Help, I'm A Rock
Contents
Lyrics
Freak Out Version
Help, I'm a rock
Help, I'm a rock
Help, I'm a rock
Help, I'm a rock
Hah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah-hah
Ay-yo ee-ow-ee-ow-ee
Veni-ma-no too mah
Veni veni ka toree tor (see'dra votra nee!)
Vedi-vedi ki-ta-la tom-bay
Vel-lay ka-la tay-la-tor
Vel-lay kay-la ta-la-sor
Vel-lay kay-lay ka-la-tor
Vel-lay kay-la sa-la-tay
Vor-a kor-ay tor-a-tor
Vel-la kay-la sa-la tch'ay
Vor-a kor-ay kay-a la kur'ad
Vor-a silli kay-t'ay tcha-to
Vor-a kay-ay tay-lay tay-ay tcha-to
Klanna-tholl
Klanna-tholl
Klanna-tholl
Pik-a-dill-a do-tchay
Pik-a-li-sa no-say (o-ooh)
Bi-ni-bi-ni me-ho-la-ka ta-ka-ho-ba
Say-kay pay-tay-ho-a-la tur-i-ca (Mee-oo-da-ra)
Chil-li pil-li ka-zi-o-bi-a bee bee bee bee (Do-dee-bop)
You know...(a-mad hee)
(Arrrrreeeeeeeeeeeee...)
Oooooooooooaaaaaaaaaa...
OOOOaaaaaaaaaaa.........(ah, hah)
O-wee ya yo yo yo a-ki-o wee
A-ki-o-ka a-yi-a-ee
A-ki-o-ka o-ki-o-wee
A-ki-o-ka o-ki-o-wee
A-ki-o-ka o-ki-o-wee
A-ki-o-ka o-ki-o-wee
A ki-o-ka o-wee-say ya-vo
Pedi-goh
Pedi-koh
Ann-i tcho-ee-see-na
Per-a-ko-ee-say
Kar-ra
May-a-ta
Uh-oh
Uh-oh
Uh-oh
Uh-oh
Uh-oh
Hay-lo
Pray-lo
Say la do sa ka ho-say
Vay-lay ko say-let-a-no
Vay-la ka sa la to-shay
Va-la ko-lo-tay
Ay-o
Lay-o
Lay-o
Aaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaa
O-ha o-ha yew
Ah-yew
Lay la-fan
ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
Help, I'm a rock!
Help, I'm a rock!
Help, I'm a rock!
Somebody!
Help, I'm a rock!
Please!
Help, I'm a rock!
Please!
Help, I'm a rock!
Please!
Help, I'm a rock!
Wow!
Help, I'm a rock!
Wow!
Help, I'm a rock!
Help, I'm a rock!
Somebody helps me
Wow, man, it's a drag being a rock
(Help, I'm a rock)
(Help, I'm a rock)
(Help, I'm a rock)
I wish I was anything but a rock
Heck, I'd even like to be a policeman
Hey, you know what?
You know maybe if I practice, you know
Maybe if I pass my driving test
I could get a gig drivin' that bus that pick the freaks up
In front of Ben Frank's , right?
Help, I'm a cop!
Help, I'm a cop!
Help, I'm a cop!
Help, I'm a cop!
(Help, I'm a rock)
Help, I'm a cop!
(Help, I'm a rock)
It's a drag being a cop
I think I'd rather be the mayor
Always wondered what I was gonna be when I grew up, you know
Always wondered whether or not . . . whether or not I could make it
You know, in society, because,
You know, it's a drag when you're rejected
So I tore the cover off a book of matches
And I sent in
And I got this letter back that said . . .
Ahead Of Their Time Version
Help, I'm a rock
Help, I'm a rock
Help, I'm a rock
Help, I'm a rock
Alright, sure it's a drag being a rock
I wish I was anything but a rock
Heck, I would even like to be a policeman
You know it's a drag being a policeman
I think I would rather be the mayor
Players On This Song
FREAK OUT! version
- Frank Zappa - guitar & vocals
- Ray Collins - lead vocalist, harmonica, tambourine, finger cymbals, bobby pin & tweezers
- Jimmy Carl Black - drums (also sings in some foreign language)
- Roy Estrada - bass & guitarron; boy soprano
- Elliot Ingber - alternate lead & rhythm guitar with clear white light
Records On Which This Song Has Appeared
Singles
- How Could I Be Such a Fool? (02:13) / Help, I'm a Rock, Third Movement: It Can't Happen Here (02:41) - The Mothers Of Invention (Verve VK 10418, June 29, 1966)
- Help I'm A Rock/ Who Are The Brain Police? - Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention (Barking Pumpkin Records BPR1223, 4 July 2013).
Zappa Albums & Side Projects
- Freak Out!
- The MOFO Project/Object (2006)
- The MOFO Project/Object (Deluxe Edition) (2006)
- Ahead Of Their Time
- 'Tis The Season To Be Jelly (BTB): It Can't Happen Here
- Unmitigated Audacity (BTB): It Can't Happen Here
Unauthorized Compilations
-
Samplers And Promos
-
Special Editions
-
Miscellaneous
-
Tribute & Cover Albums
- The Band From Utopia: A Tribute To The Music Of Frank Zappa
- Grandmothers: Who Could Imagine
- Duckman
- The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
Notes About This Song
Original title: "Help, I'm A Rock (Suite In Three Movements)", the movements being: "Okay To Tap Dance", "In Memoriam Edgar Varese", and "It Can't Happen Here".
FZ liner notes on "Freak Out!" (1966): "'Help, I'm A Rock' is dedicated to Elvis Presley. Note the interesting formal structure and the stunning four-part barber shop harmony toward the end. Note the obvious lack of commercial potential. Ho hum."
FZ: "The heaviest stuff on there is 'It Can't Happen Here' and 'Who Are The Brain Police?' Nobody's penetrated 'Brain Police' - yet." - FK: "Who are the Brain Police?" - FZ: "I can't tell you that - it's a religious song. But the ones who say they like 'Brain Police' like it because it's got some screaming and they love it. The ones that like 'Help, I'm A Rock', you know that mumbling part at the end, haven't come to realize what the musical structure of that is. They'll perceive it because it's got some gag lines in it." - Frank Kofsky interviews FZ, 1967, Frank Kofsky
"Pick some freaks up in front of Ben Frank's" - (From: FZ - The Real Frank Zappa Book): "In 1966 and '67, the L.A.P.D. and the Sheriff's Department went to war with the freaks of Hollywood. Every weekend people were rounded up (with no warrants presented or charges stated) as they walked on Sunset Boulevard, forced into Sheriff's buses, driven downtown, held hostage for the evening, then let go- all because they had LONG HAIR. The places where they used to eat (Ben Frank's on Sunset and Canter's Deli on Fairfax) were under constant surveillance."
The 2013 single release by Barking Pumpkin adds Who Are The Brain Police? as B-side. The single cover was designed by Noel Fielding. [1]
CC Clues In This Song
- Who Are The Brain Police? contains a snippet of Help, I'm A Rock.
- The Grandmothers covered Brown Shoes Don't Make It.
