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 World Is Green
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you became my wife
I risked it all against the sea
To have a better life
Marie you are the wild blue sky
Men do foolish things
You turn kings into beggars
Pretend that you owe me nothing
And all the world is green
We can bring back the old days again
When all the world is green
The face forgives the mirror
The worm forgives the plow
The questions begs the answer
Can you forgive me somehow?
Maybe when our story's over
We'll go where it's always spring
The band is playing our song again
All the world is green
Pretend that you owe me nothing
And all the world is green
Can we bring back the old days again
When all the world is green
Moon is yellow silver
Oh, the things that summer brings
It's a love you'd kill for
And all the world is green
He's balancing a diamond
On a blade of grass
The dew will settle on our graves
When all the world is green
Pretend that you owe me nothing
And all the world is green
We can bring back the old days again
When all the world is green
He's balancing a diamond
On a blade of grass
The dew will settle on our graves
When all the world is green
Tom Waits's "All The World is Green" is a song that is highly interpretive and draws upon heavily imagery to convey its messages. The first two lines, "I fell into the ocean, and you became my wife," speak to the singer's willingness to throw himself headlong into the unknown, risking everything for the hope of a better life, and in the process, finding a sense of purpose and meaning through his relationship with his partner. This idea is reinforced in the third and fourth lines, "I risked it all against the sea, to have a better life," where the singer conveys a sense of desperation and urgency that he feels in his pursuit of a more fulfilling existence.
The figure of Marie is a dominant feature in the lyrics, and is often used as a metaphor for the transformative power of love. As the "wild blue sky," she possesses an otherworldly quality that defies categorization, and is capable of turning the most mundane and ordinary things into something extraordinary. This is articulated in the lines, "You turn kings into beggars, beggars into kings," where the singer highlights the ways in which Marie empowers and uplifts those around her.
The chorus of the song, "Pretend that you owe me nothing, and all the world is green," reinforces the idea of love as a transformative and redemptive force. By releasing oneself from the constraints of obligation and expectation, the world becomes a place where anything is possible, and every dream can be realized. The song ends by articulating a sense of optimism and hope, with the singer imagining a future where he and his partner are reunited in a place that is always spring-like and where the band is always playing their song.
Line by Line Meaning
I fell into the ocean
I risked everything I had to move forward in life, and by doing so, I fell into the dark depths of despair.
And you became my wife
And it is during this period of me being at my lowest that you came into my life and gave me hope again.
I risked it all against the sea
Through this metaphor, I'm expressing how I dared to gamble every bit of my being to chase after what I wanted, without the assurance of getting it.
To have a better life
To achieve my dreams and aspirations, and live a fulfilling life.
Marie you are the wild blue sky
Marie, you are the symbol of freedom, endless possibilities and the abundance of life itself.
Men do foolish things
People, especially men, take irrational actions in order to fulfill their unmet desires.
You turn kings into beggars
Marie, you have the power to change people's fortunes, no matter what position they hold in society.
Beggars into kings
You can raise people from their struggles and provide them with opportunities to become leaders.
Pretend that you owe me nothing
Forget everything that I've done for you, and let us go back to the way things were before, when our love was pure and genuine.
And all the world is green
Let us move forward in life with positivity, regardless of all the difficulties that lie ahead.
We can bring back the old days again
Together, we can create a different reality and regain the same happiness that we had before.
The face forgives the mirror
Forgiveness is a two-way street - both parties must be willing to let go of the past in order to move forward.
The worm forgives the plow
Despite the harm brought upon them, people have an inherent capacity for forgiveness.
The questions begs the answer
The question that arises from an event already holds the answer within itself, waiting for us to discover it.
Can you forgive me somehow?
I recognize the pain that I've inflicted, and I am humbly requesting your forgiveness.
Maybe when our story's over
Perhaps at the end of our journey and trials, we will be free from burdens and struggles.
We'll go where it's always spring
We will live in a world filled with life, lushness, and happiness.
The band is playing our song again
Our love story is being retold, and it is as poignant and beautiful as ever.
Moon is yellow silver
The moonlight illuminates the night sky with a silver light, creating a soothing and serene atmosphere.
Oh, the things that summer brings
Summer brings about numerous wonderful things, including love, warmth, and positivity.
It's a love you'd kill for
Our love is all-encompassing, and it is something that one would do whatever it takes to hold on to.
And all the world is green
Regardless of life's hardships, let us stay positive and hopeful, for new chances and opportunities will always appear.
He's balancing a diamond
This line showcases the delicate balance between life's precious moments and the fragility of such experiences.
On a blade of grass
The diamond is being supported by something as fragile as a blade of grass, representing the precariousness of life's experiences.
The dew will settle on our graves
Our time on this earth is limited, but despite this, we will be remembered for the impact that we've left behind.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, JALMA MUSIC
Written by: Kathleen Brennan, Thomas Alan Waits
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@reshadrzayev5744
I fell into the ocean
And you became my wife
I risked it all against the sea
To have a better life
Marie you are the wild blue sky
Men do foolish things
You turn kings into beggars
Beggars into kings
Pretend that you owe me nothing
And all the world is green
We can bring back the old days again
When all the world is green
The face forgives the mirror
The worm forgives the plow
The questions begs the answer
Can you forgive me somehow?
Maybe when our story's over
We'll go where it's always spring
The band is playing our song again
All the world is green
Pretend that you owe me nothing
And all the world is green
Can we bring back the old days again
When all the world is green
Moon is yellow silver
Oh, the things that summer brings
It's a love…
@webertheresiamaria7537
All the world is green.
Maybe now our story is over.
Marie you're the wild we can bring back.
We'll go where there is always spring.
Can you forgive me somehow?
Maybe now our story is over.
Can we bring back old days?
He fell into the ocean when.
She became…...
@brysonwilliams9385
My father commit suicide in 2020. He didn't leave a note or a any reason to why he did it. He never came off as a sad man. However he was a lifelong tom waits fan. I didn't care for hin growing up, but after my dad passed I feel like my dad let Tom waits talk about his pain for him. Rest easy dad you're forever missed
@jarquinaranaestefanicaroli9956
Sorry to hear that
Don't know if you believe, but i hope God help you trough the healing process.
Sincerelly
Greetings from México
@DNa650
fuck that's tough to read about while listening to this gem for the first time. I'm sorry for your loss my friend, I'm sure pops is enjoying Toms from HEaven
@sharir.878
Monkies always understand ironies better than humans.
Even the most delicate, tragic ironies.
That's what many people relate to with Tom and his monkey genius
@robertlange1772
My sympathy for the loss of your father. I’ve been listening to Tom Waits since the beginning of his career, and his music has helped me tremendously with pain, depression, and even alcoholism. His music has also brought me great amounts of joy.
@drewcherry2794
Everyone has caught me off guard by the act but I've never understood it. My best friend did j
It a year ago. He was 65. My dad was 72 when he died shortly beforehand. I don't understand it and a "blessing" may not matter but maybe if I put my mind to thinking about you and healing yours something will happen
@patriciaherlevi6217
One of the most iconic musicians and prolific songwriters of our time. I never grow tired of Tom Waits.
@Stinkballs69
I have been addicted to this song since hearing it a few years ago. I'm pretty sure I have played this at least once a week for roughly 3 years now, and it somehow gets better with each listen. Praise the gods for Tom Waits.
@FreddieKayBeats
This is one of my depression feeling songs idk why but I feel happier and sad at the same time when I listen to it , hope everyone is doing lovely
@dazlao2155
Melancholy