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."
Fumblin
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And it's hard to win when you always lose
Because the nightspots spend your spirit
Beat your head against the wall
Two dead ends and you've still got to choose
You know the bartenders
They all know my name
And I'm a pool-shooting-shimmy-shyster shaking my head
When I should be living clean instead
You know the ladies I've been seeing off and on
Well they spend your love and then they're gone
You can't be lovin' someone who is savage and cruel
Take your love and then they leave on out of town
No they do
Well now fallin' in love is such a breeze
But its standin' up that's so hard for me
I want to squeeze you but I'm scared to death I'd break your back
You know your perfume
Well it won't let me be
You know the bartenders all know my name
And they catch me when I'm pulling up lame
And I'm a pool-shooting-shimmy-shyster shaking my head
When I should be living clean instead
Come on baby
Let your love light shine
Gotta bury me inside of your fire
Because your eyes are 'nough to blind me
You're like a-looking at the sun
You gotta whisper tell me I'm the one
Come on and whisper tell me I'm the one
Gotta whisper tell me I'm the one
Come on and whisper tell me I'm the one
The lyrics of Tom Waits's song "Fumblin" describes a character that is disenchanted with his life and feels trapped in his patterns of behavior. The song starts off by mourning the pains of life that never let up, referring to the blues in the lyrics. The singer struggles to move forward due to the limits imposed on him by his habits and the dead ends he seems to come across. He speaks of nightspots, describing them as being a place where the spirit is drained from you, only leaving you to beat your head against the wall. The fact that he is in such a place at this moment implies that this cycle is never-ending and without any clear exit.
The character has a drinking problem as he is a regular at the local bars where the bartenders know his name and catch him when he is pulling up lame. He refers to himself as a pool-shooting-shimmy-shyster, which implies that he is a shady character. He knows that he should be living a clean life instead of carrying on with his poor habits. The chorus repeats the line, "You know the bartenders, they all know my name, and they catch me when I'm pulling up lame," driving home the repetition of his stagnation.
The song also talks about the struggle of falling in love, and the difficulties that the character encounters when trying to maintain a healthy relationship. He speaks of women who are savage and cruel, and who take love before leaving town. He expresses fear of breaking his partner's back if he were to hug or squeeze them, a possible metaphor for how the chaos of life may hurt those close to him. The character is looking for someone to commit to and asks the woman he is interested in to let her love light shine and to bury him inside of her fire.
Overall, the song captures the feelings of a man who is trapped in his patterns of behavior, ever searching for a way out but unable to find one.
Line by Line Meaning
Friday left me fumblin' with the blues
Friday left me feeling down and defeated, suffused with a sense of melancholy that I can't shake.
And it's hard to win when you always lose
It's difficult to feel optimistic and achieve success when things seem to constantly go wrong for you.
Because the nightspots spend your spirit
The partying and nightlife scene can drain your energy and leave you feeling depleted.
Beat your head against the wall
It can feel like banging your head against a wall, trying to achieve something that seems impossible or out of reach.
Two dead ends and you've still got to choose
Feeling stuck between two options, neither of which seem to have a positive outcome, can be a frustrating and hopeless experience.
You know the bartenders
The bartenders at the local bars and clubs are familiar with me.
They all know my name
I'm a regular at these places, and the bartenders recognize and greet me by name.
And they catch me when I'm pulling up lame
The bartenders are perceptive about my mood and behavior, and they intervene when I seem to be struggling or having a hard time.
And I'm a pool-shooting-shimmy-shyster shaking my head
I'm a bit of a scoundrel and a gambler, shaking my head in frustration when my attempts to win at pool fall short.
When I should be living clean instead
Instead of indulging in vices like drinking and gambling, I should be leading a healthier and more virtuous life.
You know the ladies I've been seeing off and on
I've been involved with various women on a casual basis, without any real commitment or stability in my relationships.
Well they spend your love and then they're gone
These women only stick around long enough to use up my affection and attention, and then they quickly move on to someone else.
You can't be lovin' someone who is savage and cruel
It's impossible to truly love someone who is unkind, selfish, and heartless in their actions and behavior.
Take your love and then they leave on out of town
These women take my love and then disappear, never to be seen or heard from again.
No they do
This pattern of behavior is predictable and consistent, with no real hope of change.
Well now fallin' in love is such a breeze
It's easy to get swept up in the initial attraction and excitement of a new romance.
But its standin' up that's so hard for me
However, committing to a long-term relationship and weathering the ups and downs of daily life together can be challenging and overwhelming for me.
I want to squeeze you but I'm scared to death I'd break your back
I feel a strong desire to show physical affection and intimacy to my partner, but I'm afraid of causing harm or hurting them by accident.
You know your perfume
I'm deeply familiar with the scent of my partner's perfume.
Well it won't let me be
The fragrance of my partner's perfume lingers in my senses and thoughts, making it difficult to forget or ignore them.
Come on baby
I'm addressing my partner affectionately and intimately.
Let your love light shine
I want my partner to openly express and share their feelings of love and affection with me, without reservation or hesitation.
Gotta bury me inside of your fire
I want to be engulfed and consumed by my partner's passion and intensity, to feel completely enveloped and warm in their embrace.
Because your eyes are 'nough to blind me
My partner's gaze and attention have the power to overwhelm and disorient me completely, making it difficult to focus or think clearly.
You're like a-looking at the sun
My partner is as radiant and bright as the sun, and their beauty is too dazzling and intense to behold directly.
You gotta whisper tell me I'm the one
I need my partner to affirm and reassure me of their love and commitment, in a quiet and intimate moment of tenderness.
Come on and whisper tell me I'm the one
I'm urging my partner to express their devotion and faithfulness to me, in a way that is soft and sweet.
Gotta whisper tell me I'm the one
I need the affirmation of my partner's love to feel secure and confident in our relationship.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, JALMA MUSIC
Written by: TOM WAITS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jake Boi
Friday left me fumbling with the blues
And it's hard to win when you always lose
Because the nightspots spend your spirit
Beat your head against the wall
Two dead ends and you've still got to choose
You know the bartenders they all know my name
And they catch me when I'm pulling up lame
And I'm a pool-shooting-shimmy-shyster shaking my head
When I should be living clean instead
You know the ladies I've been seeing off and on
Well they spend your love and then they're gone
You can't be lovin' someone who is savage and cruel
Take your love and then they leave on out of town, no they do
Well now falling in love is such a breeze
But its standing up that's so hard for me
I wanna squeeze you but I'm scared to death I'd break your back
You know your perfume well it won't let me be
And you know the bartenders all know my name
And they catch me when I'm pulling up lame
And I'm a pool-shooting-shimmy-shyster shaking my head
When I should be living clean instead
Well, come on baby let your love light shine
Gotta bury me inside of your fire
Because your eyes are enough to blind me
You're like a-looking at the sun
You gotta whisper tell me I'm the one
Come on and whisper tell me I'm the one
Gotta whisper tell me I'm the one
Come on and whisper tell me I'm the one
Simon Loveland
Love Jim Gordon's drumming. You just can't tell when he changes from brushes in the verse to sticks in the chorus, because it's so smooth and seamless - Genuine professional, old school drummer!!!
Om 1000
This could be my favorite song by Tom waits ❤️😍what can I say the guy is a genius 👍🤦🏻♀️🌹
MUDDY MO
I'm a pool player too. Yeah
Ricardo Ortiz
Love this blues amo este blues
Billy Catain
Absolutely love his sound on "The Heart of Saturday Night". Thanks for the upload.
sandyman1960
its class man
Jake Boi
Friday left me fumbling with the blues
And it's hard to win when you always lose
Because the nightspots spend your spirit
Beat your head against the wall
Two dead ends and you've still got to choose
You know the bartenders they all know my name
And they catch me when I'm pulling up lame
And I'm a pool-shooting-shimmy-shyster shaking my head
When I should be living clean instead
You know the ladies I've been seeing off and on
Well they spend your love and then they're gone
You can't be lovin' someone who is savage and cruel
Take your love and then they leave on out of town, no they do
Well now falling in love is such a breeze
But its standing up that's so hard for me
I wanna squeeze you but I'm scared to death I'd break your back
You know your perfume well it won't let me be
And you know the bartenders all know my name
And they catch me when I'm pulling up lame
And I'm a pool-shooting-shimmy-shyster shaking my head
When I should be living clean instead
Well, come on baby let your love light shine
Gotta bury me inside of your fire
Because your eyes are enough to blind me
You're like a-looking at the sun
You gotta whisper tell me I'm the one
Come on and whisper tell me I'm the one
Gotta whisper tell me I'm the one
Come on and whisper tell me I'm the one
greatvanzini
Pure genius as usual.
Jason Carpp
Awesome song! Awesome music.
Raul Souza
this dude simply has the suppreme drunk undead in the alleyway at midnight vibes