‘B'wana Dik’ is a song on the 1971 Frank Zappa & The Mothers album, Fillmore East. It's sometimes referred to as bwana dik.
The name referred to the title that each member hoped to claim depending on his success with the ladies, real or imagined, later that night.
B'wana being a Swahili word for boss, dik being not a Swahili word for boss.
The song explains in graphic, er, comic detail the potential for success by these members with the groupies, after the show.
Frank Zappa’s irony was typically sharp here: ‘The song deals with the fact that each in his own way, each member of the group, secretly believes that he is ”B'wana Dik.” And the song attempts to show how foolish this concept is.’
The song originated in 200 Motels, Frank Zappa’s surreal documentary on the insanity of touring and what it does to the minds of those subjected to life on the road.
For more information visit www.zappa.com |