Released October 2, 1975 Label DiscReet | Length 5:33 Writer(s) Frank Zappa | |
Recorded January 1975 (intro), May 1975 Genre Progressive rock, hard rock, heavy metal | ||
"Muffin Man" is a song recorded live by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. It appears on his 1975 mostly live album Bongo Fury made with Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet). The song begins with studio-recorded spoken word lyrics delivered by Zappa and is followed by the chorus. The song was inspired by the traditional nursery rhyme, The Muffin Man. The song closes the album, as well as the compilation Strictly Commercial, and was also used as a finale in concerts for many years afterwards. The song's tone was compared to Jimi Hendrix's style. An alternative live version of "Muffin Man" appears on disc one (track 22) of the compilation You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6. This song also appears on the 2009 album released by the Zappa Family Trust Philly '76, the 2002 album FZ:OZ and the 2003 album Halloween.
Frank Zappa's son, Dweezil, along with his Zappa Plays Zappa (ZPZ) band, have featured "Muffin Man" on many concert tours. In 2010, they offered video footage of Frank Zappa playing "Muffin Man", along with isolated Frank Zappa guitar parts, so Dweezil and ZPZ accompanied live Frank Zappa and his extended guitar solo.
Meaning
The meaning of the song was never fully explained by Frank Zappa, and as such there are many interpretations. The "Muffin Man" of the song appears to be a new kind of food aficionado, one who has taken his love for muffins to a scientific and semi-religious level. He can simply be considered an incarnation of gluttony. More generally, he could represent fanaticism for a certain matter, that turns him away from other interests in life. There are some who have interpreted his loyalty to his favorite food as a parody of the repetitive bourgeois life that Zappa despised. In the chorus an unnamed "girl" is introduced, who appears to have been in a love affair with the muffin man. This part can be interpreted as a record of her sexual delusions: her man was so focused on his research for the perfect muffin that he did not give her pleasure ("no cries is heard in the night" probably refers to orgasms). Considering Zappa's typical sexual themes, it has been speculated that the song can be entirely read as sexual innuendo.