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Hungry Freaks, Daddy Lyrics
Mister America
Walk on by
Your schools that do not teach
Mister America
Walk on by
The minds that won't be reached
Mister America
Try to hide
The emptiness that's you inside
When once you find that the way you lied
And all the corny tricks you tried
Will not forestall the rising tide of
Hungry freaks, Daddy . . .
They won't go
For no more
Great mid-western hardware store
Philosophy that turns away
From those who aren't afraid to say
What's on their minds
(The left-behinds of the Great Society)
Hungry freaks, Daddy . . .
Mister America
Walk on by
Your supermarket dream
Mister America
Walk on by
The liquor store supreme
Mister America
Try to hide
The product of your savage pride
The useful minds that it denied
The day you shrugged and stepped aside
You saw their clothes and then you cried:
THOSE HUNGRY FREAKS, DADDY!
They won't go
For no more
Great mid-western hardware store
Philosophy that turns away
From those who aren't afraid to say
What's on their minds
(The left-behinds of the Great Society)
Walk on by
Your schools that do not teach
Mister America
Walk on by
The minds that won't be reached
Mister America
Try to hide
The emptiness that's you inside
When once you find that the way you lied
And all the corny tricks you tried
Will not forestall the rising tide of
Hungry freaks, Daddy . . .
For no more
Great mid-western hardware store
Philosophy that turns away
From those who aren't afraid to say
What's on their minds
(The left-behinds of the Great Society)
Walk on by
Your supermarket dream
Mister America
Walk on by
The liquor store supreme
Mister America
Try to hide
The product of your savage pride
The useful minds that it denied
The day you shrugged and stepped aside
You saw their clothes and then you cried:
THOSE HUNGRY FREAKS, DADDY!
For no more
Great mid-western hardware store
Philosophy that turns away
From those who aren't afraid to say
What's on their minds
(The left-behinds of the Great Society)
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
I think I sort of got imprinted by this song when I was a kid; first heard it as a teenager.
It's one thing to say that this song is "true", but another to look at a particular detail: It's Frank, telling us that people who can see the spiritual impoverishment of America--the out-of-control "work ethic", the despoiling of nature, the ever-increasing gulf between our glorious self-mytholization and the bleak reality of our march toward social/political stupidity and the ensuing dystopia; all of it--that those people are basically mutants. From whence cometh their X-ray vision? Is it just a DNA anomaly?
We're FREAKS, and we're hungry... for TRUTH.
I think this song is about President Lyndon B. Johnson domestic programs, which were named the Great Society. The album Freak Out! was released in 1966. "Your schools that do not teach"; Elementary & Secondary Education Act and the Higher Education Act were passed in 1965."You saw their clothes and then you cried:THOSE HUNGRY FREAKS, DADDY!"; Food Stamp Act of 1964. Mister America can either be a reference to Uncle Sam or the President LBJ. I also think this was not only a criticism of the president, but of the country itself during this time period.
It could go back all the way to FDR and the New Deal. The creation of Social Security et al. Very good comment especially about The Education Act. Mr. America, kind of speaks for itself, doesn't it?
It could go back all the way to FDR and the New Deal. The creation of Social Security et al. Very good comment especially about The Education Act. Mr. America, kind of speaks for itself, doesn't it?
questioning how ideal American society is...
I think that this song is about the government. How foolish they can be. Cool song, this is. Very catchy.
It's Zappa at his iconoclastic best. He's stating the society in general is worthless and that those hungry freaks are looking for better and more from life.
Frank hated consumerism. He hated conformismm which leaves behind the "freaks" and "useful minds." And, like any sane person, did not trust America's big, overconfident, over-reaching institutions, so he disparages the efficacy of schools and national policy ("Great society.") He mocks how great Americans think they are, while poking fun at their empty consumerism; so the references to supermarket, hardware store are sarcastic.
Only one comment? This song is so amazing. Definitely one of Zappa's most powerful songs.
I'm surprised the comments are so low especialy here i thought that the song spoke very powerfully.
It's about America, and sadly its still relevant.