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."
Get Lost
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I feel like I'm on a chain
I got my ride all souped up
We're never coming back again
Time it don't mean nothing
Money means even less
Don't bring nothin' baby
You're better then all the rest
I wanna go get lost
I wanna go get, I wanna go get lost
When you wear that real tight sweater
You know I can't resist
It's been that way forever baby
Ever since we kissed
Roll down all the windows
Turn up Wolfman Jack
Please, please love me tender
Ain't nothin' wrong with that
Let's go get lost yeah
Let's go get lost yeah
Let's go get lost
I wanna go get lost yeah
Whatever that they told you about me
Well all of it's true
You're never gonna be with out me baby
I'm never gonna be without you
Top it off, fill it with high test
Think about it what cha gonna tell your boss?
Think about it what cha gonna tell your boss?
Think about it what cha gonna tell your boss?
Think about it what cha gonna tell your boss?
And get lost
I just wanna get, I just wanna get lost
I wanna get lost
I just wanna get
I just wanna get
I just wanna get
I want to get
I just wanna get
I just wanna get lost
All night long
All night long
All night long
All night long
I wanna get lost
Just wanna get lost
I wanna get lost
I wanna get lost
The song "Get Lost" by Tom Waits is a rollicking, bluesy tune that combines themes of rebellion and escape with a fast driving beat and catchy lyrics. At its core, the song is about wanting to break free from the constraints of everyday life and experience the exhilarating feeling of getting lost on the open road. The opening lines set the tone for the rest of the song, as Waits sings about feeling cooped up and trapped, but eager to break free. He yearns for the sense of freedom that comes with being behind the wheel of his souped-up ride, never looking back.
The lyrics describe the character's desire for adventure and excitement, and the longing to escape from the mundane realities of life. The references to Wolfman Jack and Elvis Presley add to the sense of nostalgia and yearning for a bygone era of rock and roll and the open road. The chorus, "I wanna go get lost, I wanna go get lost," is both a declaration of intent and a call to action for anyone who feels restless and in need of a change.
Overall, "Get Lost" is a powerful ode to the human spirit of adventure and the desire to break free from the constraints of everyday life. It's a song that celebrates the thrill of the open road, the rush of the wind in your hair, and the feeling of pure freedom that comes with being lost in the moment.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't want to feel all cooped up
I don't want to feel confined or restricted
I feel like I'm on a chain
I feel like I'm tied down and unable to move freely
I got my ride all souped up
I've customized my vehicle to make it more powerful or impressive
We're never coming back again
We're leaving and we won't be returning
Time it don't mean nothing
Time isn't important
Money means even less
Money isn't important
Don't bring nothin' baby
Don't bring anything with you
You're better then all the rest
You're better than anyone else
I wanna go get lost
I want to go on an adventure without a specific destination in mind
When you wear that real tight sweater
When you wear that very snug shirt
You know I can't resist
You know I can't say no
It's been that way forever baby
I've always felt this way
Ever since we kissed
From the moment we kissed
Roll down all the windows
Open all the car windows
Turn up Wolfman Jack
Increase the volume of the radio and listen to Wolfman Jack, a famous radio DJ
Please, please love me tender
Please love me gently and affectionately
Ain't nothin' wrong with that
There's nothing bad about that
Let's go get lost yeah
Let's go on an adventure without a specific destination in mind
Whatever that they told you about me
Whatever they said about me
Well all of it's true
It's all true
You're never gonna be with out me baby
You'll always be with me
I'm never gonna be without you
I'll never be without you
Top it off, fill it with high test
Fill the gas tank with high-octane fuel
Think about it what cha gonna tell your boss?
Consider what you're going to say to your boss
And get lost
And go on an adventure without a specific destination in mind
All night long
Throughout the entire night
I just wanna get
I just want to go on an adventure without a specific destination in mind
I want to get
I want to go on an adventure without a specific destination in mind
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: KATHLEEN BRENNAN, THOMAS ALAN WAITS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Madeline Wise
This man is a true living legend and genius. Fell in love with his talent, his wit, his humanity and his music 35 years ago and my love and admiration have only grown.
mirosław Tolak
great album !
Sneeky Neeky
Filthy good song off a disgustingly great album
wesley rodgers
❤
Elijah gomez
👄💅
nirgun john
as always I wanna meet face to face the now "5" thumbs down .... just leave and disappear in the endless night
Clumsy Dad
i wanna get lost baby