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YOU ARE WHAT YOU IS

 You Are What You Is

Notes and Comments
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Do you know what you are?
You are what you is
You is what you am
From: Jan van Kemenade < ????@????.nl>
  It's Frank fooling around with german again. There's a german saying : "Man ist was man isst" which means "You are what you eat". But since "ist" sounds the same as "isst" it could be translated as "You are what you are" of, in Franks case, "You are what you is".
From: Walter@bluebocs.donut.ruhr.com (Andreas Roeschies)
  A friend of mine told me that "You is" instead of "You are" is slang of many black-skinned people in the USA. And that "You are what you is" means, that black people will never get the same rights than white people.
From: fnord@panix.com (Cliff Heller)
  ahhhhhhhh. Stop. Please stop.
  You are what you is, is frank taking poetic liberty with the english language. Sure theres a touch of late seventies negro slang in the inappropriate conjugation of "to be", but he's not saying black people wont have the same rights as white people.
  The lyrics of the song do deal with a white person who tries to be black and a black person who triest to become white. All frank is saying is that you are who you are and you can't change that. To call the song "you are what you are" would be boring. Calling it "you are what you is" is interesting. Adding the lyric "you is what you am" allows him to make more rhymes. It's poetry.
  And yes, the german expression is correct, but there's no indication at all that the german expression had anything to do with YAWYI.
From: Vladimir Sovetov <sova@kpbank.ru>
  Hey, Cliff, what about this quote from YAWYI booklet :-)))
  "Still hungry? Union Cheese might be the most readily available, but no type of cheese in America today has achieved the popular acceptance of Accountant Cheese. If it is true that YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT, then surely our national willingness to eat this stuff tells us more about ourselves then we probably wish to know"
  Obviously Frank was aware of second phrase meaning. So it seems to be his usual double entendre words play
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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
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("Saffiiiee!")
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From Amos 'n Andy
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("Holy mack'l dere...Holy mack'l dere!")
From: Evil Bob <evilbob@tbag.tscs.com>
  Amos 'n Andy was a popular American radio comedy series of the 1930s-1940s. It dealt with the trials and tribulations of two black men. Ironically, the voice actors who played on this series were white. Anyway, several phrases from this series have entered the Iconography of Americana and were used here by FZ. "Saffiieee" is how the word "sapphire" was pronounced by a character named The Kingfish, and the phrase, "Holy mack'l" (i.e. "Holy Mackerel" - a common expletive) was also extensively used.
From: "Patrick Moore" <pmoore@network-one.com>
  As you may know, "Amos 'n' Andy" started out in radio. It was one of the most popular shows in radio history. The two actors (Freeman Gosden & Charles Correll) who played the parts were white.
  In 1951, the show made the transition from radio to TV. CBS television purchased (and still owns)the rights to the program, and it aired from 1951 to 1953. When the show was cancelled, local stations were eager to show reruns, and did extremely well in syndication.
  By the 1960's, "Amos 'n' Andy" was used as an example of how African-Americans were unrealistically portrayed in the media. Stations that showed the program were met with criticism from the Black community. The NAACP (with the help of Jesse "Rhymin' Man" Jackson) organized a boycott of CBS (which still showed the program in the daytime), but also local stations that showed reruns. In the end, in 1966, CBS pulled the series from syndication, never to return. In the 1980's, video copies of the show were made available.
From: chulrich@interchange.ubc.ca (Charles Ulrich)
  Sapphire Stevens was the wife of George "Kingfish" Stevens on Amos and Andy.
  CC
From: Vladimir Sovetov <sova@kpbank.ru>
  Heh:-)) Frank, seems to have a special place in his heart for such stony:-))) wife's name.
  Opal, you hot little bitch!
  Also
  Check out THING-FISH for more clues and words permutations.
  Check out also for black stereotypes CC
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He tells you that chitlins...
Well, they taste just like candy
From: Evil Bob <evilbob@tbag.tscs.com>
  "Chitlins" is the African-American pronounciation commonly substituted for the word "chitterlings". In the US, chitlins are often seen as a stereotypical "ethnic food preference" (along with fried chicken) of many African-Americans. Chitlins are actually pig intestines and at least some people think they taste great.
  CC
  See also THING-FISH. That Evil Prince
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He thinks that he's got
De whole thang down
From the Nivea Lotion
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To de Royal Crown
From: Evil Bob <evilbob@tbag.tscs.com>
  Nivea Lotion is a skin cream. I don't know exactly how it connects with the black community, so this sort of puzzles me. I could understand if FZ had mentioned perhaps Afro-Sheen or Ultra-Sheen. Royal Crown is the brand name of a type of hair cream. I am also unaware of this product's specific connection except that Royal Crown like Pomade was that "slick 1940s-50s wethead look" stuff favored by a generation of Americans of whatever color.
From: fhbanta@mindspring.com (Fred H. Banta)
  Black folks in the USA are particularily fond of lotion. The reason is that when their skin becomes dry and exfoliates, it gives an ashen appearance. So in order to avoid this "syndrome" they use lotion and lots of it. Ask any African-American.
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A foolish young man
Of the Negro Persuasion
From: Cliff Heller <fnord@panix.com>
  "Persuasion" in this case is synonymous with "Ethnicity". It was common parlance at the time to refer to people as "of the xxx persuasion" where xxx could be Jewish, Negro, etc.
From: biffyshrew@aol.com (Biffyshrew)
  "Persuasion" used to be considered a polite euphemism for race. Blacks were referred to as "the colored persuasion." Of course today this would be considered condescending and insulting. The humor of Zappa's use of the phrase lies in its quaintness.
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Devoted his life
To become a caucasian
He stopped eating pork
He stopped eating greens
He traded his dashiki
From: Evil Bob <evilbob@tbag.tscs.com>
  A Dashiki is a loose-fitting garment of varying length worn by both men and women in West Africa and elsewhere.
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("UHURU!")
  "Uhuru" refers to the character on the original Star Trek Series known as Lieutenant Uhura (played by Nichelle Nichols). The character of Lieutenant Uhura was a black African Female whose native language was Swahili.
From: Patrick David Neve <splat@gladstone.uoregon.edu>
  Close. Uhuru is the Swahili word for freedom, as in the reggae group Black Uhuru. (Black Freedom)
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For some Jordache Jeans
He learned to play golf
  Was it a way more square garment then say Levis or Wrangler :-)))
From: Cliff Heller <fnord@panix.com>
  Quite the Contrary. Jordache were the foremost brand of "designer jeans". Levis, Lee and Wrangler were very conservative and even "square" by the late seventies. The hip folks paid two or three times as much for Jordache, Gloria Vanderbilt, or Sergio Valente jeans that were of inferior quality but had distinctive fancy stitching on the pockets.
From: Dave Lane <dalane@domaincorp.com>
  Jordache Jeans were one of the more popular brands of "designer" jeans that became popular in the mid-late 70s. Often accompanied by garish shirts and blouses made of petroleum products, they were part of the uniform worn by people of the sort lampooned by Dancin' Fool and Disco Boy.
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"I don't understand you..."
BWANA MA-COO-BAH
"Would you please speak more clearly..."
  CC
From: Evil Bob <evilbob@tbag.tscs.com>
  This line ties in at least in part with Bwana Dik from the Fillmore album. In "The Real Frank Zappa Book" (Chapter 7 Drool Britannia), FZ has this to say about the word "Bwana":
  "It is the kind of word that you have in a jungle movie. I do not know what it means in reality. It is a JUNGLE-MOVIE WORD.... You never know WHAT it means in a jungle-movie, you know, unless somebody can explain to me that that word exists in some special African language. My understanding of "Bwana" has always been that it's something that THE GUY WITH THE BOX ON HIS SHOULDER SAYS."
From: fhbanta@mindspring.com (Fred H. Banta)
  "Bwana" means "sir" in Swahili.
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(Tell me now...)
Appropriot
(That's a funny pronunciation if'n ever I heard one...)
  Something from Kingfish arsenal? Or just another Smotherism?
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You wonder who
(I wonder too...)
You used to was
(Who I was anyway...)
'N what you do
(I used to work at the post office...)
From: Evil Bob <evilbob@tbag.tscs.com>
  If somebody could lemme know what this here line might refer to, I'd be gratified.
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You'll scratch your head
(But I don't wanna un-do my doo...)
  Is it "doo-rag" from Apostrophe(') _Uncle Remus_ again?
Can't wait till my 'Fro is full-grown I'll just throw 'way my doo-rag at home
From: Cliff Heller <fnord@panix.com>
  I'd have to give a big "yes" to that one.
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(I'm the kinda guy...)
You is what you am
(That ought to be drivin' a Mercedes Benz...)
A cow don't make a ham
(A four-fifty SLC...)
From: Vladimir Sovetov <sova@panix.com>
  Obviously one of the Mercedes Benz luxury models.
From: Bill Lantz <lantz@primenet.com>
  Yep. It was the car'd'jour in Beverly Hills and other country club towns in the early 80's. For that matter it still is.
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You are what you is
(I'm gwine down to de links on Saturday mornin'...)
An' that's all it is
(Gimme a five dollar bill...)
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YOU ARE WHAT YOU IS
(And an overcoat too...)
  CC
From: Evil Bob <evilbob@tbag.tscs.com>
  The lines are quotations from Wonderful Wino. [Zoot Allures album]
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AND THAT'S ALL IT IS
(Robbie, take me to Greek Town...)
  Krieger:-??? What does it mean? Some groupie plea Jumbo Go Away makes you believe.
From: Biffyshrew@aol.com
  I don't know who Robbie is, but I believe this is a reference to anal sex.
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AN THAT'S ALL IT IS
(I'm goin' down to White Street, y'all...)
From: Cliff Heller <fnord@panix.com>
  White Street is where the Mudd Clubb was. Not really "all the way" downtown, but pretty fuckin far. I used to live close by, but long after it had closed. You did know that this was a real place, didn't you?
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