San Ber'dino
San Ber'dino is a song by Frank Zappa that appeared on the 1975 album One Size Fits All .
song
The song is a simple rock song with blues influences, which was decorated in a Zappa-typical way. The song ends with a vocal solo by Johnny Guitar Watson .
The song is about Bobby, a rodeo worker who gets drunk in the Palomino Bar and who is later sentenced to 30 days in prison at San Ber'dino Detention Center, the San Bernardino County Jail . Bobby survives imprisonment by clinging to his love for a young girl with whom he later plans to spend his life in a trailer park in the Mohave Desert . In the song, Zappa compares Bobby's dreamed life with his lover in a trailer park with life in prison ("Gonna spend the rest of their lives in San Ber'dino" ( Frank Zappa : lyrics by San Ber'dino))
The play's hero, Bobby, who looks like a potato ("his name is Bobby, he looks like a potato" ( Frank Zappa : lyrics by San Ber'dino)) is a recurring character in Zappa's songs, typically as a prototype Loser. Zappa mentions him in the songs San Ber'dino, Advance Romance and briefly in Legend Of The Illinois Enema Bandit . In the song Thing-Fish , a Mammy Nun is named as Sister Potato Head Bobby Brown .
background
The song contains an autobiographical reference, since Frank Zappa was sentenced to ten days imprisonment in the same institution and three years probation for an administrative offense in 1964. Zappa writes about this in his biography:
“The ten days I spent in Tank C of the San Bernadino County Jail were very educational. If you haven't been to jail, you can't imagine what it really is like [...] We got a razor blade a day and there was a small shower at the end of the cell block for forty-four men. The mud in the shower basin was about four inches (note: about 10 centimeters) thick. I didn't shave or shower in the entire time I was there.
The ten days I spent in Tank C at the San Bernardino County Jail were very educational. Unless you've been to jail, you can't imagine what it's actually like […] We were supplied with one razor blade per day, and one small shower stall at the end of the cell block for forty-four men. The scum on the shower basin was about four inches thick. I didn't shave or take a shower the whole time I was there. "
Live recordings
The song was performed live on various occasions between 1975 and 1977. It can be seen, for example, as an encore in the film Baby Snakes , a recording of Zappa's Halloween concert in 1977 at the New York City Palladium Theater .
Others
The song also appeared on the compilation of Zappa compositions Strictly Commercial . It was also recorded by the Zappa cover band The Muffin Men .
Musician of the original recording
- Frank Zappa - guitar , vocals
- Johnny Guitar Watson - vocals
- Tom Fowler - bass
- Chester Thompson - drums
- Napoleon Murphy Brock - saxophone , backing vocals
- Bloodshot Rollin 'Red - Harmonica
- George Duke - keyboard , synthesizer , backing vocals
- Ruth Underwood - vibraphone
Individual evidence
- ↑ Good riddance to Good Old Days ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
