Lyrics:

Song Review by François Couture

'Strictly Genteel' was written to be the grand finale of the movie 200 Motels, one last absurd twist of the plot where the whole cast sing together to say goodbye. The Mothers of Invention join the orchestra and chorus on this piece -- the only time such a collaboration appears throughout the movie. The original version found on the soundtrack album begins with Theodore Bikel (playing Rance Muhammitz) saying that 'This, as you might have guessed, is the end of the movie.' Bikel starts singing a prayer in his deep (but false!) baritone voice: 'Lord, have mercy of the people in England for the terrible food these people must eat [the movie was show in London]/And may the Lord have mercy on the faith of this movie and God bless the mind of the man in the street.' There is also a series of thanks, wishes, and oral circumvolutions addressed to the executives at United Artists, the governments, and about every living creature on Earth. The song is 'genteel' indeed, as in 'pretentiously polite and delicate' (Webster's dictionary).

One of Frank Zappa's most memorable orchestral pieces, 'Strictly Genteel' was augmented at the last minute. A post-finale rock song, written the night before the last shooting day, follows it (but on the same album track). Beginning with Howard Kaylan's 'final closing benediction,' it dives deeper into reality-in-the-fiction: 'They're gonna tear down the studio!' The singer describes what will happen once the shooting is over: everyone will get paid, go home, 'once again take themselves seriously,' and 'get wasted' -- all this over an infectious rock groove. This finale may be one of Kaylan's best recorded vocal performances. This '200 Motels Finale' was only performed a couple of times in 1971. 'Strictly Genteel,' on the other hand, was featured in Zappa's shows in 1978, 1981-1982, and 1988, always instrumental (an example from this last tour is on Make a Jazz Noise Here). An orchestra-only arrangement was premiered in 1975 and recorded for the LP Orchestral Favorites.