Tom Waits (born Thomas Alan Waits, in Pomona, California, on December 7, 19… Read Full Bio ↴Tom Waits (born Thomas Alan Waits, in Pomona, California, on December 7, 1949) is a prolific American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor.
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."
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 Ain't Goin' Down To The Well No More
Tom Waits Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'I Ain't Goin' Down To The Well No More' by these artists:
Marianne Faithfull Oh I ain't going down I ain't going down Oh, honey, to the…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Tom Waits:
"Gun Street Girl" One, two, three Falling James in the Tahoe mud Stick around …
$29 Little black girl in a red dress, On a hot night…
'T Ain't No Sin When you hear sweet syncopation And the music softly moans T…
'Til the Money Runs Out Check this strange beverage that falls out from the sky,…
(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night Well you gassed her up Behind the wheel With your arm around…
... but There's Never a Rose over here the ladies all waltz with perfume but there's neve…
02 I Hope That I Don't Fall In Love With You One, two, three, four Well I hope that I don't fall…
03. I never talk to strangers Bartender, I'd like a Manhattan please Stop me if you've he…
06 I plugged 16 shells from a thirty-ought-six and a Black Crow…
06-Another Man's Vine Bougainvillea's bloom and wind Be careful mind the strangle…
08 Long way going to Get my medicine Sky's the autumn grey of…
09 Foreign Affair When traveling abroad in the continental style, It's my beli…
09 Starving in the belly of a whale Life is whittled Life's a riddle Man's a fiddle that life pl…
12 I'm Still Here You haven't looked at me that way in years You dreamed…
14. Make It Rain She took all my money And my best friend You know the…
16 I plugged 16 shells from a thirty-ought-six And a black cro…
16 Shells from a 30-Ought-Six Plugged sixteen shells from a thirty-ought-six And the Black…
16 Shells from a 30.06 I plugged 16 shells from a thirty-ought-six and a Black Crow…
16 Shells from a 30.6 Plugged sixteen shells from a thirty-ought-six And the Black…
17 Big Joe and Phantom 309 Well you see I happened to be back on the…
17. Gun Street Girl One, two, three Falling James in the Tahoe mud Stick around …
18 Well pale face said To the eyeball kid She just goes…
18 Gun Street Girl One, two, three Falling James in the Tahoe mud Stick around …
2:19 I lost everything I had in the '29 flood The barn…
9th Well, it's Ninth and Hennepin All the doughnuts have names t…
9th & henepin Well, it's Ninth and Hennepin All the doughnuts have names …
9th & Hennepin Well, it's Ninth and Hennepin All the doughnuts have names t…
A Good Man Is Hard To Find Well, I always play Russian Roulette in my head It's sevente…
A House Where Nobody Lives There's a house on my block that's abandoned and cold The…
A Little Rain Well, the Ice Man's mule is parked outside the bar Where…
A Nickel's Worth of Dreams Well, the shoeshine boy's got lines around the block The blo…
A Sight for Sore Eyes A sight for sore eyes, it's a long time no…
A Sweet Little Bullet From A P Well it's raining, it's pouring You didn't bring a sweater N…
Adios Lounge I know an oldtimer Just a nickel-and-dimer At the bar down t…
After You Die Like a tin can feeding Like a skinned hand bleeding Like a…
After You Who Well, they're lining up to mad-dog your Tilt-a-Whirl Three s…
Ain When you hear sweet syncopation And the music softly moans T…
Ain't Goin' Down To The Well Well they call me William The Pleaser I sold opium, firework…
Ain't Going Down to the Well Ain't goin' down Ain't goin' down Momma to the well Momma to…
Ain’t goin’ down to the well Well they call me William The Pleaser I sold opium, firework…
Alice It's dreamy weather we're on You waved your crooked wand Alo…
All Stripped Down Yeah, yeah, yeah, hoo, ye-ye-ye-yeah Well, the time will com…
All The Time You're the tree that you can't eat the fruit from I…
All The World Is Green I fell into the ocean And you became my wife…
Altar Boy He's an old altar boy Lying out there in the street He's…
And No One Knows I Hell above and heaven below All the trees are gone Rain has…
And No One Knows I'm Gone Hell above and heaven below All the trees are gone Rain ha…
Annie's back in Town In the evening he stumbles home with his tie undone, As…
Another Man's Vine Bougainvillea's bloom and wind Be careful mind the strangle…
Another Man`s Vine Bougainvilleas bloom and wind Be careful mind the strangle …
Anywhere I Lay My Head My head is spinning round My heart is in my shoes,…
Army Ants The Whirligig Beetles are wary and fast with an organ…
Babbachichuija Babbachichuija chu, Babbachichuija chu, Babbachichuija chu, …
Baby Gonna Leave Me Well I stood on the corner Until my feet got wet I…
Back in the Crowd If you don't want these arms to hold you If you…
Back in the Good Old World When I was a boy, the moon was pearl the…
Back in the Good Old World (Gypsy) When I was a boy, the moon was a pearl…
Bad As Me You're the head on the spear You're the nail on the…
Bad Liver Well I got a bad liver and broken heart, yeah I…
Bad Liver and a Broken Heart (in Lowell) Well I got a bad liver and broken heart, yeah, I…
Bad Liver and Broken Heart Well I got a bad liver and broken heart, yeah I…
Barber Shop Good morning Mister, snip snip snip With your hair cut just…
Barcarolle A cloud lets go of the moon Her ribbons are all…
Bend Down the Branches The sky's as deep as it can be Bend down the…
Better Off Without a Wife All my friends are married Every Tom and Dick and Harry You…
Big Black Mariah Well, cutting through the cane break, rattling the sill Thun…
Big Face Money When the show is over and the work is through I…
Big in Japan I got the style but not the grace I got the…
Big Joe & Phantom 309 Well you see I happened to be back on the…
Black Market Baby She lives in a house That's way back off the road There's…
Black Rider Come on a long with the Black Rider We'll have a…
Black Wings Well, take an eye for an eye A tooth for a…
Blind Love Now you're gone, it's hotels and whiskey and sad-luck dames …
Blow Wind Blow Blow wind blow, wherever you may go Put on your overcoat,…
Blue Skies Blue skies over my head Give me another reason to get…
Blue Valentine She sends me blue valentines All the way from Philadelphia T…
Book of Moses Books of Moses, bringing stone news Wet in the water, weepin…
Bottom of the World My Daddy told me, lookin back The best friend you'll have…
Broken Bicycles Broken bicycles, old busted chains With busted handle bars o…
Broken Bicycles (live) Broken bicycles, Old busted chains, Rusted handle bars Out i…
Brother Can You Spare a Dime Once i built a railroad, i made it run I made…
Brother Can You Spare a Dime? Once i built a railroad, i made it run I made…
Burma Shave Licorice tattoo turned a gun metal blue Scrawled across the …
But He's Not Wilhelm I am growing old who she loves is not the answer. Don't…
Buzz Fledderjohn I stood on the roof, stood till dark To get a…
Buzz Fledderjon (Tom Waits) I stood on the roof of Stuart's old Dodge t…
California Here I Come California, Here I Come Written by Joseph Meyer, Al Jolson a…
Calliope [Instrumental] Music by: Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan Off…
Candy Apple Red Check this strange beverage that falls out from the sky Spl…
Carnival Bob's Confession (brunello del montalcino) [instrumental]…
Cemetary Polka Uncle Vernon, Uncle Vernon, independent as a hog on ice He's…
Chained Together for Life Did you hear the news about Edward? On the back of…
Chase the Clouds Away The blood upon the bridal wreath The bridal wreath, the brid…
Chicago The seeds are planted here But they won't grow We won't have…
Chick A Boom Oh, baby Dinner started too late Oh, now baby Had my dinner…
Children Once upon a time there was a poor child, with no…
Children's Story Once upon a time there was a poor child, with no…
Chocolate Jesus Well, I don't go to church on Sunday Don't get on…
Christmas Card From A Hooker Hey Charlie, I'm pregnant Living on 9th Street Right above a…
Christmas Card From A Hooker I Hey Charley I'm pregnant Living on 9th Street Right above a …
Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis Hey Charlie, I'm pregnant Living on 9th Street Right above a…
Circus We put up our tent on a dark green knoll, outside…
Clang Boom Well my baby's so fine Even her car looks good From behind …
Clap Hands Sane, sane, they're all insane Fireman's blind, the conducto…
Closing Time [Instrumental]…
Coattails of a Dead Man One... two... three... one Well, he wasn't looking for fanf…
Cold & Blue Warm beer and cold women, I just don't fit in Every…
Cold Cold Ground Crestfallen sidekick in an old cafe Never slept with a dream…
Cold Water Well, I woke up this morning with the cold water With…
Come On Up To House Well, the moon is broken and the sky is cracked Come…
Coney Island Baby Every night she comes To take me out to dreamland…
Crossroads Now, George was a good straight boy to begin with,…
Danny Says Danny says we gotta go Gotta go to Idaho But we can't…
Date to Church I might catch some perch...yeahhh... Ahhh...keep it rollin …
Dave the Butcher [Instrumental]…
Day After Tomorrow I got your letter today And I miss you all so…
Dead & Lovely She was a middle class girl She was in over her…
Depot Depot, depot, what am I doing here? Depot, depot, what am…
Diamonds The broken glass And the rusty nails Where the violets grow …
Diamonds on My Windshield Well these diamonds on my windshield And these tears from he…
Dirt In The Ground What does it matter A dream of love, or a dream…
Do I Love You One, two, three, four Well I hope that I don't fall…
Do You Know What I Idi Amin Four blocks back I flipped my sack down At Roscoe's for…
Dog Door Oh mother I want a dog I want a little dog I…
Dog Treat Thanks, uh... You know uh, this is weird uh... Most…
Don Well, when I'm lyin' in my bed at night I don't…
and many more tracks by Tom Waits.
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chris coan
Great album and a great song
Big Orange Bellywash
This is the voice of waking up 10:30 AM hungover needing to pee, needing to drink but having to answer a phone call haha
Wind Chimes
Didn’t know Waits pretending to have asthma would sound so good
Evan Potyraj
How in god's name does this only have one other comment?? Makes my heart hurt