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."
Invitation to the Blues
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yesterday's deliveries, tickets for the bachelors
She's a moving violation from her conk down to her shoes
Well, it's just an invitation to the blues
And you feel just like Cagney, she looks like Rita Hayworth
At the counter of the Schwab's drugstore
You wonder if she might be single, she's a loner and likes to mingle
She said How you gonna like 'em, over medium or scrambled?
You say 'anyway's the only way', be careful not to gamble
On a guy with a suitcase and a ticket getting out of here
It's a tired bus station and an old pair of shoes
This ain't nothing but an invitation to the blues
But you can't take your eyes off her, get another cup of java
It's just the way she pours it for you, joking with the customers
Mercy mercy, Mr. Percy, there ain't nothing back in Jersey
But a broken-down jalopy of a man I left behind
And the dream that I was chasing, and a battle with booze
And an open invitation to the blues
But she used to have a sugar daddy and a candy-apple Caddy
And a bank account and everything, accustomed to the finer things
He probably left her for a socialite, and he didn't 'cept at night
And then he's drunk and never even told her that her cared
So they took the registration, and the car-keys and her shoes
And left her with an invitation to the blues
Cause there's a Continental Trailways leaving local bus tonight, good evening
You can have my seat, I'm sticking round here for a while
Get me a room at the Squire, the filling station's hiring
And I can eat here every night, what the hell have I got to lose?
Got a crazy sensation, go or stay? now I gotta choose
And I'll accept your invitation to the blues
The lyrics of Tom Waits's "Invitation to the Blues" is all about a waitress who is wearing an apron and is working in a diner. The description of the waitress is intriguing as it exaggerates her character, highlighting the level of her attractiveness and sensuality. Even though she appears to be single, she loves to mingle, and this attracts the attention of various men who come to the diner. Nevertheless, the song's narrator tries to pick up some clues about the waitress’s life and the type of man she is looking for. The melancholic tone of the song is brought out through Waits's soothing husky and somewhat gravelly voice, which complements the lyrics' sense of hopeless romanticism.
The second verse of the song portrays the waitress's tumultuous life while trying to make ends meet. Having gone through a difficult break-up with her sugar daddy, who used to provide her with all the finer things, she is virtually broke and destitute. Despite the hardships she is going through, she keeps striving to make her life better by remaining strong and continuing to work at the diner. The song provides an excellent commentary about the loneliness and seemingly hopelessness that the blue-collar life can bring.
Line by Line Meaning
Well she's up against the register with an apron and a spatula,
She's working hard at the diner, taking orders and cooking food
Yesterday's deliveries, tickets for the bachelors
She's managing the restaurant's inventory, preparing for upcoming events
She's a moving violation from her conk down to her shoes
She's attractive and charming, with a noticeable presence in the diner
Well, it's just an invitation to the blues
Her presence may be tempting, but it's leading to a depressing state of mind for the artist
And you feel just like Cagney, she looks like Rita Hayworth
He's taken by her beauty and compares himself to a famous actor, while likening her to a glamorous movie star
At the counter of the Schwab's drugstore
He pictures the diner as a classic, nostalgic setting
You wonder if she might be single, she's a loner and likes to mingle
He's curious about her relationship status, but knows she's social and enjoys interacting with customers
Got to be patient, try and pick up a clue
He needs to take his time and look for signs of mutual interest before making a move
She said How you gonna like 'em, over medium or scrambled?
She's taking his order for breakfast
You say 'anyway's the only way', be careful not to gamble
He doesn't have a particular preference and warns himself not to make a risky move
On a guy with a suitcase and a ticket getting out of here
He notices a man leaving the bus station, possibly wanting to escape this town
It's a tired bus station and an old pair of shoes
The bus station is run-down and the man seems hopeless
This ain't nothing but an invitation to the blues
The singer sees the man's situation as a sign of the dreary atmosphere prevalent in this town
But you can't take your eyes off her, get another cup of java
He's still captivated by the woman at the diner and orders another coffee
It's just the way she pours it for you, joking with the customers
He's mesmerized by the way she serves him, and admires her sense of humor
Mercy mercy, Mr. Percy, there ain't nothing back in Jersey
He hears a man talking about his lack of prospects in his hometown
But a broken-down jalopy of a man I left behind
He also reflects on his own troubled past and regrets
And the dream that I was chasing, and a battle with booze
He's dealing with personal demons that stand in the way of his aspirations
And an open invitation to the blues
He's aware of the uninviting and melancholic nature of his current situation
But she used to have a sugar daddy and a candy-apple Caddy
He imagines her past life as a privileged young woman, with a wealthy partner and a flashy car
And a bank account and everything, accustomed to the finer things
She enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle and had access to resources
He probably left her for a socialite, and he didn't 'cept at night
Her previous lover was unfaithful to her, and only cared about their physical relationship
And then he's drunk and never even told her that he cared
He was an alcoholic and never expressed his true emotions to her
So they took the registration, and the car-keys and her shoes
She lost everything after their separation, including her car and possessions
And left her with an invitation to the blues
She's now in a similar state of depression and hopelessness as the singer
Cause there's a Continental Trailways leaving local bus tonight, good evening
He hears an announcement for a departing bus, signaling an opportunity to leave
You can have my seat, I'm sticking round here for a while
He's not ready to leave yet, and offers his seat to someone else
Get me a room at the Squire, the filling station's hiring
He's ready to settle down and find work in this town
And I can eat here every night, what the hell have I got to lose?
He's content with the diner and sees no point in moving on at this moment
Got a crazy sensation, go or stay? now I gotta choose
He's conflicted about his decision, acknowledging the unpredictable nature of his emotions
And I'll accept your invitation to the blues
He decides to embrace the melancholy and desolate atmosphere of the town and accept his fate
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, JALMA MUSIC
Written by: TOM WAITS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
James Piteo
It's 12:38 am and I'm sitting here with a bourbon and this sounds as good as it did when I first heard it in 1979 or so!
Ben Zoet
I turned 8 the day this album came out, in 1976. My father bought the album and played it for me not long after. It was amazing then, and it still is.
Greg Ruland
I'll see your 12:38 a.m. and glass of bourbon with 3:30 a.m. and a cup of joe - 1979 sounds about right - much love and respect
James Gibson
So I guess you could say ..I accepted his invitation to the blues ...
James Gibson
Was probly 1981 for me..Tucson AZ ... my girl at the time was working at a strip club ..a coworker of hers had an old man name of reno ..he was hells angel and a tattoo artist ... one night he says ...ya gotta hear Tom waits .I.. I've been listening ever since
Kathryn Goulden
Bourbon taste just as good? After all these years I know it tastes better!
Daniel Pitman
Recieved, lost and sent again and again. Growing up doesn't stop, life is an open invitation.. and some times songs are a timeless portrait.
Joe Horizon
Heard this when I was 17. Game over. Bought everything up until this one and every album since. Saw him live twice.
hope love
Only one in Tulsa ok and it was changed my life
sean bottrill
Saw him in London, Hammersmith Odeon. Sheer genius, simplest and best set I've seen. Spellbinding!