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."
A Little Rain
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where a man with missing fingers plays a strange guitar
And the German dwarf dances with the butcher's son
And tonight a little rain never hurt no one
Well, they're dancing on the roof
And the ceiling's coming down
And I sleep with my shovel and my leather gloves
And a little rain never hurt no one
Oh, the world is round and so I'll go around
You must risk something that matters
Oh, my hands are strong, I'll take any man here
If it's worth the going, it's worth the ride
She was fifteen years old
And never seen the ocean
She climbed into a van
With a vagabond
And the last thing she said
Was "I love you mom"
And a little rain never hurt no one
And a little rain never hurt no one
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
The opening verses of Tom Waits’ song, “A Little Rain”, provide vivid images of a bustling, yet strange bar scene. The track begins with the Ice Man’s mule parked outside the bar, making way for a man with missing fingers playing a strange guitar. The German dwarf is seen dancing with the butcher's son, and all the while, the lyrics remind the listeners that a little rain never hurt anyone. The song is built around the simple idea that life is unpredictable, and the only way to make it through is to take risks and move forward with determination, regardless of the obstacles one faces.
The metaphorical representation of the lyrics is something that Waits has always used in his songs, and “A Little Rain” is no exception. The idea of ‘dancing on the roof’ while the ceiling is coming down represents the fragility of life and how at any moment, things can change. It stresses that life is precious, and one must embrace all the challenges and joys it has to offer. The verse about the fifteen-year-old girl who climbed into a van with a vagabond is a powerful reminder of how we all face decisions that define our lives, and how we must make the most of those choices.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, the Ice Man's mule is parked outside the bar
The Ice Man, who delivers ice to the bar, has left his mule waiting outside the bar.
Where a man with missing fingers plays a strange guitar
Inside the bar, a man with missing fingers is playing an unusual sounding guitar.
And the German dwarf dances with the butcher's son
An unusual pair at the bar, a German dwarf and the butcher's son, are dancing together.
And tonight a little rain never hurt no one
Despite the rain, people are having a good time at the bar and it's not causing any harm.
Well, they're dancing on the roof
The party at the bar has moved to the roof where people are dancing.
And the ceiling's coming down
The weight of the people dancing on the roof is causing the ceiling to sag.
And I sleep with my shovel and my leather gloves
The singer is a hard worker who is always prepared for anything with his tools.
And a little trouble makes it worth the going
The singer is willing to deal with difficult situations if it means he gets something out of it.
And a little rain never hurt no one
The singer repeats the theme that a little rain won't stop anyone from having a good time.
Oh, the world is round and so I'll go around
The singer understands that life has its ups and downs and that he must keep moving forward.
You must risk something that matters
The singer believes that taking a risk for something important is necessary to live a fulfilling life.
Oh, my hands are strong, I'll take any man here
The singer is confident in his abilities and is willing to challenge anyone in the bar.
If it's worth the going, it's worth the ride
The singer believes that if something is worth doing, it's worth the effort and any risks that come with it.
She was fifteen years old
The singer introduces a new character, a young girl.
And never seen the ocean
The girl has never been to the ocean.
She climbed into a van
Despite her lack of experience, the girl decided to take a chance and get into a van.
With a vagabond
The girl's companion is someone who travels without a fixed home or job.
And the last thing she said
The girl said one final thing before getting into the van.
Was "I love you mom"
The girl expressed her love for her mother before leaving on her journey.
And a little rain never hurt no one
The singer repeats the theme that despite any challenges, everything will turn out okay.
And a little rain never hurt no one
The singer repeats the theme one final time to conclude the song.
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
The song ends with an instrumental outro.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, JALMA MUSIC
Written by: KATHLEEN BRENNAN, THOMAS ALAN WAITS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jude Unlawful
Lyrics:
The Ice Man's mule is parked
Outside the bar
Where a man with missing fingers
Plays a strange guitar
And the German dwarf
Dances with the butcher's son
And a little rain never hurt noone
And a little rain never hurt noone
They're dancing on the roof
And the ceiling's coming down
I sleep with my shovel and my leather gloves
A little trouble makes it worth the going
And a little rain never hurt noone
The world is round
And so I'll go around
You must risk something that matters
My hands are strong
I'll take any man here
If it's worth the going
It's worth the ride
She was fifteen years old
And never seen the ocean
She climbed into a van
With a vagabond
And the last thing she said
was "I love you mom"
And a little rain
Never hurt noone
And a little rain
Never hurt noone
Nick Spence
Bone Machine paints such a bizarre picture in my head, but I think this song is my favorite on the album because it ties that whole image together for me. The rest of the album is this gritty, violent, rusty, mud-stained experience that makes you think of this miserable place that's trapped in the past. A place where depression and misery are just how things go. But this song cuts to the core of it. As long as there are people misery will have to share space with human qualities. Singing, dancing, love, and adventure. So long as there are people these things will never go away. Even if its a bunch of misfits outside an old bar waiting for the rain to die down.
Thomas Merchel
Frankly, there is nothing like Tom in this world.
caterina
Tomorrow I'll fail my exam, but I don't even care. Tonight is one of those melancholic nights, where you just think, remember and feel too much.
The wind is blowing hard outside and the stars hide behind the dark clouds.
Accepting this kinda of reality is freaking me out, but, thanks to music like this, we survive and arise in pain.
Thank you, Tom.
Mikael DK
Beautiful comment
George Jackson
drop out of school
P Astry
I always used to listen to this album when it stormed
Daniel Llanes
@Anthony DiPasquale I think he did
Anthony DiPasquale
Did you fail it
Brian De Schepper
Jordan Peterson citou essa música na regra 4 de além da ordem e simplesmente estou amando ela!!
Nikhil Chouhan
I searched for this song just now while reading the same book. Tho I had listened to few of his songs including my fav Martha, I did not imagine Jordan Peterson mentioning it. Life does come in full circle!