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."
Looks Like I'm Up Shit Creek Again
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And your love was like the golden rays again
Now I'm lying here on a Thursday, and you're lovin' someone new
And it looks like I'm up shit creek again
And I can't help thinking of your lovin' ways
And I cried a quart of tears since you've been gone
And I can't face the morning by myself love
Since you've been gone, I cry all the time
And I cannot stand leavin' you behind
So I'll pull myself together, And I'll dry away my tears
But the morning light has brought back memories
And I can't face the morning by myself love
And it looks like I'm up shit creek again
So I'm out a walkin' on this dusty highway
Cause you've given me no reason for to stay
And I'll walk until I've found someone who loves me not in vain
And it looks like I'm up shit creek again
And it looks like I'm up shit creek again
The song "Looks Like I'm Up Shit Creek Again" by Tom Waits is a heartfelt and poignant expression of a man's feelings after a romantic breakup. The lyrics are full of raw emotion, and the pain and anguish of lost love are palpable throughout the song. The opening lines, "Well the sun came in my window Wednesday morning/And your love was like the golden rays again," paint a picture of a man who is still in love with his ex-partner and is struggling to come to terms with the fact that she has moved on.
As the song continues, the singer's desperation becomes increasingly evident. He speaks of crying a "quart of tears" since his lover's departure and of his inability to face the morning without her. The repeated refrain of "looks like I'm up shit creek again" further emphasizes his feelings of hopelessness and despair.
Towards the end of the song, the singer decides to leave town and start anew, hoping to find someone who will love him "not in vain." However, he is aware that this may be a futile endeavor, and the song ends with him resigned to his fate.
Overall, "Looks Like I'm Up Shit Creek Again" is a powerful and moving exploration of the universal human experience of heartbreak and loss. The lyrics and the delivery of Tom Waits's gravelly voice combine to create a haunting and unforgettable piece of music.
Line by Line Meaning
Well the sun came in my window Wednesday morning
I woke up on Wednesday to a bright, sunny day
And your love was like the golden rays again
Your love was warm and comforting just like the sun's rays
Now I'm lying here on a Thursday, and you're lovin' someone new
It's now Thursday and you've moved on to love someone else
And it looks like I'm up shit creek again
I feel like I'm in a hopeless situation once again
And I can't help thinking of your lovin' ways
I can't stop thinking about how you used to love me
And I cried a quart of tears since you've been gone
I've cried so much since you left
And I can't face the morning by myself love
I can't bear to wake up alone
And it looks like I'm up shit creek again
Once again, I feel like I'm in a hopeless situation
Since you've been gone, I cry all the time
Ever since you left, I've been crying constantly
And I cannot stand leavin' you behind
I don't want to accept that you're gone
So I'll pull myself together, And I'll dry away my tears
I'll try to be strong and stop crying
But the morning light has brought back memories
The morning reminds me of our past memories
And it looks like I'm up shit creek again
Once again, I feel like I'm in a hopeless situation
So I'm out a walkin' on this dusty highway
I'm walking aimlessly on a dusty road
Cause you've given me no reason for to stay
You've given me no reason to stick around
And I'll walk until I've found someone who loves me not in vain
I'll keep walking until I find someone who truly loves me
And it looks like I'm up shit creek again
Once again, I feel like I'm in a hopeless situation
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: TOM WAITS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Bobinevid
He used to sing this when he worked at The Heritage folk club/coffee house in San Diego. He sat at the door collecting the two bucks or so they charged for admission. When it was show time, he'd come in and do a couple of tunes to warm up the audience. This was his signature song. I'm pretty sure we'd all sing along at the chorus. He was probably 22 years old at the time so this was his young voice but as I recall his sartorial style was well established.
Logan G. Mohler
You wanna talk sometime?
yossarian hunter
@ZeDoktar voice is the one musical instrument you can't trade in for another of better quality... in my opinion guys like Waits, Dylan, et al., who sing beautifully without having per se "beautiful" voices are the true diamonds of the music world, talent that transcends limitations...
PHILDEVOID
I’ve followed Tom waits for years and only heard this song recently when I found a CD with old recordings on it. It is quickly become my favorite.
smokeymellows
this is a brilliant and beautiful song
David McClelland
I see this being the soundtrack to a gruesome death scene in a movie. Class tune
LaBrooh
So different than what I'm used too. He sounds so young.
milkcow
Dylan has delivery.... a nice voice while singing is only one part of being able to "sing". Delivery and timing is another part of it. Not having a pretty voice doesn't always mean one can't sing. Now Bob barks, but he never lost his delivery or his timing.
Nicholas Humphrey
From the interviews I have watched, I think he smoked all those things to do that to his voice on purpose, to create a voice unlike any other across the entire spectrum of music.
Billy Bear
It's guys like Waits, Dylan, and Young that make me realize my voice could actually sound good if the right open minded people who appreciate real music and message are listening. If not I'm screwed six ways from sunday cuz that cat aint coming back home after that racket.