FRANK ZAPPA'S "YOU ARE WHAT YOU IS"

From Wikipedia:

The title track "You Are What You Is" is an up-tempo pop rock style song that was released as a music video in 1984. Although the film clip used advanced colour graphics on normal dance and singing type footage, its circulation was restricted due to parts of it where an actor, who was made to look like Ronald Reagan, was sitting in what looked like an electric chair whilst applying hair creme and singing. The song also contained the word ni$$er, which likely also had an effect on its broadcast.

More here.

I've only ever seen this as a couple of short segments on an episode of Beavis and Butthead. MTV would barely touch the thing, which pissed off FZ to no end; I mean the quirky and artsy nature of the video would have fit right into the era with ease. Maybe the music video channel didn't want their viewers thinking about race issues, seeing as how the only black artist they were playing at the time was Michael Jackson.

At any rate, this is a great song. Yes, it's very politically incorrect, as was exceedingly common with Zappa, but the overall message is a good one: it's okay to be comfortable in your own skin. One of many reasons I think of FZ as having been a practitioner of Real Art.

Here's the video:


via videosift.com

Here are the lyrics:

Do you know what you are?
You are what you is
You is what you am
(A cow don't make ham...)
You ain't what you're not
So see what you got
You are what you is
An' that's all it 'tis

A foolish young man
From a middle class fam'ly
Started singin' the blues
'Cause he thought it was manly
Now he talks like the Kingfish
("Saffiiiee!")
From Amos 'n Andy
("Holy mack'l dere...Holy mack'l
dere!")
He tells you that chitlins...
Well, they taste just like candy
He thinks that he's got
De whole thang down
From the Nivea Lotion
To de Royal Crown

Do you know what you are?
You are what you is
You is what you am
(A cow don't make ham...)
You ain't what you're not
So see what you got
You are what you is
An' that's all it 'tis

A foolish young man
Of the Negro Persuasion
Devoted his life
To become a caucasian
He stopped eating pork
He stopped eating greens
He traded his dashiki
("UHURU!")
For some Jordache Jeans
He learned to play golf
An' he got a good score
Now he says to himself
("I ain't no ni$$er no more...HEY! HEY! HEY!"

And that's all it is.

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