tomb
She said her stereo was four-way
An' I'd just love it in her room

Well, I was born to have adventure
So I just followed up the steps
Right past her fuming incense stencher
To where she hung her castanets

She stripped away her rancid poncho
An' laid out naked by the door
We did it till we were un-concho
Yes, and we kept on doing it and doing it and then we did it some more

 

All compositions by Frank Zappa except as noted
Site maintained by Román García Albertos
http://www.donlope.net/fz/
Original transcription by Hans Hendriks and Patrick Neve, with corrections and additions by John W. Busher
Further corrections and additions by Roni Mor and Charles Ulrich
This page updated: 2022-07-07