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."
Jitterbug Boy... Bet
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Resting on my laurels and my hardys too
Life of Riley on a swing shift, gears follow my drift
Once upon a time I was in show-biz too
I seen the Brooklyn Dodgers playing at Ebbets Field
Seen the Kentucky Derby too
It's fast women, slow horses, unreliable sources,
And I'm holding up the lamp-post if you want to know
Cause I slept with the lions and Marilyn Monroe,
Had breakfast in the eye of a hurricane
Fought Rocky Marciano, played Minnesota Fats,
Burned hundred-dollar bills, I've eaten Mulligan stew
Got drunk with Louis Armstrong, what's that old song?
I taught Mickey Mantle everything that he knows
So you ask me what I'm doing here holding up the lamp-post,
Flipping this quarter, trying to make up my mind
And if it's heads I go to Tennessee, and tails I buy a drink,
If it lands on the edge I keep talking to you
(scat)
The lyrics to Tom Waits's Jitterbug Boy are a classic example of his unique storytelling ability. The song is a whimsical and comedic tale of a man who seems to have lived an extremely eventful life. He claims to have seen the Brooklyn Dodgers play at Ebbets Field, witnessed the Kentucky Derby, slept with lions and Marilyn Monroe, fought Rocky Marciano, played with Minnesota Fats, burnt hundred-dollar bills, and even gotten drunk with Louis Armstrong. He claims to have taught Mickey Mantle everything he knows, and even had breakfast in the eye of a hurricane. The song is full of such absurd and imaginative claims, all told with Waits's signature gravelly voice and a lively jazz tune.
At its heart, Jitterbug Boy is a song about living life to the fullest, revealing a character who is unafraid to experience everything the world has to offer. The lyrics use hyperbolic claims and vivid imagery to paint a picture of a man who's seen and done it all. The song also touches on themes of nostalgia and the passage of time, with lines like "Once upon a time I was in show-biz too" and "I'm holding up the lamp-post if you want to know". These lines suggest a sense of longing for a past that is gone, but also highlight the character's resilience and ability to adapt to new circumstances.
Overall, Jitterbug Boy is a fun and cleverly written song that showcases Tom Waits's unique perspective on life. It's a classic example of his ability to blend humor, storytelling, and musical talent into a single cohesive whole, and it remains a beloved classic in his catalog to this day.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I'm a jitterbug boy, by the shoe-shine
I'm a carefree and confident guy who shines shoes for a living
Resting on my laurels and my hardys too
I'm taking it easy, enjoying my success and good times
Life of Riley on a swing shift, gears follow my drift
I'm living the good life, working an easy job and everything's going my way
Once upon a time I was in show-biz too
I used to be a performer or entertainer
I seen the Brooklyn Dodgers playing at Ebbets Field
I've experienced some great things, like watching a famous baseball team play
Seen the Kentucky Derby too
I've witnessed other amazing events, such as the famous horse race
It's fast women, slow horses, unreliable sources,
Life is unpredictable and often full of disappointment
And I'm holding up the lamp-post if you want to know
I'm just passing the time, holding onto a lamp-post and chatting with whoever comes by
I've seen the Wabash Cannonball, buddy, I've done it all
I've experienced many things and lived to tell the tale
Cause I slept with the lions and Marilyn Monroe,
I've had some amazing and unusual experiences, such as sleeping with wild animals and a famous Hollywood star
Had breakfast in the eye of a hurricane
I've been through some crazy situations, like having breakfast during a hurricane
Fought Rocky Marciano, played Minnesota Fats,
I've faced some tough opponents, like a famous boxer and skilled pool player
Burned hundred-dollar bills, I've eaten Mulligan stew
I've done some crazy things, like burning money and eating questionable food
Got drunk with Louis Armstrong, what's that old song?
I've partied with famous musicians, like jazz legend Louis Armstrong
I taught Mickey Mantle everything that he knows
I've had a significant influence on others, like teaching a famous baseball player everything he knows
So you ask me what I'm doing here holding up the lamp-post,
You might wonder why I'm just hanging out and not doing anything productive
Flipping this quarter, trying to make up my mind
I'm flip-flopping on a decision and hoping a coin toss will help me decide
And if it's heads I go to Tennessee, and tails I buy a drink,
Depending on the coin toss, I'll either hit the road or have a drink
If it lands on the edge I keep talking to you
If the coin lands on its edge, I'll just keep chatting with whoever I'm with
(scat)
I'm just improvising and having fun with some nonsense syllables
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: TOM WAITS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind