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."
All The Time
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I heard horses came to ride me away
I want shade and a good place to shoot from
If it's a clock I'd be the end of the day
You know you're not the boss of me
You can lift your skirt, you can shake your hair
But I got all the time in the world
You're the same dead cat, clawing its way back grinning
You know, you got a bad reputation and your nine lives way down the line
I got a jacket to put on and a hat to wear
I wouldn't waste a gallon on you out there
And I got all the time in the world
A bridge is only there for you to jump off of
And there ain't no rain clouds that are blue
I do declare my independence baby
I shot off all my fireworks for you
The river's burning and the trees are on fire
There's lots of good rubber left on these tires
And I've got all the time in the world
Baby, you're the light that won't change, that I got stuck at
You're the fan that won't work at the motel
They were all out of red so I got me a blue one
Baby, you're always using mine, why don't you get you one
I know you won't go very far, you left your blonde wig in the car
And I got all the time in the world
"All The Time" by Tom Waits is a song that explores the struggles of a dysfunctional relationship. The lyrics begin by comparing the relationship to a tree that bears no fruit. The singer is in a position where they feel trapped and unable to escape the situation, with nowhere to find relief. They talk about the desire to find some shade and a good place to shoot from. The imagery of wanting a good place to shoot from can be interpreted as wanting to gain some vantage point or perspective on the situation. The lyrics then go on to say that if it's a clock, they are the end of the day, highlighting that the end is near and that something will need to change.
The lyrics then depict the partner as a ditch in the road where wheels keep spinning. The partner is compared to a dead cat, clawing its way back grinning. This highlights the power struggle between the two individuals and how the partner is always coming back even when they are pushed away. The lyrics also reference the partner's bad reputation and the fact that they are on their nine lives, implying that the singer is almost about to give up on the relationship.
The singer then declares their independence and talks about shooting off all their fireworks for the partner. However, the bridge is only there for them to jump off of, highlighting that the future is bleak. The river's burning, the trees are on fire and the tires have lots of good rubber left, highlighting that there is still potential to get away from the situation. The song ends with the acknowledgement that the partner won't go very far and that the singer has all the time in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
You're the tree that you can't eat the fruit from
You are something that you cannot enjoy the benefits of
I heard horses came to ride me away
I imagined danger approaching to take me away
I want shade and a good place to shoot from
I desire a safe place to observe and act from
If it's a clock I'd be the end of the day
If I were part of a clock, I would be the end of it
You know you're not the boss of me
You do not have control over me
You can lift your skirt, you can shake your hair
You can try to seduce me, but it won't work
But I got all the time in the world
I have the luxury of time
You're the ditch in the road where wheels keep spinning
You are an obstacle that prevents progress
You're the same dead cat, clawing its way back grinning
You are something that refuses to die or go away
You know, you got a bad reputation and your nine lives way down the line
You have a negative reputation that precedes you and will affect future outcomes
I got a jacket to put on and a hat to wear
I have the proper attire for any occasion
I wouldn't waste a gallon on you out there
I would not expend any effort or resources on you
And I got all the time in the world
I have the luxury of time
A bridge is only there for you to jump off of
A bridge is only meant for self-destructive purposes
And there ain't no rain clouds that are blue
There is no hope or optimism in the situation
I do declare my independence baby
I am asserting my freedom and autonomy
I shot off all my fireworks for you
I put in effort to impress you, but it was not reciprocated
The river's burning and the trees are on fire
The situation is chaotic and out of control
There's lots of good rubber left on these tires
I am capable of going the distance
And I've got all the time in the world
I have the luxury of time
Baby, you're the light that won't change, that I got stuck at
You are a constant source of frustration in my life
You're the fan that won't work at the motel
You are an inconvenience or a nuisance
They were all out of red so I got me a blue one
I had to settle for something less desirable
Baby, you're always using mine, why don't you get you one
You are always using my things without providing for yourself
I know you won't go very far, you left your blonde wig in the car
You are not capable of succeeding or making it on your own
And I got all the time in the world
I have the luxury of time
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, JALMA MUSIC
Written by: Thomas Alan Waits, Kathleen Brennan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@clumsydad7158
nothin' like a good Tom funk, blues, soulful rockin' groove,,, biotches,,,, yeazzz
@frankhuerta9341
This is an amazing break-up song. Mean, nasty, and rockin.
@MrChegcelestialslides
She's gonna wig out.
@RockandrollNegro
Correct lyrics:
You're the tree that you can't eat the fruit from
A herd a' horses come to ride me away
I want shade and a good place to shoot from
If I's a clock I'd be the end of the day
You know you're not the boss of me
You can lift your skirt, you can shake your hair
But I got all the time in the world
You're the ditch in the road where the wheels keep spinning
You're the same dead cat, clawing its way back, grinning
You know, you got a bad reputation
and your nine lives waaay down the line
I got a jacket to put on and a hat to wear
I wouldn't waste a gallon on you out there
And I got all the time in the world
A bridge is only there for you to jump off of
And there ain't no rain clouds that are blue
I do declare my independence
baby I shot off all my fireworks for you
The river's burning and the trees are on fire
There's lots of good rubber left on these tires
And I've got all the time in the world
Baby, you're the lights that won't change, that I got stuck at
You're the fan that won't work, at the motel
They were all out of red, so I got me a blue one
Baby, you're always using mine, why don't you get you one
I know you won't go very far,
you left your blonde wig in the car
And I got all the time in the world
@ericsimpson1750
I'm better off without a wife
Never have to ask for the keys
High larious
@PhilPankiewicz
plenty of tread left on these tires...
@ericsimpson1750
Wife helps
@morquan1948
Lyrics
You're the tree that you can't eat the fruit from
I heard horses came to ride me away
I want shade and a good place to shoot from
If it's a clock I'd be the end of the day
You know you're not the boss of me
You can lift your skirt, you can shake your hair
But I got all the time in the world
You're the ditch in the road where wheels keep spinning
You're the same dead cat, clawing its way back grinning
You know, you got a bad reputation and your nine lives way down the line
I got a jacket to put on and a hat to wear
I wouldn't waste a gallon on you out there
And I got all the time in the world
A bridge is only there for you to jump off of
And there ain't no rain clouds that are blue
I do declare my independence baby
I shot off all my fireworks for you
The river's burning and the trees are on fire
There's lots of good rubber left on these tires
And I've got all the time in the world
Baby, you're the light that won't change, that I got stuck at
You're the fan that won't work at the motel
They were all out of red so I got me a blue one
Baby, you're always using mine, why don't you get you one
I know you won't go very far, you left your blonde wig in the car
And I got all the time in the world