Not all of their creative, lyrical hits are originals. Turns out that Tube Snake is surfer slang for their surfboard. She won’t do it but her sister will,” we all thought we had it figured out. With lyrics like, “I got a girl, she lives on the hill. The other song that got the attention of pubescent boys everywhere was “Tube Snake Boogie,” which hit #4 on Billboard. Not until the final verse do we figure out which it is “it really don’t cost that much.” Its racy ambiguity could be a sex act, or expensive jewelry. “Pearl Necklace” rose to #28 on the Billboard rock charts. More double entendre-laced hits came via 1981’s El Loco album. “I ain’t askin’ for much…I’m just looking for some tush.” Isn’t that what we all want? Tush is slang for both the buttocks, and luxurious or lavish. The genius of the lyrics is the double entrendre.
One of the flip-side songs was “Tush.” Pronounced so that it rhymes with rush, the lyric was often misheard as touch. In 1975, ZZ Top released the album Fandago! Side-A had various live tracks, while the B-side had new studio material. From the 1973 album Tres Hombres, “Jesus Just Left Chicago,” segues seamlessly from the albums opening track, “Waitin’ For the Bus.” Gibbons never forgot it, and turned it into a Robert Johnson influenced 12-bar blues number. Known as R&B Jr., and famous among friends for his colloquialisms, he blurted out the phrase during a phone conversation. “Jesus Just Left Chicago” can be attributed to a teenage friend of Gibbons. It not only inspired the 1973 ZZ Top hit, but also the Broadway and film adaptations of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. A simple farmhouse with no signs advertising its purpose, the Chicken Ranch ran with the knowledge, if not the blessing, of local politicians and law enforcement. “La Grange,” for example, is a little ditty about a “shack outside La Grange.” Mostly known as the Chicken Ranch, it was a Texas brothel open from 1905 to 1973.
Combining a mix of humor, storytelling, and Texanisms, he paints a vivid portrait of places, people, and events that would otherwise fly under the radar of the populace. ZZ Top’s main lyricist is guitar-wielding vocalist Billy Gibbons. Their early hit song, “ La Grange,” drew worldwide attention to the town of La Grange, Texas. Or more to the point, one of La Grange’s attractions. That little ol’ band from Texas, ZZ Top, are well known for their humorous lyrics. ZZ Top at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio, Texas 2015.
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