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 Never Talk to Strangers
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Stop me if you've heard this one
But I feel as though we've met before
Perhaps I am mistaken
But it's just that I remind you of
Someone you used to care about
Oh, but that was long ago
I was not born just yesterday
Besides, I never talk to strangers anyway
Hell, I ain't a bad guy when you get to know me
I just thought there ain't no harm
Hey, yeah, just try minding your own business, bud
Who asked you to annoy me
With your sad, sad repartee?
Besides I never talk to strangers anyway
Your life's a dime-store novel
This town is full of guys like you
And you're looking for someone to take the place of her
You must be reading my mail
And you're bitter 'cause he left you
That's why you're drinkin' in this bar
Well, only suckers fall in love with perfect strangers
It always takes one to know one, stranger
Maybe we're just wiser now
Yeah, and been around that block so many times
That we don't notice
That we're all just perfect strangers
As long as we ignore
That we all begin as strangers
Just before we find
We really aren't strangers anymore
Aw, you don't look like such a chump (aw, hey baby)
The song "I Never Talk to Strangers" by Tom Waits featuring Bette Midler is a conversation between two strangers who find themselves in a bar. The female character orders a Manhattan and the male character, the bartender, recognizes her from somewhere but he is not sure. She denies ever meeting him and emphasizes that she doesn't talk to strangers. The male character then tries to flirt with the female character, but she sees right through his act and shuts him down. The male character continues to try and win her over by accusing her of being bitter and looking for someone to replace her ex-lover. The female character then turns the tables on him and suggests that they both may just be perfect strangers, regardless of their past experiences.
The lyrics showcase the human tendency to judge and stereotype others based on their past experiences. The main themes of the song are loneliness, the transient nature of human relationships, and the difficulty of some people to form meaningful connections. Through the conversation between the two characters, Tom Waits and Bette Midler deliver a powerful message about the importance of empathy and understanding in creating genuine connections with other people.
Line by Line Meaning
Bartender, I'd like a Manhattan please
The singer is ordering a Manhattan cocktail from the bartender.
Stop me if you've heard this one
The singer is introducing themselves in a joking manner.
But I feel as though we've met before
The singer feels like they have met the person they are speaking to before.
Perhaps I am mistaken
The artist acknowledges that they may be incorrect about their assumption.
But it's just that I remind you of
The artist believes that they resemble someone that the other person knows.
Someone you used to care about
The singer thinks that the other person may have had feelings for the person they resemble.
Oh, but that was long ago
The singer acknowledges that the relationship between the other person and the person they resemble was in the past.
Now tell me, do you really think I'd fall for that old line
The artist questions the other person's intentions and motives.
I was not born just yesterday
The artist is implying that they are not easily fooled or manipulated.
Besides, I never talk to strangers anyway
The artist is saying that they generally do not engage in conversations with strangers.
Hell, I ain't a bad guy when you get to know me
The singer wants to convey that they are not a bad person.
I just thought there ain't no harm
The artist believed that there was no harm in talking to the other person.
Hey, yeah, just try minding your own business, bud
The singer is annoyed with the other person and tells them to mind their own business.
Who asked you to annoy me
The singer is questioning why the other person is bothering them.
With your sad, sad repartee?
The singer is criticizing the other person's conversation topics.
Your life's a dime-store novel
The artist is saying that the other person's life is like a cheap, cliche novel.
This town is full of guys like you
The artist is saying that there are many men like the other person in their town.
And you're looking for someone to take the place of her
The singer believes that the other person is trying to replace someone they lost.
You must be reading my mail
The singer is saying that the other person is too familiar with their personal life.
And you're bitter 'cause he left you
The artist believes that the other person is bitter about being left by someone they loved.
That's why you're drinkin' in this bar
The artist is implying that the other person is drinking to cope with their emotional pain.
Well, only suckers fall in love with perfect strangers
The artist is saying that it is foolish to fall in love with someone you do not know well.
It always takes one to know one, stranger
The singer is implying that they are just like the other person.
Maybe we're just wiser now
The artist is suggesting that they have grown and learned from their experiences.
Yeah, and been around that block so many times
The singer is implying that they have experienced many similar situations in their life.
That we don't notice
The singer is saying that sometimes people do not realize they have things in common.
That we're all just perfect strangers
The singer is saying that everyone starts off as strangers, even if they have things in common.
As long as we ignore
The artist is suggesting that people sometimes overlook similarities.
That we all begin as strangers
The artist is saying that everyone starts off as strangers when meeting someone new.
Just before we find
The singer is saying that people often start off as strangers and then eventually form a connection.
We really aren't strangers anymore
The singer is suggesting that they and the other person have formed a connection.
Aw, you don't look like such a chump (aw, hey baby)
The artist is complimenting the other person.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, JALMA MUSIC
Written by: THOMAS ALAN WAITS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@noelwalterso2
Something about the harmonies on the last line (we really aren't strangers anymore) moves me to tears every time I hear it.
@devilsslave1970
I know what you mean, it almost sounds like one of them is barely off key, gives it an intoxicating sound
@bobwho2454
...like the tears of joy and sorrow they share forever.
@implantologiadesdecero8340
Me too !!
@skippymac1
Who can tell me Tom doesn't sound like Louis Armstrong in this take? Love it.
@ieashaluv
I'm not a huge Tom Waits fan but this is the most perfect song from his best album (in my opinion). I miss his jazzy days...
@jamesbueker11
This song has been roaming around my head for a few days. I sold my vinyl collection of 1,400 albums a few years ago but the songs live on in my head. Saw Tom live in Austin in the 80’s. On the stage, just a lamppost, a piano and half a 57 Chevy. One spot light. He walks out with the ever present cigarette and proceeds to growl out his incredible songs for a couple hours. Fantastic
@keenanketsdever590
the show sounds amazing ! but I am so curious as to why you sold your record collection !? I too have a huge record collection and I couldn't imagine parting with it, unless you really needed the money
@jamesbueker11
My wife is from Croatia. Sending 1,400 albums on a 6,000 mile sea voyage just sounded too risky. We have a 400 year old house there and hope to return in the spring. It was hard d to let go, but got over $15,000 total and only sold to end users that I thought would love them like I did
@brandongreenberg2557
What is so fantastic about this tune is that both Midler and Waits are forever intertwined in the legal field for successfully suing a bunch of unoriginal car and chips corporations and their ad agencies for blatantly ripping off each of their UNIQUE vocal stylings with spot-on soundalikes all for the sake of crass commercialism and profits (cheezy radio jingles clearly intended to sound like Midler and Waits, without either's consent, when they have a right to publicity for their own likeness = VOICE MISAPPROPRIATION under California law, aka "the Midler tort"--an extension of the common law tort of misappropriation that allowed Waits to recover $2.6 million from Frito Lay!).
Midler's case was decided first, in the late '80s (9th Circuit reversed a lower court judgment for the defendant and held that this was a sound legal basis for a singer to use to recover, as long as they were sufficiently well-known). Waits' case was in the early '90s, and also went to the 9th Circuit on appeal, which upheld his massive jury verdict.
Both singers had too much integrity to sell out, and Waits is on the record testifying against the ad purveyors, mocking the ad as a “corn chip sermon” and calling it the equivalent of someone reconstructing his face: “All the scars, dimples, the lines all being in the same place.” So bad ass--I love Tom Waits!!!