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."
Intro to Better Off Without a Wife
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Every Tom and Dick and Harry
You must be strong
To go it alone
Here's to the bachelors
And the bowery bums
And those who feel that they're the ones
Who are better off without a wife
Midnight howlin' at the moon
Goin' out when I wanto, comin' home when I please
I don't have to ask permission
If I want to go out fishing
And I never have to ask for the keys
Never been no Valentino
Had a girl who lived in Reno
Left me for a trumpet player
Didn't get me down
He was wanted for assault
Though he said it weren't his fault
Well the coppers rode him right
Out of town
(chorus) selfish about my privacy
As long as I can be with me
We get along so well I can't believe
I love to chew the fat with folks
And listen to all your dirty jokes
I'm so thankful for these friends
I do receive
(chorus)
The lyrics of Tom Waits's song "Better Off Without a Wife" describe a man who is content with being single and living by his own rules. He notes that all of his friends are married, and while he acknowledges that it takes strength to go it alone, he raises a glass to the bachelors and the bowery bums. The singer of the song enjoys sleeping late and going out when he wants to, without having to ask for permission or the keys. He is not immune to heartbreak, having been left by a girlfriend who ran off with a trumpet player, but he was not one to be brought down by it. The chorus emphasizes his self-sufficiency and his enjoyment of being able to do what he wants, when he wants, without having to answer to anyone else.
What is interesting about this song and its lyrics is that it is unclear whether the singer's aversion to marriage is purely a personal choice or a reaction to his past experiences. He says that he is "selfish about his privacy," but is this a character trait or a scar left by the girlfriend who left him? The song leaves these questions unanswered, but it is clear that the singer finds fulfillment in his own company and his friendships, dirty jokes and all.
Line by Line Meaning
All my friends are married
All the people I'm acquainted with have already pledged to spend their lives with someone else.
Every Tom and Dick and Harry
This phrase sarcastically refers to every non-descript man on the street that has found himself a partner and committed to marriage.
You must be strong
Being single requires great strength to face the world alone and accept the loneliness associated with it.
To go it alone
Facing the world alone, without a partner or companion to share life's joys and sorrows with.
Here's to the bachelors
Celebrating single men who have chosen to live their lives without getting married.
And the bowery bums
Referring to homeless people living on the streets, who are free of the trappings of marriage and family responsibilities.
And those who feel that they're the ones
Acknowledging the fact that some people prefer to be alone and feel it is better for them than being married.
Who are better off without a wife
These people strongly believe that they are happier, more content, and fulfilled being without a wife or partner.
I like to sleep until the crack of noon
Tom is a self-proclaimed night owl, who prefers to stay up late, sleep in, and has no responsibilities to drag him out of bed early in the morning.
Midnight howlin' at the moon
A poetic and playful way to describe his love for staying up late, howling at the moon, and enjoying the night sky.
Goin' out when I wanto, comin' home when I please
Tom enjoys the freedom of being able to come and go as he pleases, without having to answer to anyone else or feel guilty for staying out late.
I don't have to ask permission
Tom does not have to seek permission from anyone else to do the things he loves, go where he wants to go, or spend his time in any particular way.
If I want to go out fishing
Tom enjoys the freedom of being able to go out to fish whenever he feels like it, without having to make any arrangements or ask someone else for permission.
And I never have to ask for the keys
Tom does not have to worry about losing his key or asking someone else for the key to his own place when he comes and goes. He is free from this inconvenience and responsibility.
Never been no Valentino
Tom is not a player who goes after women to have short-lived relationships. He has no interest in the Romeo or Valentino lifestyle.
Had a girl who lived in Reno
Tom shares that he had an ex-girlfriend who lived in Reno, where he had a short-lived and uneventful relationship with her.
Left me for a trumpet player
Tom's ex-girlfriend chose to leave him for someone who plays the trumpet, a detail of the story Tom shares with playful sarcasm.
Didn't get me down,
Tom wasn't too devastated or impacted that his relationship did not work out, and he quickly moved on from the experience.
He was wanted for assault
The trumpet player was suspected of committing an act of violence, a detail that Tom shares with dark humor.
Though he said it weren't his fault
Despite the accusations against him, the trumpet player denied any wrongdoing or fault in the incident.
Well the coppers rode him right
The police arrested the trumpet player, bringing him to justice for his crimes.
Out of town (chorus) selfish about my privacy
Tom prefers to keep his personal life separate from everyone else's, and he enjoys his privacy to the fullest extent possible.
As long as I can be with me
Tom is comfortable spending time with himself and does not need other people to feel complete or happy.
We get along so well I can't believe
Tom enjoys his own company so much that he cannot believe how well he gets along with himself.
I love to chew the fat with folks
Tom still loves to chat and mingle with all kinds of people, even as a bachelor living alone.
And listen to all your dirty jokes
Tom is happy to listen to silly, ribald jokes with his friends, enjoying the fun and lighthearted moments with others.
I'm so thankful for these friends
Tom expresses gratitude for his friends, who keep him company and make him feel less lonely despite his chosen bachelor lifestyle.
I do receive (chorus)
Tom is happy to receive the companionship, laughter, and joy that his friends share with him, even as he remains alone in his personal life.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, JALMA MUSIC
Written by: TOM WAITS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jeffrenfro7701
You have to love Tom Waits, a modern Day Poet.. . with his gravely voice and truth be said!!! A modern day hero of Song and truth!!! .. ."Love your messages!!! Thrilling!!! And Drilling into all minds that count!!!
@riclobosco6272
I'm FAR better off without a wife or girlfriend.
I wish I'd understood that as a teen. Certainly before 1981.
I paid an obscene price all those decades, over & over & over, until I finally figured it out this past decade.
@sassafrasred6657
You got your transmission pulled too , huh?
@mikeoxlong8272
@sassafras red sounds like he got his crank yanked.
@kendra4507
This man is the true definition of AWESOME!!...
@thepinkspidercompany
❤
@jusroc6353
Tom, don't wait, instead... make the world wait 🙂
@user-gc2nr6yg8h
トム・ウェイツの中で1番好きな歌です、サンキュー！！
@lactroc11
Every movie's is nice
@artpestov
Спасибо, отличный выйдет вечер