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 Waitsβs 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 FreischΓΌtz" 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 BΓΌchner. 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 β 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 β ideally naked and purring on the hood of a new car. I have adamantly and repeatedly refused this dubious honor."
I Beg Your Pardon
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
with out you
baby please don't disappear
I beg your pardon dear
I gotta a bottle full of trumpet
a hat box full of drum
I beg your pardon dear
I got upset
I lost my head
I didn't mean
the things I said
You are the landscape
Of my dreams
Darlin' I beg your pardon
I'd give your Boardwalk
And Park Place
And all of my hotels
I beg your pardon dear
Please don't go back to St. Louis
Can't you tell that I'm sincere
I beg your pardon dear
The song "I Beg Your Pardon" is a duet by Tom Waits and Crystal Gayle. The song has a country-blues feel and is a plea to a lover not to leave. The opening lines, "I'm just a scarecrow without you / Baby please don't disappear" set the tone for the rest of the song. The reference to the singer being a scarecrow without the lover implies a sense of emptiness and lack of purpose. This vulnerability is reinforced by the repetition of the chorus line "I beg your pardon dear" throughout the song.
The verses contain a mixture of imagery and wordplay. The lines "I gotta bottle full of trumpet / A hat box full of drum" are a playful reference to musical instruments. However, the following lines "I got upset / I lost my head / I didn't mean the things I said" show that the singer has been irresponsible and has hurt their lover. The lines "You are the landscape / Of my dreams" highlight the importance of the lover to the singer and the intensity of their feelings.
The song showcases the power of apologies, humility, and vulnerability in a relationship. The lyrics show that while love can be passionate, it can also be fragile, and requires care and attention.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm just a scarecrow
I am nothing without you, feel empty and lifeless like a scarecrow in a field.
with out you
I cannot function or have any sense of purpose without you in my life.
baby please don't disappear
I am so afraid of losing you and being alone that I am begging and pleading with you not to leave me.
I beg your pardon dear
I am apologizing profusely for any pain or suffering I may have caused you and asking for your forgiveness.
I gotta a bottle full of trumpet
I have a lot of passion and desire within me, like a bottle filled to the brim with the beautiful sound of a trumpet.
a hat box full of drum
I also have a lot of strength and determination, like a hat box overflowing with the sound of drums.
I got upset
I allowed my emotions to get the best of me and did something I regret.
I lost my head
I completely lost control of my thoughts and actions.
I didn't mean
I did not intend to hurt or upset you with my words or actions.
the things I said
My hurtful words and actions that may have deeply affected you.
You are the landscape
You are the beautiful and breathtaking view that I see in my fondest dreams and memories.
Of my dreams
The image of you is a recurring theme and symbol of all of my hopes and aspirations.
Darlin' I beg your pardon
I am pleading with you, my sweetheart, to forgive me for any of my wrongdoings and give me another chance.
I'd give your Boardwalk
In an effort to show my love and dedication to you, I would be willing to give up my most valuable possessions, like the coveted property on the game board of Monopoly.
And Park Place
I am willing to sacrifice all that is important to me and lose everything just to be with you.
And all of my hotels
I am willing to let go of my sense of pride and accomplishment by giving up everything I have built up to be with you.
Please don't go back to St. Louis
I am afraid that you will leave me and return to your old life, and I cannot bear the thought of losing you forever.
Can't you tell that I'm sincere
Can you not see the truth in my words and the feelings in my heart that show my earnestness and genuineness?
Lyrics Β© BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: THOMAS ALAN WAITS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
honesty_ 2022
Every song on the album is perfect.
Rick Braun
Absolutely correct. I just discovered this gem in the last two weeks and can't go a day without listening to it.
Max P
Arguably the best romantic song ever written.
Doc J
Both the movie and the soundtrack are hidden gems
masaki jp
Beautiful !!!
john
Love the trumpet too
Strangersname
Jack Sheldon. Great player.
Liam Henderson
Lovely. Thank you, Tom
Carlos Fonseca
Lisbon. Great voice TOM WAITS. Francis Coppola superb movie.
Harlem Mint
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