The Mothers (Frank Zappa) - Billy the Mountain lyrics

Billy the mountain Billy the mountain A regular picturesque Postcardy mountain Residing between lovely Rosamond and Gorman With his stunning wife Ethell A tree! A tree! Billy was a mountain Ethel was a tree Growing off of his shoulder Billy was a mountain Ethel was a tree Growing off of his shoulder Billy had two big Caves for eyes With a cliff for a jaw That would go up 'n down And whenever it did He'd puff out some dust And hack up a boulder (hack!) Hack up a boulder (hack! hack!) Hack up a boulder (hack! hack! hack!) Hack up a boulder Now, one day, a man in a checkered suit drove up in a big Lincoln continental, and he laid a huge Bulging envelope right at the corner of billy the mountain Right where his 'foot' was supposed to be Now, billy the mountain, he couldn't believe it! All those postcards he'd posed for, for over these years And finally, now, at last, his royalties! Royalties! [repeat: x5] Billy the mountain was rich! his eyeball-caves widened in amazement His cliff (which was his jaw), it dropped thirty feet! Ooh, a bunch of dust puffed out! rocks and boulders hacked up (hack! hack! hack! hack hack! hack! hack!) crushing 'the Lincoln'! Now, the man in the checkered suit, well Without his car he went screaming off into the desert at sunset All the way to Rosamond to get a beer and tell everybody there Including Ronnie Cook what had happened to his car I gave him the money He acted real funny He hocked up a rock and It totaled my car! Oh, do you Know any trucks Might be bound for the Valley? I don't want to stand here All night in this bar (dear lord) I don't want to stand here All night in this bar (no sh**!) I don't want to stand here All night in this bar! By two o'clock, and the bars are already closed down Billy had already broken 'the big news' to Ethel With dust and boulders everywhere, billy, choked with excitement, announced "Ethel, we're going on a vacation!" Yes, and they were going on a vacation! (oh, and Ethel, Ethel, Ethel, Ethel just like a woman Of course she was delighted! she creaked a little bit And some old birds flew off of her Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song) Billy told Ethel they were going to They were going to New York! "Ethel, we're going to New York!" But first they were gonna stop in Las Vegas It's off to Las Vegas To check out the lounges Pull a few handles Drink a few beers (oh, Ethel!) Ethel, my darling You know that I love you! I'm glad we could have a Vacation this year! (oh, neet-o!) Glad we could have a Vacation this year! They left that night, crunchin' across the mojave desert Their voices echoing through the canyons of your minds "Ethel, want to get a cuppa cawfee?" (Howard Johnson's! [Repeat: 4x]) "there's a Howard Johnsons! want to eat some clams?" The first noteworthy piece of real estate they destroyed was Edwards Air Force Base And to this very day, 'wing nuts' and data reduction clerks alike Speak in reverent whispers about that fateful night when Test stand number one and the rocket sled itself got LUNCHED! By a famous mountain-in and his small, wooden wife Good bye to Las Vegas Farewell to the lounges We pulled a few handles We drank a few beers Guess that George Putnam Should be on the air now With the biggest new story That has broken this year (George Putnam!) His biggest new story That has broken this year (Take it away, George!) "Word just in to the KTTV news service undeniably links This mountain and his wife to drug abuse And pay-offs as part of a San Joaquin Valley smut ring! However, we can a**ure parents in the Southern California area That a recent narcotics crack-down In Torrance, Hawthorne, Lomita Westchester, Playa del Rey, Santa Monica Tujunga, Sunland, San Fernando, Pacoima, Sylmar Newhall, Canoga Park Palmdale, Glendale, Irwindale Rolling Hills, Granada Hills, Shadow Hills, Cheviot Hills Will provide the secret evidence The Palmdale grand jury has needed to seek a criminal indictment And pave the way for stiffer legislation, increased federal aid And avert a crippling strike of bartenders and veterinarians throughout the inland empire But it is this reporter's opinion that Ethel is a former Communist" Within the week, Jerry Lewis had hosted a telethon ("wah wah wah, nice lady!") to raise funds for the injured (injured) and homeless (homeless) in Denver As Billy had just levelled it, and, a few miles right outside of town Billy caused a 'Oh Mein Papa' in the earth's crust Right over the secret underground dumps where they keep the pools of old poison gas And obsolete germ bombs, just as a freak tornado cruised through (my baby, my baby, my baby, my baby) [repeat: x3] s**ing up two thirds of it (s**! s**! s**!) For untimely dispersal over vast stretches of ... WATTS! Now, it was about this time, I think it was right outside of Columbus, Ohio that billy got his notice to report for his induction physical Now, believe me, Ethel said she wasn't gonna let him go! "I'm not gonna let you go, billy!" And george putnam, the right-wing creepo fascist pig newscaster from los angeles said (take it away george putnam The right-wing fascist radical creepo pig newscaster from los angeles!) "we now have confirmed reports from an informed orange county minister That ethell is still an active communist And it's this reporter's opinion that she also practices witch-craft!" It was about this time that the telephone rang in the secret briefcase Belonging to the one mortal man Who might be able to stop all of this senseless destruction and save 'america herself'! Now, some men say he looked like (he looked like) Felix Pappalardi (Felix Pappalardi); still others say (others say) Bullsh**, man (bullsh**, man) he was just born (he was born) Next to the frozen beef pies at Gristede's (frozen beef pies) Still others say (others say he was just another) Again, he was just a crazy Italian (crazy Italian) who drove a red car You see it was hard to tell (but nobody knows) Nobody knew for sure (for sure) He was so (so) mysterious (mysterious) Oh yes, he was He was so (he was so, he was so!) Mysterious! He was so Mysterious! Cause when a person gets to be Such a hero, folks And marvelous beyond compute You can never really tell About a guy like that (whether he's really a nice person Or if he just smiles a lot) (what?) Or if he has a son named 'pinocchio' Or what? Whether he's really a nice person or if he has a son named 'pinocchio' or what? Some men say he could fly Some men say he could swim Others say he could sing (like neil sedaka) And all the girls in flushing Would be amazed of him (two, three!) Amazed of him! Time pa**es... January, February, March, July Wednesday August Irwindale 2:30 in the afternoon Sunday! Monday... Funny Cars! Walnut! Friday City of Industry Big John Mazamanian! So when the phone rang In the secret briefcase (thank you) A strong masculine hand With a wristwatch And flexy bracelet Grabbed it And answered In a deep, calmly a**ured voice: "yes, this is he! what? a mountain with a tree growing off of its shoulder? You're fulla sh**, man, what? what, uh, are, are you sure? Oh well, alright, let me write this down then, sorta take a few notes here, to new york? Causing untold destruction?" (my baby, my baby, my baby, my baby, oh! My baby, my baby, my baby, my baby My baby, my baby My baby, my baby, my baby My baby, my baby) (my baby, my baby, my baby) "wanted for draft evasion? Can I, can I fly there immediately and reason with him? An expense account? and per diem, too?" Some men say he could dance! Yes, he could dance And here it is, ladies and gentlemen The studebaker hoch dancing lesson & cosmic prayer for guidance featuring aynsley dunbar Twirly, twirly, twirly, twirly, twirly, twirly, twirly, hey! Right hand from the heart-uh (professional) Left hand from the heart-uh (exquisite) Right hand from the heart-uh (homunculus) Left hand from the left shoulder To the heart-uh Twirly, twirly, twirly, twirly, twirly, twirly, twirly, twirly, hey! There were a number of rumors circulating about studebaker hoch recently Consider if you will the rumors that have spread that he could write The lord's prayer on the head of a pin! Some men say he could write the lord's prayer On the head of a Head of a Head of a pin (three dog night) (yeah) Other still maintain the fact! (good god!) He was born next to the frozen beef pies (and that was the main influence on him!) Boldly springing into action, he phoned his wife (who ran a modeling school) Whereupon she he ran around the back of 'gimbel's' To see if he could find some big un-used cardboard boxes After which, he hit up gristede's for some 'kaiser broiler foil' Some 'aunt jemima syrup', and a pair of blunt scissors! hey-hey! Yes, and in the parking lot across the street from the One fifth avenue hotel (in between a pair of customized trucks where nobody was looking) He cut out a pair of really, really nice wings, and he covered 'em thoroughly with foil . . . thoroughly with foil thoroughly with foil . . . thoroughly with foil . . . thorougly with foil Thoroughly with foil Thoroughly with with foil! Then he took those 'wings' And wedged one under each of his powerful arms and sneaked into a telephone booth He closed the door! and he pulled down his gray denim bus driver type pants And he spread even amounts of aunt jemima syrup all over the inside of his legs Right underneath his boxer pretty shorts, ha ha ha! Soon the booth was filling with flies! (help me, help me, help me!) He held open the legs of his boxer shorts so they could all get in Yes! and when each and every one of those little Each and every one of those little co*ks**in' flies had gone into his boxer shorts And was lapping up all that good aunt jemima syrup He bent over and he put his head between his legs And he said to those little flies in a clear, impressive voice "new york!" And the booth and everything lifted up, out of the parking lot, and into the sky! Studebaker Yeah, yeah Studebaker Studebaker Studebaker Yeah, yeah Studebaker Studebaker He's coating his legs With aunt jemima syrup up and down! His shorts'll be filled with flies That will be buzzing all around! (help me, help me, help me!) Stoodlabaker hoch He's really outa sight! Stoodlabaker hoch He does it every night! Stoodlabaker hoch He treats the flies all right Stoodla-baker hoch That's why they never bite, hey! (please to new york! Fly to new york!) He could be a dog Or a frog Or a lesbian queen! (fly to new york!) He could be a nark Or a lady marine! Or he might play dirty! He's over thirty! (getting old? say! I don't know!) His peculiar attire And the flies he require Keep leading him on Cause ethell is gone And the mountain she's on (please to new york! Fly to new york!) (fly to new york!) (i don't know!) His peculiar attire And the flies he require Keep leading him on Cause ethell is gone They keep leading him on Cause ethell is gone And the mountain she's on We join studebaker hoch standing on the edge of billy the mountain's mouth "billy? I've come to reason with you! Our great country needs you in the armed forces! Why, it's all fair and square, the lottery, you know? your number came up You can't go on running like this forever." Ethell shook her twigs angrily, but studebaker hoch, un-ferturbed, continued "listen, you (cough cough) listen, you communist son-of-a-b**h! You better get your a** down there for your f**in' physical Or I'll see to it that you get used for fill dirt In some impending new jersey marsh reclamation And your girl-friend here will wind up disguised as a series of brooms Primitive ironing boards (or a dog house) Get the (cough, cough), get the picture?" Billy just laughed "ho, ho, ho! if they think they're gonna draft me, they're crazy!" Now you'd remember that studebaker hoch was standing on the edge of billy's mouth So that when he laughed, he lost his balance and unfortunately fell Screaming, two hundred feet into the rubble below! (that was only one hundred feet, you carnaby cutie Let's hear another set!) Which only goes to prove A mountain is something You don't want to f** with You don't want to f** with Don't f** around (don't f** around) Don't f** with billy And don't f** with ethell (you saw what just happened To the guy with the flies!) Don't f** around! [repeat: x7] With Biddilly, biddilly Biddilly, biddilly, biddilly Biddilly The Mountin! Biddilly The Mountin! Thank you for coming to our concert. good night