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."
I'm Your Late Night Evening Prostitute
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll try my best to entertain you and
Please don't mind me if I get a bit crude
I'm your late night evening prostitute
So drink your martini and stare at the moon
Don't mind me, I'll continue to croon and
Don't mind me if I get a bit lewd
And dance, have a good time
I'll continue to shine
Yes, dance, have a good time
Don't mind me if I slip upon a rhyme
Well, got here at eight and I'll be here 'til two
I'll try my best to entertain you and
Please don't mind me if I get a bit crude
I'm your late night evening prostitute
I'm your late night evening prostitute
Tom Waits's song "I'm Your Late Night Evening Prostitute" is a darkly humorous and subversive examination of the relationship between performer and audience. The lyrics are sung by a lounge singer who describes himself as a "prostitute," offering his services to the listener for the duration of the song. The song is set in a nightclub or bar, and the singer is essentially a stand-in for the establishment itself, providing entertainment for the patrons.
The lyrics are intentionally provocative and suggestive, with the singer encouraging the listener to "drink your martini and stare at the moon" while he entertains them. He acknowledges that he may get "a bit crude" or "a bit lewd" in his performance, but asks the listener not to mind. The lyrics suggest a kind of transactional relationship between the singer and the listener, with the singer providing entertainment in exchange for attention and validation from the audience.
At the same time, however, the lyrics are also a commentary on the power dynamic between performer and audience. The "prostitute" metaphor highlights how performers are often expected to commodify themselves and their talents in order to please their audience, and the fact that the singer is willing to be "crude" or "lewd" suggests that he is willing to degrade himself in order to satisfy the whims of the crowd. The song also hints at the vulnerability of performers, who are often at the mercy of their audience's whims and can be subjected to intense scrutiny and criticism.
Overall, "I'm Your Late Night Evening Prostitute" is a clever and provocative song that challenges our assumptions about the nature of performance and the relationship between performer and audience.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I got here at eight and I'll be here 'til two
I arrived at 8 pm and I'll work until 2 am
I'll try my best to entertain you and
I'll do everything in my power to keep you entertained
Please don't mind me if I get a bit crude
Forgive me if I use language or perform actions that are considered vulgar
I'm your late night evening prostitute
I am a performer for hire on this evening
So drink your martini and stare at the moon
Enjoy your drink and look at the moon
Don't mind me, I'll continue to croon and
Ignore me while I continue to sing softly
Don't mind me if I get a bit lewd
Please don't be offended if I act in a sexually suggestive manner
And dance, have a good time
Let loose and enjoy yourself with dancing
I'll continue to shine
I'll continue to perform well
Yes, dance, have a good time
I encourage you to let go and enjoy the occasion
Don't mind me if I slip upon a rhyme
Please excuse me if I accidentally make a mistake while singing
I'm your late night evening prostitute
I am a performer for hire on this evening
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Tom Waits
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@nugjunior1
This might seem like quite a stretch, but to me the two most soulful male singers on this planet are Mr. Waits and the late Layne Staley. Both hold a pain and acute sensibility that others both covet and wonder about, yet only Mr. Waits has been able to live with for an extended period of time. Tom, you are the man.
@Serioussmile51
Ten years ago... Jebus I hope you get this message dude. But I feel what you're saying 🙂✌️
@Cabala2
Thank you for posting this gem. Tom Waits is a gift from God. A genius songwriter and musician reaching into our soul. God Bless you Tom!! A piece of heaven on earth.
@therubybooks
He's a national treasure. One of our greatest living poets.
@haz0313
Can't stop these tears from rolling down my face.... the sweetest love song I've ever heard in my life.
@gillyshines
This man aches with late night loss and regret. He is the coolest man on the planet to me. I love you Tom Waits.
@who_Is_faten_helmi
there's something in this song that just makes you love it !! <3 Tom Waits !!
@brianenewton75
Faten Helmi it's name is Tom
@johniffland1673
This song simply acknowledges the human stain.....the agony of consciousness. Simple yet deep......
@johniffland1673
Under appreciated, and his value only grows in a music land of tin can acoustics......and the feeling of a carrion man. Thanks, Tom