He started his career in the early 1970s as a singer in spit 'n' sawdust bars. Initially, he was deeply influenced by the beat generation, novelists like Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs, and poets like Allen Ginsberg and Charles Bukowski. Waits is often compared to Charles Bukowski, being similar both in content and lifestyle
Waits was unable to make a living from his music in the 70s because his classical bar music, based in pre-rock, and Americana, blues, and Vaudeville styles were not popular. Waits's voice back then was soft, warm and clear.
Waits subsequently developed a devoted cult following and has influenced subsequent songwriters, despite having little radio or music video support. In fact, his songs are perhaps best known to the general public in the form of cover versions of more visible artists, such as the Eagles, Bruce Springsteen and Rod Stewart.
Although Waits’s albums have met with mixed commercial success in his native United States, they have occasionally achieved gold album sales status in other countries.
Lyrically, Waits's songs are known for atmospheric portrayals of seedy characters and places; he sings about the losers on the streets: alcoholics, junkies, prostitutes and social outcasts, although he also includes more conventional and touching ballads in his repertoire.
While opening for Frank Zappa, the audience catcalled and refused to listen to him; he was an unsuitable match with Zappa's avantgarde style.
Countless cigarettes, gallons of alcohol and many all night parties eventually left their trace in his face and voice.
His more recent gravelly voice can be first heard on Small Change. This distinctive voice turned out to be his trademark. It is described by the Music Hound Rock Album Guide as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months and then taken outside and run over with a car". Small Change with its sentimental ballads, its bar-jazz attitude and Film Noir-oriented stories turned out to be his biggest commercial success in the 1970s.
Waits subsequently developed a more unique style. His songs have grown more abrasive since then, and the arrangements have turned more surreal and experimental with every new record. His life brings him to new visions, as indicated by the direction taken in his "Alice" release.
While composing the soundtrack for Francis Ford Coppola's One From The Heart Waits met Kathleen Brennan, his bride-to-be. They married in 1980 and she helped him quit drinking and smoking. Since their marriage they have been working together on his albums as co-producers and co-writers. It is hard to say which part belongs to her and which to him, but it's easy to see that they make a perfect team. Additionally, his eldest son Casey can be heard on turntables and percussion on Waits's album "Real Gone".
One of Waits's greatest successes was the album "Swordfishtrombones", released in 1983. It struck with his critics and fans alike. He achieved a new level of song writing and left former conventions (and his earlier career) behind. All songs, whether ballads, jive or jazz are played in a completely different way. It seems that Waits had taken the musical archetypes of these styles and made them his own. All tracks are in the quintessential Waits style. They have a striking rawness and listenability and they set the stage for his success and his future career.
The Bad As Me Songfacts reports that 36 years after the release of Waits' first album, Closing Time in 1973, Bad As Me became Waits's first ever top 10 album in the US when it debuted at #6 with 63,000 sales.
In the late 1980s Waits discovered an outlet for his creativity in composing musicals. His first Musical was named "The Black Rider", and is based on "Der Freischütz" by Carl Maria von Weber. It was co-produced by Robert Wilson and the lyrics come from William S. Burroughs. The story is slightly reminiscent of Kurt Weil's and Berthold Brecht's "Three Penny Opera" and the 1930s. The debut performance of the play was in 1990 at the Thalia Theater, Hamburg and has been played by various theatre groups since then.
Waits was also responsible for two other musicals, which later became albums released simultaneously in 2002. One was the musical "Blood Money," which covers the "Woyczek" theme of Georg Büchner. This one is one of the darkest works from Waits. The other musical is based on Lewis Carroll's classic children's novel, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". "Alice" is very romantic, dreamy and soft, and contains one of Waits most romantic songs. Even though they were released at the same time, the bootlegs of the "Alice" musical were long before traded between fans and were just rearranged and re-mastered for the official release.
Besides many film contributions as composer – the Internet Movie Database imdb.com lists 47 appearances of Waits as composer and 38 soundtracks containing songs by Waits - he also is an actor with a total of 25 appearances, ranging from some mini-roles as a trumpeter in "Heart of Saturday Night" and the R. M. Renfield in "Bram Stoker's Dracula" to the major role of Zack in Jim Jarmusch's "Down by Law". He recently appeared in Roberto Benigni's "The Tiger and the Snow", playing You Can Never Hold Back Spring at Benigni's wedding dream. Even more recently, Waits played Mr.Nick (the Devil) in Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus".
In addition to a number of concert videos, he also appeared in the critically-acclaimed concert feature film "Big Time" (1990).
Waits has always refused to allow the use of his songs in commercials. He has filed several lawsuits against advertisers for using his material without permission. Waits also successfully sued an advertiser for using a work that was stylistically similar to his work, after he had declined to sell them the rights to his song. He has been quoted as saying, "Apparently the highest compliment our culture grants artists nowadays is to be in an ad — ideally naked and purring on the hood of a new car. I have adamantly and repeatedly refused this dubious honor."
Big in Japan
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I got the clothes but not the face
I got the bread but not the butter
I got the window but not the shutter
But I'm big in Japan
I'm big in Japan, hey, but I'm big in Japan
I'm big in Japan
I got the house but not the deed
I got the horn but not the reed
I got the cards but not the luck
I got the wheel but not the truck
But hey I'm big in Japan
I'm big in Japan, but hey, I'm big in Japan
I'm big in Japan
I got the moon, I got the cheese
I got the whole damn nation on their knees
I got the rooster, I got the crow
I got the ebb, I got the flow
I got the powder but not the gun
I got the dog but not the bun
I got the clouds but not the sky
I got the stripes but not the tie
But hey, I'm big in Japan
I'm big in Japan
I'm big in Japan
I'm big in Japan
I'm big in Japan
Hey-ho, they love the way I do it
Hey-ho, there's really nothing to it
I got the moon, I got the cheese
I got the whole damn nation on their knees
I got the rooster, I got the crow
I got the ebb, I got the flow
I got the sizzle but not the steak
I got the boat but not the lake
I got the sheets but not the bed
I got the jam but not the bread
But hey, I'm big in Japan
I'm big in Japan
I'm big in Japan
Hey, I'm big in Japan
I'm big in Japan
I'm big in Japan
In Tom Waits's song "Big in Japan," the singer sings about having all the superficial trappings of success but nothing substantial to show for it. He has the style but not the grace, the clothes but not the face, the bread but not the butter. He has the house but not the deed, the horn but not the reed, the cards but not the luck, and the wheel but not the truck. Despite this, he proudly proclaims that he is "big in Japan."
The significance of this declaration of being "big in Japan" is not entirely clear, but it likely represents the singer's desire for some sort of validation or recognition, even if it's from a far-off place where he may not be known personally. The chorus of the song seems to suggest that the singer is widely celebrated in Japan, perhaps because he possesses a certain exoticism or foreignness that appeals to Japanese audiences. Ultimately, the song captures the feeling of being an outsider desperately seeking acceptance or validation, even if it's from a world that seems far removed from one's own.
Line by Line Meaning
I got the style but not the grace
I have the appearance and behavior associated with a particular group, but lack the elegance and poise that characterizes it.
I got the clothes but not the face
I possess fine garments, but not the good looks to enhance their appeal
I got the bread but not the butter
I have enough resources, but not the means to make them multiply or grow.
I got the window but not the shutter
I have an opening that can let light in or provide a view, but no means to close it or shield from unwanted elements.
But I'm big in Japan
Despite the aforementioned limitations, Tom Waits still enjoys great success and popularity in Japan.
I got the house but not the deed
I own a house, but not the legal right to it or the obligation to maintain it.
I got the horn but not the reed
I have a musical instrument, but not the crucial part that produces sound or modulates it.
I got the cards but not the luck
I possess the means to play games of chance or strategy, but not the favorable outcome or serendipity necessary to win.
I got the wheel but not the truck
I control the steering, but not the vehicle that transports me or the goods.
I got the moon, I got the cheese
I have desirable objects that evoke pleasure or satisfaction, the moon being a symbol of romance and the cheese of wealth and indulgence.
I got the whole damn nation on their knees
I have complete authority, influence, or charisma over a large group of people, who show submission or admiration.
I got the rooster, I got the crow
I possess two birds, one associated with virility, the other with death or misfortune, both of which have symbolic value in different cultures
I got the ebb, I got the flow
I experience the rhythmic variations of tides, waves or currents, indicating the ups and downs of existence and emotions.
I got the powder but not the gun
I have the means to initiate a reaction or create a substance, but not the material or force that triggers it or makes it effective.
I got the dog but not the bun
I have a companion, but not the treat or reward that makes it happy or loyal.
I got the clouds but not the sky
I have the atmospheric phenomena that can affect weather, visibility or moods, but not the vast expanse that contains them.
I got the stripes but not the tie
I have two articles of clothing that are typically worn together, but the one that provides a sense of closure, elegance or decoration is missing.
Hey-ho, they love the way I do it Hey-ho, there's really nothing to it
People in Japan appreciate Tom Waits's style, performance, or personality, which seems effortless or natural to him.
I got the sizzle but not the steak
I have the ability to generate excitement or interest, but not the substance or content that justifies it or sustains it.
I got the boat but not the lake
I own a means of transportation or leisure, but not the natural setting or context where it can be enjoyed to the fullest.
I got the sheets but not the bed
I have part of the furniture that provides comfort or rest, but not the structure or foundation that holds it and makes it useful.
I got the jam but not the bread
I have a sweet or savory spread that can delight the senses or satisfy hunger, but not the staple or basic food that complements it or provides nourishment.
But hey, I'm big in Japan
Despite the limitations and paradoxes of his situation, Tom Waits is still successful and respected in Japan.
I'm big in Japan
Repetition of the chorus emphasizes the main point of the song: Tom Waits's popularity and relevance in Japan despite his perceived deficiencies.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, JALMA MUSIC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: KATHLEEN BRENNAN, THOMAS A. WAITS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind