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."
Heartattack and Vine
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Wire, gamblers reevaluate along the dotted line, you'll never recognize
Yourself on heartattack and vine.
Doctor lawyer beggar man thief, Philly Joe remarkable looks on in disbelief,
If you want a taste of madness, you'll have to wait in line, you'll probably
See someone you know on heartattack and vine.
No devil, there's just god when he's drunk, well this stuff will probably kill
You, let's do another line, what you say you meet me down on heartattack and
Vine.
See that little jersey girl in the see-through top, with the peddle pushers
Sucking on a soda pop, well I bet she's still a virgin but it's only twenty-
Five 'til nine, you can see a million of 'em on heartattack and vine.
Better off in iowa against your scrambled eggs, than crawling down cahuenga
On a broken pair of legs, you'll find your ignorance is blissful every goddamn
Time, your're waitin' for the RTD on heartattack and vine.
"Heartattack and Vine" is a gritty and surreal song that paints a picture of a seedy and dangerous district where people from all walks of life come to indulge in their vices. The opening line "liar liar with your pants on fire" sets the tone for the song, suggesting that the people who inhabit this place are not to be trusted. The image of "white spades hangin' on the telephone wire" is a reference to the drug dealers who are always on the lookout for potential customers. The line "gamblers reevaluate along the dotted line" suggests that people who come here are taking risks with their lives and reputations.
The chorus "you'll never recognize yourself on heartattack and vine" hints at the transformative nature of the place, where people come to indulge in their darkest desires and lose themselves in the process. The verses further describe the types of people that frequent the district, from the doctor, lawyer, beggar, and thief to the drug addicts and prostitutes. The line "there ain't no devil, there's just god when he's drunk" is a metaphor for the dangers of excess and hedonism.
The song's overall message is a warning against the dangers of indulgence and vice. The characters depicted in the song are lost souls who have given up control of their lives and are now at the mercy of their addictions. The title "Heartattack and Vine" suggests the consequences of this lifestyle and the toll it takes on the body and soul.
Line by Line Meaning
Liar liar with your pants on fire, white spades hangin' on the telephone
You're a terrible liar and everyone knows it. You try to exude confidence by wearing your lucky jewelry, but everyone can tell they're just a facade.
Wire, gamblers reevaluate along the dotted line, you'll never recognize Yourself on heartattack and vine.
Gamblers are always looking for the next big score and they're willing to take risks to make it. But if you keep going down this path, you'll lose sight of who you are on this dangerous street.
Doctor lawyer beggar man thief, Philly Joe remarkable looks on in disbelief, If you want a taste of madness, you'll have to wait in line, you'll probably See someone you know on heartattack and vine.
No matter your status, everyone's problems are magnified on this chaotic street. Even those who have seen it all, like Philly Joe, are shocked by what they see here. If you want a taste of the insanity, you'll have to join the masses of people waiting in line. You're likely to run into someone you know in this small world.
Boney's high on china white, shorty found a punk, don't you know there ain't No devil, there's just god when he's drunk, well this stuff will probably kill You, let's do another line, what you say you meet me down on heartattack and Vine.
Drug addicts are rampant on this street, and they will do anything to get their fix. But there's no one to blame for their actions except themselves. They turn to religion only when they're intoxicated. The drugs they take are most likely going to lead to their demise, yet they still crave another high. Let's meet up on Heartattack and Vine for another hit.
See that little jersey girl in the see-through top, with the peddle pushers Sucking on a soda pop, well I bet she's still a virgin but it's only twenty- Five 'til nine, you can see a million of 'em on heartattack and vine.
There are many innocent-looking girls wandering the street, like the girl in the see-through top. But they can't escape the dangers that lurk in the shadows even if they're still young and virtuous. Heartattack and Vine is full of girls just like her.
Better off in iowa against your scrambled eggs, than crawling down cahuenga On a broken pair of legs, you'll find your ignorance is blissful every goddamn Time, your're waitin' for the RTD on heartattack and vine.
You're better off staying in Iowa and enjoying a simple life than moving to Heartattack and Vine, where you'll likely end up injured and unable to escape. It's better to remain ignorant of the dangers and horrors that await you on this street. Even while waiting for the bus, the fear and anxiety of Heartattack and Vine are still palpable.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, JALMA MUSIC
Written by: THOMAS ALAN WAITS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@thefitchemist2123
“Don’t you know there ain’t no devil that’s just God when he’s drunk.”
@scottkay6495
Ain't that the truth
@justaman9564
@UCK5VPIVzFVWoxYDW4WSf58w pro tip, get lost you obvious scammer
@lukatomic9814
@@scottkay6495 1116d7g2f9b
@biancachristine7860
So true
@bookadaycontent
The line that made me a Tom Waits fan.
@johncurtis920
My gawd that bass is makin' love to the beat ain't it? Somebody throw some water on 'em!
@scottkay6495
That's an awesome observation! Love it
@wesmccreary8366
Tom is the man, a true icon.
@McNabbulous
When I returned to Pennsylvania, I reconnected with my old church. I found out that the new pastor is a Tom Waits fan, and incorporates his songs when he talks about sin.
He is the best reverend I ever had.