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."
Depot Depot
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Depot, depot, what am I doing here?
I ain't coming, I ain't going
My confusion is showing
Outside the midnight wind is blowing Sixth Avenue
I'm gonna paint myself blue
At the depot
I can't claim title to a single memory
He offered me a key
'Cause opportunity don't knock
He has no tongue and she cannot talk
You're gonna shuffle when you walk
At the depot
This peeping-Tom needs a peephole
And an uptempo song
To move me along
When I find this depot baby
I'm on a roll just like a pool ball baby
I'm gonna be there at the roll call maybe
At the depot
Outside the midnight wind is blowing Sixth Avenue
Oh, tell me what a poor boy to do
At the depot
I'm on a roll just like a pool ball baby
I'm gonna be there at the roll call maybe
At the depot
The depot
The lyrics of Tom Waits's song "Depot Depot" convey a sense of displacement and aimlessness. The repeated question, "Depot, depot, what am I doing here?" highlights the singer's confusion and lack of direction, as if he has ended up at the depot by accident or without purpose. The refrain also emphasizes the repetition and monotony of the singer's existence, as if he is stuck in an endless cycle of uncertainty.
The image of the singer painting himself blue further reinforces his sense of isolation and otherness, as if he does not belong in his current surroundings. The line "I can't claim title to a single memory" suggests a sense of detachment from the past and a lack of personal history, which further contributes to the singer's disorientation.
The references to a "peeping-Tom" and an "uptempo song" suggest a desire for stimulation and excitement in an otherwise mundane and unremarkable existence. The idea of being "on a roll" and "at the roll call" imply a sense of movement and progress, even if the singer's ultimate destination is unclear.
Overall, "Depot Depot" is a haunting and evocative song that captures the ennui and uncertainty of modern life, and the search for meaning and purpose in a world that often seems indifferent to our struggles.
Line by Line Meaning
Depot, depot, what am I doing here?
I feel lost and confused in this place, and I'm questioning why I am here.
I ain't coming, I ain't going, My confusion is showing
I am stuck in a state of indecision and my uncertainty is apparent.
Outside the midnight wind is blowing Sixth Avenue, I'm gonna paint myself blue, At the depot
It is nighttime and the wind is blowing, and the singer feels the need to express themselves in a drastic way to attract attention at this transportation hub.
I watch the taxis pull up and idle, I can't claim title to a single memory
The artist observes the arrival of taxis, but they cannot recall any significant memories associated with this place.
He offered me a key, 'Cause opportunity don't knock, He has no tongue and she cannot talk, You're gonna shuffle when you walk, At the depot
Someone offered a key, but the artist notes that opportunity does not come knocking, and that they are surrounded by people who are unable or unwilling to communicate effectively.
This peeping-Tom needs a peephole, And an uptempo song, To move me along
The singer feels like they are spying on others and would like something to motivate them to keep moving.
When I find this depot baby, I'm on a roll just like a pool ball baby, I'm gonna be there at the roll call maybe, At the depot
If the singer can figure out their purpose for being at this depot, they will gain momentum and be present when they are called upon.
Oh, tell me what a poor boy to do, At the depot
The artist is in a difficult situation and is looking for guidance or a solution to their current predicament.
I'm on a roll just like a pool ball baby, I'm gonna be there at the roll call maybe, At the depot, The depot
The artist is determined to gain momentum and find their place, even if it means staying at this transportation hub.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, JALMA MUSIC
Written by: TOM WAITS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sara Vos
"Depot, Depot"
Depot, depot, what am I doing here?
Depot, depot, what am I doing here?
I ain't coming, I ain't going
My confusion is showing
Outside the midnight wind is blowing Sixth Avenue
I'm gonna paint myself blue
At the depot
I watch the taxis pull up and idle
I can't claim title to a single memory
He offered me a key
'Cause opportunity don't knock
He has no tongue and she cannot talk
You're gonna shuffle when you walk
At the depot
This peeping-Tom needs a peephole
And an uptempo song
To move me along
When I find this depot baby
I'm on a roll just like a pool ball baby
I'm gonna be there at the roll call maybe
At the depot
Outside the midnight wind is blowing Sixth Avenue
Oh, tell me what a poor boy to do
At the depot
I'm on a roll just like a pool ball baby
I'm gonna be there at the roll call maybe
At the depot
The depot
Ivaylo Dragotinov
Its been more than 13 years that I found mister Waits. Sense then I woke up couple of times at the depot, an on my way to home I sang in the night streets. Couple of times I was on the wrong side of the road, Friday found me fumblin with the blues, and I had only 29 dollars ( never had an alligator purse though). It’s a good thing to live, but it is not easy. Complete artists like Tom makes you understand that you are not alone
Velcro
So smooth. This entire album is a total peach
Sara Vos
"Depot, Depot"
Depot, depot, what am I doing here?
Depot, depot, what am I doing here?
I ain't coming, I ain't going
My confusion is showing
Outside the midnight wind is blowing Sixth Avenue
I'm gonna paint myself blue
At the depot
I watch the taxis pull up and idle
I can't claim title to a single memory
He offered me a key
'Cause opportunity don't knock
He has no tongue and she cannot talk
You're gonna shuffle when you walk
At the depot
This peeping-Tom needs a peephole
And an uptempo song
To move me along
When I find this depot baby
I'm on a roll just like a pool ball baby
I'm gonna be there at the roll call maybe
At the depot
Outside the midnight wind is blowing Sixth Avenue
Oh, tell me what a poor boy to do
At the depot
I'm on a roll just like a pool ball baby
I'm gonna be there at the roll call maybe
At the depot
The depot
Josh Brookfield
I wish Tom carried on singing with more of a gentle voice like this, love his music but his immensely growling voice ruins it sometimes, believe people put up with it more than they actually like it because they don't want to say a bad word against him
V.M Varga
I really love his growling voice, more than this one. To each his own. I loved this type of bluesy smooth jazz more than his experimental music though
Newsung Sails
That’s what I thought too, until I payed close attention to his song “Anywhere I Lay My Head”. He makes the roughness into a rich fertile lome from which a a sublime garden grows.
Cathie Fredrickson
Oh Yah!!! Love it!!!
Pei Mei
Love it..i guess im a drunk bum to like this.
Lautaro Gatti
At the Depooo, depo, depo, depoooouu!
Ronald Reece
So young here.