The only known video recording of "Smoke on the Water", performed by the original Mark II lineup. Filmed during a US concert in New York City at Hofstra University in Hempstead, Long Island, in colour.
Smoke on the Water" is a song by English rock band Deep Purple, first released from the band's sixth studio album, Machine Head (1972), and chronicles the 1971 fire at Montreux Casino.
The lyrics tell a true story: on 4 December 1971, Deep Purple were in Montreux, Switzerland, to record an album (Machine Head) using a mobile recording studio (rented from the Rolling Stones and known as the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio—referred to as the "Rolling truck Stones thing" and "a mobile" in the lyrics) at the entertainment complex that was part of the Montreux Casino (referred to as "the gambling house" in the song lyric).
On the eve of the recording session, a concert with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention was held in the casino's theatre. This was the theatre's final concert before the casino complex closed down for its annual winter renovations, which would allow Deep Purple to record there.
At the beginning of Don Preston's synthesiser solo on "King Kong", the place suddenly caught fire when somebody in the audience fired a flare gun towards the rattan-covered ceiling, as mentioned in the "some stupid with a flare gun" line.
Lyrics
We all came out to Montreux
On the Lake Geneva shoreline
To make records with a mobile
We didn't have much time
Frank Zappa and the Mothers
Were at the best place around
But some stupid with a flare gun
Burned the place to the ground
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
Smoke on the water
They burned down the gambling house
It died with an awful sound
Funky Claude was running in and out
Pulling kids out the ground
When it all was over
We had to find another place
But Swiss time was running out
It seemed that we would lose the race
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
Smoke on the water
We ended up at the Grand hotel
It was empty cold and bare
But with the Rolling truck Stones thing just outside
Making our music there
With a few red lights and a few old beds
We make a place to sweat
No matter what we get out of this
I know we'll never forget
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky Smoke on the water
Songwriters: Ritchie Blackmore / Ian Gillan / Roger D Glover / Jon Lord / Ian Paice Smoke On The Water lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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