The Duke Of Prunes

Lyrics

A moonbeam through the prune
In June
Reveals your chest
I see your lovely beans
And in that magic go-kart
I bite your neck
The cheese I have for you
My dear
Is real
And very new!

A moonbeam through the prune
In June
Reveals your chest
I see your lovely beans
And in that magic go-kart
I bite your neck
The love I have for you
My dear
Is real
And very new!

Doh-Doh-Doh Doh-Doh

Prune!
(Pah-Da-Dahhh!)
If it is a real prune...
(Pah-Da-Dahhh!)
Knows no cheese!
(Chunka Chunk . . .
Chunka Chunka Chunka Chunka Chunk . . . )
And stands . . .
(Oh No-o-o-o!)
Taller & stronger
Than any tree
Or bush!
And I know
The love I have for you
Will grow & grow & grow
I think
And so my love
I offer you
A love that is strong
A prune that is true!

Players On This Song

Frank Zappa--guitar, vocals
Ray Collins--vocals, tambourine, PRUNE
Jim Fielder--guitar, piano
Don Preston--keyboards
Bunk Gardner--woodwinds
Roy Estrada--bass, vocals
Jimmy Carl Black--drums, vocals
Billy Mundi--drums, percussion

Albums In Which This Song Has Appeared

• Absolutely Free
• Mystery Disc
• Mothermania
• Orchestral Favorites
• Läther

Notes About This Song

The Duke Of Prunes was originally called "Garbage Eaters".

FZ about this song

"The Duke of Prunes" is a surrealistic love song. Euphemistic sexual imagery popular in country blues tunes, with which many of you might already be familiar, is transmuted in this particular piece from the basic "fuck me, suck me, till my eyes roll back, baby" to "prune me, cheese me, go-kart..." or something like that. This song is very strange."
(From FZ's note-to-note comments to the album)

Ray Collins about this song

"Frank had this beautiful tune called 'And Very Fine Tune', and when we went to record it, being a little crazy at the time, I just ad-libbed on the spot. The original lyrics I think were something like 'Moobeam through the night', something very loving, although Frank didn't like love songs. And I changed it to, 'Moonbeam through the proon, in June, I can see your tits.' I just made it on the spot. So later, after we recorded it - can hear Frank cracking up on record - it was fun. In fact, that's my favorite Mothers album, the Absolutely Free album. So later, after we recorded it, I told Frank 'Well, you know, I just made up those lyrics as we went along, so if not money, I should at least get album credit for it.' I didn't say, 'Don't pay me'. So he says, 'Well, just tell me what you want to put on the album.' And so a couple of days later, I said, 'Well, just put Prune: Ray Collins'. And he added the 'Side 3' part. That was out of his own mind". [There is a credit in the Absolutely Free album that says `side 3 PRUNE: Ray Collins'.]
(From Necessity Is... The Yearly Years Of Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - p. 40.)