"Wind Up Workin' in a Gas Station" is the opening song on

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

's 1976 album ''

Zoot Allures ''Zoot Allures'' is the 22nd album by the American rock musician Frank Zappa, released in October 1976. It was his only release on the Warner Bros. Records label. Due to financial and legal disputes with his former manager Herb Cohen, Zappa had ...

''. The song contains a fake German accent from Zappa as a result of Zappa's fascination with the

German culture The culture of Germany has been shaped by its central position in Europe and a history spanning over a millennium. Characterized by significant contributions to art, music, philosophy, science, and technology, German culture is both diverse and ...

. In concert, the extensive repetition of the lines "Show me your thumb if you're really dumb" was given the response by the audience members putting both thumbs firmly in the air. Despite the lyrics being pessimistic, the song became a fan favorite. A live version, recorded in autumn 1976 with the female lead vocals of

Lady Bianca Lady Bianca (born August 8, 1953) is an American electric blues singer, songwriter and arranger. Lady Bianca has worked as a session singer, depicted Billie Holiday on stage, and since 1995 released six solo albums, three of which were nominated ...

, was published 1992 in ''

You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6 ''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6'' is the last of six double-compact disc, disc collection volumes of live performances by Frank Zappa recorded between 1970 and 1988. All of the material on disc one has a sexual theme. Zappa used th ...

''.

Meaning

The song attacks the American school system explaining that even with the highest education, many people will still end up with low pay jobs such as working at a

gas station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

. The "show me your thumb" lines are believed to be a reference to a

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from an ocean or their seas into a landmass, larger and typically (though not always) with a narrower opening than a bay (geography), bay. The term was used traditionally for large, highly indented navigable bodies of s ...

gasoline commercial from the 1960s, in which end a gas-station employee putting up his thumb in order to suggest that Gulf is good.

Personnel

Musicians

– guitar, bass, lead vocals, synthesizer *

Terry Bozzio Terry John Bozzio (born December 27, 1950) is an American drummer best known for his work with Missing Persons, U.K., and Frank Zappa. He has been featured on nine solo or collaborative albums, 26 albums with Zappa and seven albums with Missi ...

– drums * Davey Moiré – lead vocals, backing vocals

Production staff

* Arnie Acosta – mastering * Amy Bernstein – layout design * Michael Braunstein – engineer * Bob Stone – digital remastering

References

{{Frank Zappa Frank Zappa songs Songs about occupations Songs written by Frank Zappa 1976 songs Song recordings produced by Frank Zappa