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."
I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love With You
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Well I hope that I don't fall in love with you
'Cause falling in love just makes me blue
Well the music plays and you display
Your heart for me to see
I had a beer and now I hear you
Calling out for me
And I hope that I don't fall in love with you
Well the room is crowded, people everywhere
And I wonder, should I offer you a chair?
Well if you sit down with this old clown
Take that frown and break it
Before the evening's gone away
I think that we could make it
And I hope that I don't fall in love with you
Well the night does funny things inside a man
These old tom-cat feelings you don't understand
Well I turn around to look at you
You light a cigarette
I wish I had the guts to bum one
But we've never met
And I hope that I don't fall in love with you
I can see that you are lonesome just like me
And it being late, you'd like some company
Well I turn around to look at you
And you look back at me
The guy you're with he's up and split
The chair next to you's free
And I hope that you don't fall in love with me
Now it's closing time, the music's fading out
Last call for drinks, I'll have another stout
Well I turn around to look at you
You're nowhere to be found
I search the place for your lost face
Guess I'll have another round
And I think that I just fell in love with you
Tom Waits's song, "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love With You," tells the story of a man at a bar who is trying his best not to fall in love with a woman he has just met. The song speaks to the idea that love is unpredictable, and you never know when you might fall for someone. The song's opening line, "Well, I hope that I don't fall in love with you," is a preemptive plea to the universe to spare him from the pain of falling in love. The melancholic music, combined with the lyrics, sets a wistful and hopeful tone that suggests the singer wants to avoid the pain of being in love.
The singer seems to be in a crowded bar, possibly alone, and he sees a woman who catches his attention. He tries to avoid her by drinking beer and staying away from her. Still, as the night goes on, he can't help but notice her and hears her calling for him. As they begin to talk, he realizes that he might be falling for her, and he doesn't want to. The singer attempts to keep his feelings in check by reminding himself that he doesn't want to fall in love with her.
One interesting aspect of these lyrics is how Tom Waits uses the setting of a bar to give a sense of loneliness and longing. The singer remains anonymous, and his story is being told through his dialogue with a woman he meets at a bar, creating an intimate atmosphere. Another interesting aspect of these lyrics is how the singer describes his fear of falling in love, which is a universal feeling. Finally, these lyrics show the potential for missed connections and missed chances in life.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I hope that I don't fall in love with you
The singer is unsure about falling in love and doesn't want to experience the pain that comes with it.
'Cause falling in love just makes me blue
He believes that falling in love has adverse effects on him and makes him sad.
Well the music plays and you display
The singer is caught up in the moment, and he notices the one who stole his attention.
Your heart for me to see
He thinks that the other person is interested in him, and they are displaying their true self.
I had a beer and now I hear you
The singer had a drink and hears the other person calling him, indicating that chance encounters can lead to meaningful connections.
Calling out for me
The other person is explicitly calling the singer to make them aware of their presence.
And I hope that I don't fall in love with you
The singer reiterates his fear of falling in love and the desire to avoid it.
Well the room is crowded, people everywhere
The surroundings are crowded, indicating the chaos of the situation, which amplifies the singer's anxiety.
And I wonder, should I offer you a chair?
The singer is unsure how to approach the situation, wondering what kind of behavior is appropriate.
Well if you sit down with this old clown
He refers to himself as an 'old clown,' indicating the vulnerability he feels in this situation.
Take that frown and break it
He wants to cheer the other person up and turn their frown into a smile.
Before the evening's gone away
He realizes they only have a limited amount of time and wants to make the most of it.
I think that we could make it
The singer is getting optimistic about the chances of something beautiful developing between them.
Well the night does funny things inside a man
The singer refers to the unique and sometimes inexplicable effects that the night can have on people.
These old tom-cat feelings you don't understand
He feels unique emotions that he thinks others may not be able to relate to.
You light a cigarette
He is describing the person's actions and creating a visual scene.
I wish I had the guts to bum one
He laments his lack of courage to ask the person for a cigarette.
But we've never met
He's referencing the awkwardness of the present situation since neither of them has formally met before.
And I hope that I don't fall in love with you
Repeating his fear of falling in love to remind everyone of his fear.
I can see that you are lonesome just like me
He identifies a similarity between them that could lead to them connecting.
And it being late, you'd like some company
The other person seems to want company, and the singer might be just the person for that.
The guy you're with he's up and split
The person brought someone but got ditched in the middle of the night.
The chair next to you's free
Seizing an opportunity in the situation for them to sit together.
And I hope that you don't fall in love with me
He repeats his fear of falling in love with someone, but this time he hopes the feeling isn't reciprocated.
Now it's closing time, the music's fading out
The night is coming to an end, and the reality of the situation is starting to set in.
Last call for drinks, I'll have another stout
The singer is trying to delay the end of the night by ordering another drink.
You're nowhere to be found
She's gone, and the singer is noticing the harsh imprint of reality.
I search the place for your lost face
He's looking for her, but she's nowhere to be found and that's deteriorating his enthusiasm.
Guess I'll have another round
The singer is feeling lonely and disheartened that things didn't work out and is coping with another drink.
And I think that I just fell in love with you
He is confessing that despite his resistance and hopes to the contrary, he has fallen for the person.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Thomas Alan Waits
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind