FridaySaturday Frank: When The Lie's So Big; Barcelona, 1988

Was Frank Zappa ahead of his time (again) with this excruciatingly appropriate song, or is it just that the more things change, the more they remain the same?  I have to say, I listen to this and can't help but admire FZ's prescience.

Also in this clip: Planet of the Baritone Women.  (Yes, there's oxygen as well as water here, and yes, B♭ below low C.)

Bon Weekend, everyone.

When the Lie's So Big

They got lies so big
They don't make a noise
They tell 'em so well
Like a secret disease
That makes you go numb


With a big ol' lie
And a flag and a pie
And a mom and a bible
Most folks are just liable
To buy any line
Any place, any time


When the lie's so big
As in Robertson's case,
(That sinister face
Behind all the Jesus hurrah)


Could result in the end
To a worrisome trend
In which every American
Not "born again"
Could be punished in cruel and unusual ways
By this treacherous cretin
Who tells everyone
That he's Jesus' best friend


When the lie's so big
And the fog gets so thick
And the facts disappear
The Republican Trick
Can be played out again
People, please tell me when
We'll be rid of these men?


Just who do they really
Suppose that they are?
And how did they manage to travel as far
As they seem to have come?
Were we really that dumb?


People, wake up
Figure it out
Religious fanatics
Around and about
The Court House, The State House,
The Congress, The White House


Criminal saints
With a "Heavenly Mission" --
A nation enraptured
By pure superstition


When the lie's so big
And the fog gets so thick
And the facts disappear
The Republican Trick
Can be played out again
People, please tell me when
We'll be rid of these men!

(H/T Zencomix, via Fred in comments)

Comments

[Lisa Simeone]

Ah, yes, from the Reagan era to the Bush era, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

[MR Bill]

Also, "le monde c'est une comedie pour ceux qui pense, cest un tragedie pour ceux qui sentient"..
I think Frank chose to laugh rather than weep.

[Lisa Simeone]

Mr. Bill,

Now this brings up a very interesting grammatical question, one I remember from high school French: does the relative pronoun "qui" always take the 3rd person singular, or does it take a verb form reflecting its antecedent? Your quotation plays both sides -- in the first clause we have the 3rd person singular, and in the second, the 3rd person plural.

Even the French can't seem to agree on this.

[MR Bill]

That's because my french is that of the second year of secondary school. I tried to google it but...

[Lisa Simeone]

But you did it beautifully! The French themselves disagree with each other about this. I liked seeing it both ways in the same sentence; killing two birds with one stone, so to speak.

[Prof. Bleen]

I respectfully disagree that he was ahead of his time. He was right on topic at the time, and in the late 1970s, and now. Thanks for pointing this out!

[michelr]

From a French (zappa-lover) guy:
"le monde c'est une comedie pour ceux qui pense, cest un tragedie pour ceux qui sentient"
is almost correct, and should be:
"le monde c'est une comédie pour ceux qui pensent, c'est un tragédie pour ceux qui sentent".
Using "qui" is right in both cases (singular and plural), and there is no disagreement about that.
Hope this helps (and ask for more if necessary).
PS: I agree that French is difficult :-)

[Lisa Simeone]

But many French grammarians say that "qui" ALWAYS takes the singular, no matter the antecedent.

I don't think French is any more difficult than English. The grammar's pretty straightforward; there's just disagreement on certain fine points as there is in English.

[michelr]

No, sorry, I'm really sure that the subsequent verb gets singular or plural depending on what "qui" represents (hope I'm clear here). "qui" is a pronoun, so it gets the number and gender of what it represents:
"le texte qui est chanté", "les textes qui sont chantés", "la chanson qui est chantée", "les chansons qui sont chantées". I would be curious to read any controversy about this.