Lyrics Diptheria Blues - Frank Zappa , The Mothers of Invention

Back about a hundred years ago
There wasn't anywhere you could go down here in Georgia
Mississippi
Maryland
Any of your Southern states
Now you got your honkies
And you got your ofays
And you got your soul brothers
Hundred years ago, soul brothers sat out in front of their shanties.
Poorer than a they was.
They sat out there with their Hohners, just like we do today.
And they played some soulful songs.
Now give me some of your in the background, ladies and gentlemen
Deep terminal chronic diphtheria harmonica blues
From Asthma Mark
And the Funk Brothers
Good God!
Good God!
What is this?
I can't stand it
I can't breathe any more heartache
They just woke [?] me up
They give me my bottle of juice
They give me my Hohner
They give me my straw hat
They give me my blue prison shirt
They sit me down by the scarecrow
And they say,
"Play, boy
You been a-pickin' blueberries all day long
It's about time you really got it on
Now I know all you brothers got rhythm and you got soul
Go on and you play some, I mean
We gotta have one on every block
Just to show how cool we are
[...] on us
We'll sit back and listen to you
We'll bake your brownies at Christmas, boy
We'll take your women back to the shed
We're gonna use you to make mincemeat, boy
And then we're gonna sit down and dig on you
'Cause you play a fine harp
Fine harp, Asthma Mark."
They used to say, "Play that thing, Asthma Mark.
Play the harmonica, boy.
Play that thing."
Asthma Mark goes, "Ee-yeah!"
They go, "What?"
Asthma Mark goes, "Wee-yeah!"
Wee-yeah!
Wee-yeah!
Carlos Santana, ladies and gentlemen!
Good God!
Don't break that bottle, brother Aynsley
It's all we got
So Asthma Mark would sit on the corner
And he would play his Diphtheria Blues on his Hohner
And people would come from miles around
To see Asthma Mark a-wheezin' and a-playin'
A-playin' and a-wheezin'
And a-spewin'
And a-foamin'
They say,
"We love you, Asthma Mark
And we sing with you
The old Diphtheria Blues"
I can't breathe
I can't breathe
My throat's a-sweatin'
My eyes are waterin'
My athlete's foot went south for the winter
Oh, I can't stand it
What's gonna happen to me?
Oh, diphtheria got me down
Oh, San Antonio epidemic now
Oh [...]
Oh Diphtheria Blues
[...] say
Gonna play in this shack
Gonna [...] through
Get bit on the back
[...] flies in my face
Gotta get out of here
No-good funky blues
Diphtheria Blues
Got me down
Diphtheria Blues
Got me down
Can't stand it no more
Diphtheria Blues
Just [...]
Blue Cross won't pay
Diphtheria Blues
Diphtheria Blues
Diphtheria Blues, yeah
Diphtheria Blues, oh
Diphtheria Blues [...]
Can't stand it
Oh no
Oh no
OW!
OW!
HOO-AAHHH!
Diphtheria Blues
Diphtheria Blues
Diphtheria Blues
Diphtheria Blues
Can't stand it
Oh no
Oh no
Diphtheria Blues
Diphtheria Blues
Play that thing, Asthma Mark
Good God!
Good God!
Amen .. .
John Lennon: Okay?
FZ: Sit down and cool it for a minute so you can hear what we're gonna do!
John Lennon: Yeah, this is a song I used to sing when I was in The Cavern in Liverpool. I haven't done it since so ... Two, three, four .. .