The Lonesome Beauty of a Musician’s Final, Imaginary Soliloquy
The year was 1979, and the world was in the throes of change, but for listeners delving into the sprawling, satirical rock opera, Joe’s Garage, the penultimate track, “Watermelon in Easter Hay,” offered a moment of unexpected, heartbreaking serenity. Released on the second and third acts of the triple-LP set (Joe’s Garage, Acts II & III), this instrumental masterpiece by the incomparable Frank Zappa was not a charting single in the conventional sense. Its purpose was far grander: to serve as the emotional climax of a dystopian narrative where music itself is criminalized. It was a deep cut that resonated profoundly, and for those of us who lived through the era, it quickly became recognized as one of Zappa’s most tender and eloquent pieces.
The true genius of “Watermelon in Easter Hay” lies in its place within the story of Joe, the main character. Joe, an aspiring musician, has been chewed up and spat out by a rigid, authoritarian society, his dreams crushed, and his spirit broken. As the narrative draws to a close, the album’s narrator, the chillingly bureaucratic “Central Scrutinizer,” introduces the track by explaining that Joe, now back in his “ugly little room,” is imagining his final guitar solo—a farewell to the art he loved and the dreams he can no longer pursue.
The very title, “Watermelon in Easter Hay,” offers a glimpse into the creative frustration that birthed the song. The full name, a typical Zappa-esque mouthful, is “Playing a Guitar Solo With This Band is Like Trying To Grow a Watermelon in Easter Hay.” Zappa reportedly coined the phrase while recording the Joe’s Garage album, lamenting the difficulty of getting his desired sound from the musicians. The “Easter hay” refers not to farm fodder but to the bright, synthetic plastic grass found in holiday baskets, a symbol of the sterile, artificial environment that makes genuine, organic creation—like growing a watermelon—an almost impossible, futile endeavor.
What follows is one of the most sublime and heart-rending guitar solos ever committed to tape. For an artist whose work was often characterized by technical complexity, biting satire, and raucous irreverence, “Watermelon in Easter Hay” is an anomaly. It is one of only two solos on the album that Zappa recorded specifically for the track (the rest were “xenochronous,” or solos lifted from older live recordings and overdubbed onto the new music). The emotion is raw and immediate. It speaks volumes without uttering a single word, expressing Joe’s profound sorrow, resignation, and perhaps a final, defiant glimmer of artistic beauty before he gives up his dream for good. The languid, almost mournful notes and the signature sustained tone of Zappa’s guitar—often cited as his personal favorite solo—create a deeply reflective atmosphere. It’s an instrumental soliloquy that washes over the listener, evoking a powerful sense of nostalgia and loss, reminding us of the fragility of art and the human spirit in the face of stifling conformity. It remains an enduring testament to the unexpected depths of emotion in Frank Zappa’s vast, complex, and often misunderstood body of work.