# Did "Deep Purpl'e" "Smoke on the Water" Reflect an Actual Event? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 14, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498 "2013-07-14T18:17:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498/1 "2013-07-14T18:17:39Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498/2 "2013-07-14T18:42:44Z")
[Yes.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_on_the_Water) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498/3 "2013-07-14T18:49:57Z")
God, I’m old… ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498/4 "2013-07-14T19:55:41Z")
Funky Claude died just a couple of months ago. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498/5 "2013-07-14T20:00:34Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498/6 "2013-07-14T20:13:50Z")
You mean slow motion Walter was a real fire engine guy? ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498/7 "2013-07-14T20:23:00Z")
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.” ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498/8 "2013-07-14T20:33:47Z")
: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 ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498/9 "2013-07-14T20:36:01Z")
So, is Sabbeth’s _War Pigs_ a true story too. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498/10 "2013-07-14T21:55:04Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > :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 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. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498/11 "2013-07-14T22:04:11Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > God, I’m old.. “When the deep purple falls Over sleepy garden walls And the stars begin to Twinkle in the sky. . .” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498/12 "2013-07-14T22:18:51Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > …there really was a guy at the Frank Zappa concert in a raincoat waving around a flare gun. What a stupid. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498/13 "2013-07-14T22:20:03Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > God, I’m old.. I know, right? ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498/14 "2013-07-14T23:02:02Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > You mean slow motion Walter was a real fire engine guy? 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. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2013, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498/15 "2013-07-15T02:50:33Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > 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. This one was a JFGI. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2013, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498/16 "2013-07-15T03:09:44Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2013, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498/17 "2013-07-15T11:53:08Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > 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](http://google.com)” to here. It’s the only explanation that makes any sense. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2013, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498/18 "2013-07-15T13:14:17Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2013, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498/19 "2013-07-15T13:30:48Z")
Who’s Deep Purpl’e? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2013, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498/20 "2013-07-15T13:32:13Z")
A darker version of Pink Floyd. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-deep-purple-smoke-on-the-water-reflect-an-actual-event/663498.md?page=2)