Big Swifty

Lyrics

Instrumental

Players On This Song

• Frank Zappa guitar & percussion
• Tony Duran slide guitar
• George Duke ring-modulated & echoplexed electric piano
• Sal Marquez many trumpets & chimes
• Erroneous electric bass
• Aynsley Dunbar drums

Records On Which This Song Has Appeared

Zappa Albums

In order of recording.

• Waka/Jawaka
• Zappa Wazoo
• You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 1
• You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 2
• Studio Tan and Läther, cited in (The Adventures Of) Greggery Peccary
• Make A Jazz Noise Here

Tributes & Cover Albums

• Meridian Arts Ensemble: Smart Went Crazy
• The Muffin Men: Muffinz as Big Swifty and Big Swifty (Reprise)
• Ensemble Ambrosius: The Zappa Album
• Zappatistas: Live In Leeds
• Colin Towns + NDR Bigband: Frank Zappa's Hot Licks (And Funny Smells) as 2nd part of track 13
• Yahozna Band: 05

Notes About This Song

FZ on "Big Swifty" (The Complete History Of The Few Last Weeks Of The Mothers Of Invention):

"This piece (which comprises all of Side One of the HOT RATS Waka/Jawaka album) presents a theme in rapidly alternating time signatures, a few solos, and an out-chorus done up in a sort of Prom Night orchestration which suspends the opening rhythmic structure over a straight 4/4 accompaniment.

The restatement of the theme is actually derived from a guitar solo on the album which Sal Marquez took down on paper. After about an hour of wheeling the tape back and forth, Sal managed to transcribe this rhythmically deranged chorus (I don't have the ability to do this kind of musical dictation, but, since Marquez had a full-bore education at North Texas University, he had it covered). After he'd written it out, we proceeded to over-dub three trumpets on it, and, presto! An organized conclusion for "Big Swifty."

The arrangement played here presents that line in a harmonized setting, as well as a number of orchestrational refinements of the opening material (such as the addition of woodwinds and percussion to segments which, on the recording, were played by guitars and trumpets). 'It's not "just like the record," but you'll get the idea."

CC Clues In This Song

The track on Make A Jazz Noise Here is citing Carmen (Georges Bizet), Lohengrin (Richard Wagner) and 1812 Overture (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky).

The track on Frank Zappa's Hot Licks (And Funny Smells) is citing Carmen as well.