Zappa wrote this song in dedication to 3 journalists that interviewed him in the late 70's. He explains this in the album "Hammersmith Odeon". You can also type in "the story of the three a**holes that inspired the song Bobby Brown", for those interested.
I think when looking at Zappa lyrics, it is really important to take into account when he is writing from the perspective of a character he doesn't agree with (or is outright critiquing), which he does a lot. In this song it is very clear, since he starts out with "Hey there people, I'm Bobbie Brown." So this is going to be Bobbie Brown talking to us, and representing traditional American culture that Zappa does not like, since as he says Bobbie Brown is "the American dream" and does not think think he is "too extreme". But, he is, and Bobbie Brown turns out to not be the American dream, and falls apart when confronted with that reality. However, no matter how far who he actually diverges from that American dream, he is able to hide it, and convince everyone that he still is because he "got a job doing radio promo, and none of the jocks can even tell I'm a homo." And that is what Zappa's ultimate critique boils down to, about Bobbie Brown being a hypocrite. You can't really say from the song what Zappa thinks about feminism or gays or kinky sex, you only know Bobbie Brown's view of those things, but he is clear that he despises Bobbie Brown for being a hypocrite about what he really thinks of them vs. what he presents himself as.
I'm a huge Frank Zappa fan. Here is a little info. Frank Zappa is one of the greatest guitar players who ever lived. There is a great video called Stevie gets spanked. It is a duel between Steve Vai and Frank Zappa. Check out the torture never stops. I am the slime is a prophetic song song written about the media predicted how the media is today. There are great songs like titties and beer. Also, check out Dina mo hum. What will really blow your mind is there is a cd with Frank Zappa conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. Frank Zappa was an Anti establishment musical genius who never did drugs. People who toured with him for years will tell you the same thing. Please take the deep dive into the musical genius of Frank Zappa.
'Frank Zappa’s “Bobby Brown” is a satirical look at the American dream and the expectations of masculinity and success that come with it. Zappa mocks the superficiality and materialism of America in the 1980s, as well as the rigid gender roles that were enforced at the time." - Edmund Lewis, contributor to OldTimeMusic.
Frank was married twice, his second wife Gail Sloatman was the mother of his four children Dweezil, Moon Unit, Ahmet and Diva. Dweezil has his own band featuring some of the Zappa alumni and tours as a Zappa plays Zappa keeping his father's music alive. Frank was famous for his escapades with groupies on the road, his wife Gail talked about it in a chapter of a book called Rock Wives. P.S. Frank made the best doo-wop album ever, it's Called Cruising With Ruben And The Jets.
😂😂😂 I love this song. I heard it first as a German teenager and with time I understood more and more of the lyrics which made me laugh again and again. And yes, after some time I got the deeper meaning.
This song was a huge hit in Europe and was played on the radio constantly where I grew up (Switzerland). Of course, nobody had a clue what the song was really about but they liked the melody and Frank's voice. He anticipated (as always) the ideas and ideologies that are hitting us now over 40 years ago.
Have loved this tune for years. Frank was a badass musician and an incredible social commentator....otherwise known as an "I Dont Give a F@#* truth-teller".
My absolute favorite! On the very first line, Flawd had a look like a teenager does when they get in a car accident for the first time. You know that complete freak out where they just start running around and don’t know what to do.
OK FLAWD, I'D LIKE TO START OFF BY SAYING I AM NOT YELLING I JUST LIKE TYPING IN CAPS, I NEEDED TO SAY THAT FOR ALL THOSE WHO GET OFFENDED!!OK, 50 YEAR ZAPPA FAN HERE AND I'M PRETTY SURE THAT I WAS AT THIS CONCERT!! BACK IN THE LATE SEVENTIES, EARLY EIGHTIES, FRANK WOULD DO A SERIES OF SHOWS AT THE PALLADIUM THEATER IN NEW YORK CITY AROUND HALLOWEEN TIME!! IT WAS USUALLY A BLOCK OF AT LEAST THREE SOMETIMES FOUR SHOWS WITHIN A 4-DAY PERIOD, ONE OF WHICH WAS HALLOWEEN NIGHT ITSELF!! THIS SONG AND THIS VIDEO CAME FROM ONE OF THOSE CONCERTS, I BELIEVE IN '79 OR '80! I ATTENDED A HALLOWEEN SHOW EVERY YEAR FROM 1977 UNTIL 83 WHEN I MOVED OUT OF NEW JERSEY!! I'M NOT KIDDING WHEN I SAY A FRANK ZAPPA CONCERT WAS ONE OF THE CRAZIEST EXPERIENCES THAT YOU WOULD EVER IMAGINE!! AND IT IS QUITE TRUE THAT FRANK DID NOT INDULGE IN DRUGS OF ANY KIND, NOT EVEN POT!!!!
Someone else gets it! It is simple. I'm astounded by some of the awful takes that I've heard about Zappa and his music over the past few years …and that's from Zappa fans.
Frank knew this 50 years ago, just like with P diddly . if you want to get on in Hollywood are the music business you have to do some freaky stuff like I said in the song he will do anything to get ahead
It's always fun to watch the "woke" generation try to wrap their heads around these lyrics. Maybe it will make you all feel better to know that these lyrics were NEVER considered normal, and have been raising people's eyebrows since 1978.
"these lyrics were NEVER considered normal, and have been raising people's eyebrows since 1978". So what's the difference between people back then and the "woke" generation when, by your own comment, people from multiple generations have had trouble understanding Frank's lyrics? Or did you just want to use the buzzword "woke" for your own personal aggrandizement?
I didn't read anyone cluing you in much on Frank. He was married, very heterosexual with 4 kids. If he had any addictions it was sex. He was a tee totaler other than tobacco and coffee which he lived on. This song was weird even back in the day. Someone mentioned it being a hit in Germany. Yep, they would dance to it not having a clue what he was singing. He died in 1993 of prostrate cancer which went undiagnosed for years. He actually moved a groupie into his basement once and just told his family to deal with it. His father taught chemistry and metallurgy, post grad level to the defense dept. His father was a genius, as was Frank. He often got his father in trouble with the military when he was a kid for security rick violations. He was a perfectionists and would not allow his bands (which changed often) to party on the road. He also sometimes made them stay a lower class hotels than he stayed at. Every musician wanted to play with him in the day to get the notch in their belt and then bail for someone easier to deal with. To say he was eccentric is an understatement to be sure.
If i remember right Frank said , its we all knew that guy in school that had the looks, car ect. And and you see him year later and totally changed and nothing like you remember him. Went down in life.
no metaphors as much as satire. It's about a conceited character that is due for a fall. Don't confuse the fictional character with Zappa. The idea that the character's downfall is that he is gay, isn't the most impressive thought Frank has ever expressed. Frank has said that he only cared about the music and just added lyrics because he had to. I don't really buy that explanation because so many of his songs have amazing lyrics Uncle Remus about the Watts riots, Trouble Every Day, Hungry Freaks Daddy, My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama, Inca Roads and many others. Other great songs, The Torture Never Stops, Strictly Genteel, This song is great for shock value and music, but there's plenty more in the catalogue.
OK FLAWD, I'M ACTUALLY CRACKING UP LISTENING TO YOU GUYS TRYING TO ANALYZE THE LYRICS!!😅😅 IT'S NOT REALLY HUGELY DEEP AND I SAW SOMEONE ELSE COMMENT THAT IT COMES FROM AN INSPIRATION THAT ZAPPA GOT FROM THREE ASSHOLES THAT INTERVIEWED HIM ONCE!! MY PERSPECTIVE, AS A LIFELONG ZAPPA FAN AND SOMEONE THAT WAS 20 YEARS OLD WHEN THIS WAS RELEASED, IS... BOBBY BROWN STARTED LIFE AS A PRIVILEGED QUARTERBACK TYPE LOVED BY ALL IN HIGH SCHOOL (WE ALL KNOW THE TYPE)!!! EVERY GIRL WANTED HIM AND EVERY BOY WANTED TO BE LIKE HIM!! THEN HE GETS OUT INTO THE WORLD AND FINDS OUT THAT HE'S NOT THE CUTE ENTITLED ASSHOLE THAT HE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL IN REALITY!! HIS SEXUAL LIFE GOES IN MANY DIRECTIONS, HE BECOMES CONFUSED AS TO WHETHER HE IS HETERO, HOMO, OR BI-SEXUAL!!! HE WINDS UP REALLY GETTING INTO S&M, ESPECIALLY THE HUMILIATION PARTS OF IT!! AND PRETTY MUCH BECOMES MAYBE A FULL-BLOWN HOMOSEXUAL OR AT LEAST IS WILLING TO GIVE HIMSELF TO ANY SEXUAL ENCOUNTER THAT HE MAY COME ACROSS, WEATHER AT THE GIVING END OR RECEIVING END!! I HOPE THAT CLEARS THINGS UP UP FOR YOU! 😅😅😅😅
It’s easy to misinterpret this song. 'Bobby Brown Goes Down' makes fun of the stereotype of a white, heterosexual American male and his toxic masculinity. This kind of guy thinks he is afraid of losing his maleness because of the thriving women’s liberation movement of the time. He believes it’s acceptable to mistreat a woman, but not to grant her the rights she has been missing. Zappa addresses this subject in an exaggerated, over-the-top, ironic way. He is known for this kind of humor, and he intended to make people think about society's injustices.
Listen it's really simple not that deep. Bobby brown is a stand in for a stereotypical sports jock with their built in misogyny, etc. and he's mercilessly mocking that stereotype.
So ...first of all ..trying to analize lyrics with todays politically correct attitude is a huge mistake ... Frank was all about politically free and un-hypocritical ... Its not femminism ..its not peace and love ...its handed out like a kick at your mouth ut with a lot of humor
Zappa wrote this song in dedication to 3 journalists that interviewed him in the late 70's. He explains this in the album "Hammersmith Odeon". You can also type in "the story of the three a**holes that inspired the song Bobby Brown", for those interested.
I think when looking at Zappa lyrics, it is really important to take into account when he is writing from the perspective of a character he doesn't agree with (or is outright critiquing), which he does a lot. In this song it is very clear, since he starts out with "Hey there people, I'm Bobbie Brown." So this is going to be Bobbie Brown talking to us, and representing traditional American culture that Zappa does not like, since as he says Bobbie Brown is "the American dream" and does not think think he is "too extreme".
But, he is, and Bobbie Brown turns out to not be the American dream, and falls apart when confronted with that reality.
However, no matter how far who he actually diverges from that American dream, he is able to hide it, and convince everyone that he still is because he "got a job doing radio promo, and none of the jocks can even tell I'm a homo."
And that is what Zappa's ultimate critique boils down to, about Bobbie Brown being a hypocrite. You can't really say from the song what Zappa thinks about feminism or gays or kinky sex, you only know Bobbie Brown's view of those things, but he is clear that he despises Bobbie Brown for being a hypocrite about what he really thinks of them vs. what he presents himself as.
Watching these two analysis the lyrics is like watching someone show a dog a card trick
Agreed
Ugh...this is so hard to watch them trying to grasp what this song is about.
por cada tatuaje se le mueren miles de neuronas
🤣💀
Lmao
Fun fact: This is the only Zappa song that ever got and still gets played on German radio.
I just found that out and the thought of people dancing to this in German discos is so funny to me
Same goes for Dutch radio, this and Disco Boy
Frank's ability to mix humor with great music makes him one of a kind.
satire
@@Zixik_ Absolutely!!
I'm a huge Frank Zappa fan. Here is a little info. Frank Zappa is one of the greatest guitar players who ever lived. There is a great video called Stevie gets spanked. It is a duel between Steve Vai and Frank Zappa. Check out the torture never stops. I am the slime is a prophetic song song written about the media predicted how the media is today. There are great songs like titties and beer. Also, check out Dina mo hum. What will really blow your mind is there is a cd with Frank Zappa conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. Frank Zappa was an Anti establishment musical genius who never did drugs. People who toured with him for years will tell you the same thing. Please take the deep dive into the musical genius of Frank Zappa.
I second this motion on a Frank Zappa deep dive!
It;s called Stevie's spanking
Frank is THE greatest guitar player to have ever existed.
Steveis'spanking is not a guitar duel, it's a song.
@@nibunion There is a no lyric version of Frank and Steve dueling. It is Stevies spanking live duet version. Rome Italy July 10 1982.
I have to say, I didn't think I would pop in here and find you in a Frank thing, but I'm totally here for it. My favourite musician by a country mile.
Mine too man, then john zorn!
I did time with a guy in late 80s and he knew every Zappa song word for word and he would write them all out to pass time
'Frank Zappa’s “Bobby Brown” is a satirical look at the American dream and the expectations of masculinity and success that come with it. Zappa mocks the superficiality and materialism of America in the 1980s, as well as the rigid gender roles that were enforced at the time." - Edmund Lewis, contributor to OldTimeMusic.
ok avec toi
Frank was married twice, his second wife Gail Sloatman was the mother of his four children Dweezil, Moon Unit, Ahmet and Diva. Dweezil has his own band featuring some of the Zappa alumni and tours as a Zappa plays Zappa keeping his father's music alive. Frank was famous for his escapades with groupies on the road, his wife Gail talked about it in a chapter of a book called Rock Wives. P.S. Frank made the best doo-wop album ever, it's Called Cruising With Ruben And The Jets.
Desperate nerds have earned PhD's in Zappanese. Wherever he is, he's laughing at them.
😂😂😂 I love this song. I heard it first as a German teenager and with time I understood more and more of the lyrics which made me laugh again and again. And yes, after some time I got the deeper meaning.
This song was a huge hit in Europe and was played on the radio constantly where I grew up (Switzerland). Of course, nobody had a clue what the song was really about but they liked the melody and Frank's voice. He anticipated (as always) the ideas and ideologies that are hitting us now over 40 years ago.
Have loved this tune for years. Frank was a badass musician and an incredible social commentator....otherwise known as an "I Dont Give a F@#* truth-teller".
Haha. He's actually an animal on the guitar as well.
When a mofo leaves Flawd speechless multiple times in one song, you know that dude is wildin!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Even better second time around.
If Flawd were any older I would have thought this song bout him.
@@gloriaholles-skawdhottie6161 you make a great point.
My absolute favorite!
On the very first line, Flawd had a look like a teenager does when they get in a car accident for the first time.
You know that complete freak out where they just start running around and don’t know what to do.
Frank is was and will continue to be the funkiest man that ever lived
Frank, died 30 years ago, and still fucking heads up, if you are going to go down this Rabbit hole, prepare yourselves.
Is this the first time yall have ever listened to Frank Zappa? Lolz, too funny.
Think about it : A song about the deranged "Elite" with "Identity Issues" back in 1978 ! ;)
OK FLAWD, I'D LIKE TO START OFF BY SAYING I AM NOT YELLING I JUST LIKE TYPING IN CAPS, I NEEDED TO SAY THAT FOR ALL THOSE WHO GET OFFENDED!!OK, 50 YEAR ZAPPA FAN HERE AND I'M PRETTY SURE THAT I WAS AT THIS CONCERT!! BACK IN THE LATE SEVENTIES, EARLY EIGHTIES, FRANK WOULD DO A SERIES OF SHOWS AT THE PALLADIUM THEATER IN NEW YORK CITY AROUND HALLOWEEN TIME!! IT WAS USUALLY A BLOCK OF AT LEAST THREE SOMETIMES FOUR SHOWS WITHIN A 4-DAY PERIOD, ONE OF WHICH WAS HALLOWEEN NIGHT ITSELF!! THIS SONG AND THIS VIDEO CAME FROM ONE OF THOSE CONCERTS, I BELIEVE IN '79 OR '80! I ATTENDED A HALLOWEEN SHOW EVERY YEAR FROM 1977 UNTIL 83 WHEN I MOVED OUT OF NEW JERSEY!!
I'M NOT KIDDING WHEN I SAY A FRANK ZAPPA CONCERT WAS ONE OF THE CRAZIEST EXPERIENCES THAT YOU WOULD EVER IMAGINE!!
AND IT IS QUITE TRUE THAT FRANK DID NOT INDULGE IN DRUGS OF ANY KIND, NOT EVEN POT!!!!
You guys are growing on me ! Just the fact that you want to know and understand is everything !
Love from Quebec !
Ah ben gériboire
@@VinceLocRS Hey mon Ben !! 😉
Youll get Zappa sooner or later.
Frank liked to push things to the extreme to show the ridiculousness of it all
Would that happen at a Barry Manilow show?
It's satire of the American way of life in the 80s. It's very simple. Not my favorite Zappa song, but that's just about the music.
Someone else gets it! It is simple. I'm astounded by some of the awful takes that I've heard about Zappa and his music over the past few years …and that's from Zappa fans.
Heheh fun to listen to you tryin to understand =) It´s just satire/humor
Don't eat the yellow snow!
Down where the Huskies roam.
Quit analyzing this song too much....its only a song for shock value. He knows what his fans like and he delivered.
Frank knew this 50 years ago, just like with P diddly . if you want to get on in Hollywood are the music business you have to do some freaky stuff like I said in the song he will do anything to get ahead
Was a different era,Frank made fun of everything and everyone.RIP
Frank was as heterosexual as they come....he was always poking fun at others in his music but usually they completely asked for it...
It's always fun to watch the "woke" generation try to wrap their heads around these lyrics. Maybe it will make you all feel better to know that these lyrics were NEVER considered normal, and have been raising people's eyebrows since 1978.
Anyone still using “woke” as some sort of insult is more than likely a complete moron.
"these lyrics were NEVER considered normal, and have been raising people's eyebrows since 1978". So what's the difference between people back then and the "woke" generation when, by your own comment, people from multiple generations have had trouble understanding Frank's lyrics? Or did you just want to use the buzzword "woke" for your own personal aggrandizement?
You must be young if you don't know the difference in PC sensibilities between the 70s kids and today's youth. Worlds apart.
Zappa was a perpetual satire of many things....American Culture in particular.
not a bad song😂 zappa is epic
The opening line "Hey there, people, I'm Bobby Brown" should give a rather strong clue whether this is an autobiographical song or not. Doh!
I didn't read anyone cluing you in much on Frank. He was married, very heterosexual with 4 kids. If he had any addictions it was sex. He was a tee totaler other than tobacco and coffee which he lived on. This song was weird even back in the day. Someone mentioned it being a hit in Germany. Yep, they would dance to it not having a clue what he was singing. He died in 1993 of prostrate cancer which went undiagnosed for years. He actually moved a groupie into his basement once and just told his family to deal with it. His father taught chemistry and metallurgy, post grad level to the defense dept. His father was a genius, as was Frank. He often got his father in trouble with the military when he was a kid for security rick violations. He was a perfectionists and would not allow his bands (which changed often) to party on the road. He also sometimes made them stay a lower class hotels than he stayed at. Every musician wanted to play with him in the day to get the notch in their belt and then bail for someone easier to deal with. To say he was eccentric is an understatement to be sure.
Hell yeah
You have to listen to Dinah Mo Hum by Zappa... That song is insane.
I can't wait until you react to his song Dynamo Hum
Frat boy culture
And the frat rats would play it and sing along and laugh ... not realizing that it was about their world view, such as it was.
I knew you would be surprised! He meant every word of the song! It was written 40 years ago and is now becoming true.
Was it lost on you that this was satire
Dude you watch the reaction?
If i remember right Frank said , its we all knew that guy in school that had the looks, car ect. And and you see him year later and totally changed and nothing like you remember him. Went down in life.
Zappa is a musical genius
When there's a lot to learn, there's nowhere to go but up.
PUT IT INTO CONTEXT. How many rap songs you hear with explicit lyrics and DON'T FREAK OUT ABOUT IT? .....
Depends on the story being told
I want to see you guys react to Kim Dracula. He’s got the most amazing vocal range. I think you guys will love him.
Soooo far ahead of the curve.....
no metaphors as much as satire. It's about a conceited character that is due for a fall. Don't confuse the fictional character with Zappa. The idea that the character's downfall is that he is gay, isn't the most impressive thought Frank has ever expressed. Frank has said that he only cared about the music and just added lyrics because he had to. I don't really buy that explanation because so many of his songs have amazing lyrics Uncle Remus about the Watts riots, Trouble Every Day, Hungry Freaks Daddy, My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama, Inca Roads and many others. Other great songs, The Torture Never Stops, Strictly Genteel, This song is great for shock value and music, but there's plenty more in the catalogue.
Haha first like! And a thumbs up for myself.....
I think I've found two of the dumbest people on the internet
DING DING DING...
OK FLAWD, I'M ACTUALLY CRACKING UP LISTENING TO YOU GUYS TRYING TO ANALYZE THE LYRICS!!😅😅
IT'S NOT REALLY HUGELY DEEP AND I SAW SOMEONE ELSE COMMENT THAT IT COMES FROM AN INSPIRATION THAT ZAPPA GOT FROM THREE ASSHOLES THAT INTERVIEWED HIM ONCE!!
MY PERSPECTIVE, AS A LIFELONG ZAPPA FAN AND SOMEONE THAT WAS 20 YEARS OLD WHEN THIS WAS RELEASED, IS...
BOBBY BROWN STARTED LIFE AS A PRIVILEGED QUARTERBACK TYPE LOVED BY ALL IN HIGH SCHOOL (WE ALL KNOW THE TYPE)!!! EVERY GIRL WANTED HIM AND EVERY BOY WANTED TO BE LIKE HIM!!
THEN HE GETS OUT INTO THE WORLD AND FINDS OUT THAT HE'S NOT THE CUTE ENTITLED ASSHOLE THAT HE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL IN REALITY!! HIS SEXUAL LIFE GOES IN MANY DIRECTIONS, HE BECOMES CONFUSED AS TO WHETHER HE IS HETERO, HOMO, OR BI-SEXUAL!!!
HE WINDS UP REALLY GETTING INTO S&M, ESPECIALLY THE HUMILIATION PARTS OF IT!!
AND PRETTY MUCH BECOMES MAYBE A FULL-BLOWN HOMOSEXUAL OR AT LEAST IS WILLING TO GIVE HIMSELF TO ANY SEXUAL ENCOUNTER THAT HE MAY COME ACROSS, WEATHER AT THE GIVING END OR RECEIVING END!!
I HOPE THAT CLEARS THINGS UP UP FOR YOU!
😅😅😅😅
Don't read too much into Frank Zappa's lyrics. It's the music that he valued more.
Your over thinking this
You must be new here.
We over think everything on purpose
Zappa rules !
Studio version is better, but anyway it's all about the offensive lyrics
There is no "studio" version. The song on Sheik Yerbouti is from Hammersmith Odeon with some overdubs in the studio.
@@Royale_with_Cheeze "With some overdub in the studio"
@@Alix777.
I consider a studio version something that was created entirely in the studio.
He's mocking them only.
LOL
It's just a non-sensical shock value song. Don't overthink it.
It`s satire, and great evidence how far back this nonsense go.
Nothing wrong with the lyrics. Great song funny as hell.
It’s easy to misinterpret this song. 'Bobby Brown Goes Down' makes fun of the stereotype of a white, heterosexual American male and his toxic masculinity. This kind of guy thinks he is afraid of losing his maleness because of the thriving women’s liberation movement of the time. He believes it’s acceptable to mistreat a woman, but not to grant her the rights she has been missing. Zappa addresses this subject in an exaggerated, over-the-top, ironic way. He is known for this kind of humor, and he intended to make people think about society's injustices.
Its not easy to misinterpret this song at all, but you did a fine job. Well done!
This song is just a tirade of filth. It's excellent.
The song is a satire of the egotism of young American men/boys. An attack on the shallowness of American media and culture.
It broke them 😂
Anger issues young man
It's just Zappa
if this is interesting and foreshadowing to you, you should listen to the opera called the Thingfish.. get blown away yo..
Hei, tää on tehty jo 1975-1978 !
When I heard we lost Frank it was a heart breaking news
Listen to his versions of Beatle songs. Jim
❤LOVE❤
This was satire about the injustice of the sexes
nope, try again
Geez, it’s not that difficult to get the song lyrics and understand what they’re going on about. open your mind.
Personally, as a huuuuuge Zappa fan- I cringe at his dumb sexual lyrics. That's all.
🙂🙃😙 👍✋👋
Listen it's really simple not that deep. Bobby brown is a stand in for a stereotypical sports jock with their built in misogyny, etc. and he's mercilessly mocking that stereotype.
Horrible 😂
So ...first of all ..trying to analize lyrics with todays politically correct attitude is a huge mistake ...
Frank was all about politically free and un-hypocritical ...
Its not femminism ..its not peace and love ...its handed out like a kick at your mouth ut with a lot of humor
Horrible
Garbage
🔥🔥
my mother in law is named fredrika 🤣🤣
Horrible