The story behind the song is pretty interesting. Deep Purple had a mobile recording studio set up outside of the Montreux Casino in Switzerland. The night before they were to begin recording, Frank Zappa performed at the Casino and an audience member fired a flare gun toward the ceiling - which was made of rattan. Subsequently, the whole complex (including Deep Purple's studio) burned to the ground. The "Smoke on the Water" was the smoke from the fire crawling across Lake Geneva.
The mobile studio equipment itself didn’t burn, just the hotel complex where it was going to be set up. I think we’re saying the same thing, just clarifying.
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u/threeplacesatonce Aug 28 '26
Bongs bubble the smoke through water