Every once in a while I hear this old ballad, and wonder if it was written about a real event.
Was it just a fantasy, or did somebody burn the place down?
God, I’m old…
Funky Claude died just a couple of months ago.
Come on, Ralph, how did it not occur to you to just look in Wikipedia? It’s got to take less time to do that than to create a thread here.
You mean slow motion Walter was a real fire engine guy?
My favorite antecdote about this was when an attendee of the concert was interviewed a few years ago. He said, yup there really was a guy at the Frank Zappa concert in a raincoat waving around a flare gun. When asked how on earth this guy wasn’t stopped by security, the fan said “It was a Frank Zappa concert in the 70s. A guy waving around a flare gun didn’t really attract attention.”
:eek: :eek:
In forty years I never once paid any attention to the lyrics of this song. I loved Machine Head and wore out the 8 track.
I Couldn’t quote any of Deep Purple’s lyrics. I was too busy enjoying the music.
At least now I know The Rest of the Story.
Thanks
So, is Sabbeth’s War Pigs a true story too. 
I’ve known the song “My Sharona” since it was released when I was in high school. But it wasn’t until last year that I found out that the singer’s girlfriend really was named Sharona and it’s her picture on the cover of the single.
Sometimes pop songs are a lot more literal than we realize.
“When the deep purple falls
Over sleepy garden walls
And the stars begin to
Twinkle in the sky. . .” 
What a stupid.
mmm
I know, right?
There’s a Barenaked Ladies song (“Tonight is the Night I Fell Asleep at the Wheel”) that uses that line as a lyric. Took me awhile before I realized it was a Deep Purple reference.
This one was a JFGI.
If you just start to type “Smoke on the Water” into Google, the Wikipedia page will come up within the first couple of results; you don’t even need to finish typing.
I think ralph124c has a host file entry that redirects “google.com” to here. It’s the only explanation that makes any sense.
Rick Springfield really did want to steal his friend’s girlfriend too, though he changed his friend’s name from Gary to Jessie for the song.
BTW, FZ’s live collection album “You Can’t Do That on Stage Anymore Vol. 3” includes a recording of “King Kong” from that night, and you can actually hear the flare gun go off.
Who’s Deep Purpl’e?
A darker version of Pink Floyd.