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."
Down Down Down
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the devil called him by name
He went down, down, down
Hangin' onto the back of a train
He went down, down, down
This boy went solid down
Always chewed tobacco, and the bathtub gin
He went down, down, down
This boy went solid down
He went down
Well, he went down, down, down
And the devil jumped on his head
He went down, down, down
Stayin' in a broken-down shed
He went down, down, down
Sleepin' in the devil's bed
He went down, down, down
Never listened to the words I said
He went down, down, down, down
Well, he went down
Well, he went down, down, down
And the devil said "where you been?"
He went down, down, down
He went screamin' down around the bend
Down, down, down
This boy went solid down
He was always cheatin' and he always told lies
He was always cheatin' and he always told lies
Down, down, down
This boy went solid down
He went down
These lyrics tell a story of a man who is spiraling down into a world of darkness and temptation. He is seemingly on the run or trying to escape something, and the devil seems to be following him. The repetition of the phrase "down, down, down" serves to emphasize the descent into this dark place. The man in the song is referred to as "this boy," which suggests someone who is still naive and perhaps unaware of the consequences of his actions.
The lyrics also mention some vices that the man indulges in, such as chewing tobacco and drinking bathtub gin, which are associated with lower-class or rough lifestyles. These details help to paint a picture of the man's character and his circumstances. The devil seems to be taunting him and tempting him further, with lines like "the devil jumped on his head" and "sleeping in the devil's bed."
Overall, the song paints a bleak picture of a man who is losing control of his life and succumbing to his worst impulses. The repetition of the phrase "he went down" serves as a haunting reminder of this descent.
Line by Line Meaning
He went down, down, down
The singer descended into a dark place or situation and kept going further down.
And the devil called him by name
The devil was aware of the singer and acknowledged him by calling out his identity.
Hangin' onto the back of a train
The singer was holding on to something that was moving fast and dangerous, possibly to escape from something or someone.
This boy went solid down
The artist's descent was a complete and irreversible one, leading to a rock-bottom.
Always chewed tobacco, and the bathtub gin
The artist had a habit of using cheap drugs and alcohol to cope with his problems.
And the devil jumped on his head
The devil intercepted or interfered with the singer's state of mind and actions.
Stayin' in a broken-down shed
The singer had degraded his living conditions and resided in disgusting or unsafe environments.
Sleepin' in the devil's bed
The artist had allied with or submitted to evil forces, with the consequences being unfavorable.
Never listened to the words I said
The artist ignored advice or warnings from others, either out of arrogance or denial.
And the devil said "where you been?"
The devil took notice of the artist's absence or change, as he was the one to lure him to the underworld.
He went screamin' down around the bend
The singer's fall was a chaotic and terrifying descent, spiraling out of control.
He was always cheatin' and he always told lies
The artist was dishonest and deceitful, which contributed to his downfall.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, JALMA MUSIC
Written by: THOMAS ALAN WAITS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Adamas Rain
Absolutely love this song. 1st time i listened to it i was very high on shroooms! It blew the top of my head off! I can't tell you how many times we listened to that album that night. Good times ;) Thank you Tom.
Adamas Rain
I want this played at my funeral.
Mr. Tomasio Rubinshtein
Imagine this playing in a "Game Over" screen, with the picture of your character in hell.
Isetta
That classic Hammond sound
Andrew Babooshkin
It's easy to be genius. Be the Tom.
D. M. Collins
This is like if Jim Morrison had never quit acid to drink more.
Adamas Rain
A-fucking-men
Gabez Polanski
That WILDBOYZ sketch it's pure gold
TradesWithBrains
the music sounds like a doors song ; which is amazing
Soft Machine
Always chewed tobacco, and the bathtub gin!
Always chewed tobacco, and the bathtub gin!