Absolutely Free (song)

Absolutely Free is the name of the ninth song in the Mothers Of Invention fourth LP, "We're Only In It For The Money". It is not to be confused with the Mothers of Invention album of the same name.

Song Background

Composed by Frank Zappa, the song can be considered as the centerpiece of "Money", since it sums up the message of the album: A strong criticism on the Summer Of Love and the hippie lifestyle, along with an argument with the authorities (seen as oppressive and mind-bending) and those who pretend to be hippies but actually don't understand any of the hippie concepts and do it just for the fashion. In the specific case of "Absolutely Free", the song takes care of the "hippie lifestyle" and those who pretend to follow it. Another reason to think of the song as the centerpiece may be the track's length, surpassing the three-minute mark (although "The Chrome Plated Megaphone Of Destiny" is much longer). Absolutely Free is also the name of the band's second album, which often generates confusion.

The music

As for the music, it starts with a brief piano intro, then Suzy Creamcheese says "I won't do publicity balling for you anymore" and Zappa - in a typical ironic joke - explains the meaning of the first word in the lyrics ("discorporate"). From then on, the song carries on with a 3/4 motif, featuring a celesta and acoustic guitar which give the song a pseudo-psychedelic feel. The lyrics basically bash "fake hippies" (what we know simply as "the hippies"), whom Zappa considers as fake, lame wannabes who, rather than adapt a real counterculture stand, simply say they're hippies and rebels to get stoned or just to follow the trend. It also criticizes "the hippie lifestyle" of taking drugs, being ignorant and just wanting to be "absolutely free" (as stated cynically in the chorus). The song also includes one of Zappa's most memorable lines ("Flower Power sucks!"), which was censored in several editions of the album.

Live

Since the song carries a heavy social message, and the hippie movement faded quickly after the album came out, it was seldom (or never) played live. Its subject had become too anachronistic.

References and external links

* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:fr6zefwkogf2 "AllMusic" review of the song]
* [http://www.arf.ru/Notes/Woiftm/afree.html Explanation and debate about the song's lyrics]