Frank Zappa — Progress? lyrics

(Preston, Underwood, Gardner, Tripp, Sherwood & FZ)

?: Donnie!
Bunk: Hey, put that down!
Art: What are you doin', man?
Don: SILENCE, you fools! Don't you believe in PROGRESS?
Bunk: Take that progress and stick it under a ROCK. He have to.
Don: We must overthrow the diatonic system.
(FZ: Yes.)
Art: Bullshit.
Don: We're coming to the beginning of a NEW ERA wherein the development of the inner self will be the most important factor.
Ian: Donnie, your music is full of shit, and besides that it ain't disciplined.
Don: Listen . . .
Bunk: Give me four-four.
Art: Togetherness.
Bunk: Yeah.
Ian: Some old melodies.
Don: Look, playing . . .
Art: Put on a tie!
Don: Playing that kind of music and eating meat . . . will never, you'll never be able to see my aura then.
Art: I've seen your aura a lot, and it really stinks.
Bunk: You've been drinking, Don
Ian: I can hear your aura and it's bad, man.
Don: Listen, there are many strange things that science doesn't know.
Art: Fuck it.
Ian: Play any more
Bunk: Discipline, you need discipline.
Don: No . . .
Bunk: Four-four.
Don: It's got to be new, it's got to progress, it's got to evolve. THERE MUST BE GROWTH!
Bunk: Ah, man. My goodness . . .
Don: You've got to eat macrobiotic food.
(FZ: We're doing a play.)
Don: And study astrology. Delve into the occult world.
Ian: Well you can delve all you want but we're formin' a new group . . . go, go and do you some yoga exercises.
Don: Look.
Ian: Take care of business there.
Don: Mark my words . . . If you continue playing this music something strange may happen.
Bunk: Don't threaten me . . .
(FZ: By the end of the first show . . . )
Don: By the end of the first show . . . No, the second show.

FZ: So, at this point in the development of our plot the three talented members of the Mothers of Invention have quit the group to form their own band with a lot of discipline.
(Art: Yeah.)
FZ: This is what we need, it's a nice disciplined combo!

FZ: And so that they would be completely packaged and fit in with the rest of the disciplined combo, the former members of the Mothers of Invention receive their initiation into the robot musical world.

Don: This makes me nervous I'm gonna go do some yoga.
Ian: Yeah, you'd better.

FZ: Meanwhile, Dom DeWild, under pressure, prepares to unwind with some healthy yoga exercises.

FZ: This is Euclid Motorhead Sherwood.

Motorhead: What's the matter with him?
Ian: He's nervous 'cause he couldn't play with our new group.
Motorhead: Oh, that's nice, look at all those suits.

FZ: Motorhead covets the uniforms of the other band. And also shows some interest in the bum of Underwood.

Ian: Ayyyy
Motorhead: Hey, ten years ago I knew a lot of guys that had suits like these. They're really nice. Hey can I play in the band and get a suit like that too?
Ian: No!
Motorhead: But I like the suits and I can play good. I can play . . . I can play anything.
Ensemble: BOO! BOO! BOO!

FZ: Motorhead is lying. He can't play good, he can't play anything. He's trying to con his way into the other band. He knows they don't want him.

Bunk: I heard you play before.
Motorhead: But I got practicing and play good.
Ian: No discipline.

FZ: He's lying. He hasn't been practicing, he doesn't do shit.

Bunk: Ask me you couldn't even count to four.
Art: Come on, beat it, man.
Motorhead: You can't do that to me, I'll fix you.
Art: Go ahead.
Motorhead: I'll get into your band. I'll get into your band.
Bunk: Okay Motorhead, just get out of the way.
Motorhead: You can't stop me, I'll get in there somehow.
Ian: Take a walk, you fruit.
Motorhead: There's no way you can stop me, I bet ya!

FZ: Motorhead explains to the members of the Robot Combo that nothing can stop him, he will join their group whether they like it or not.