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."
Lost in the Harbour
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But there's never a rose
And over there the roses are frightened to bloom
So they never can grow
And over here they need wool
For weaving their baby's new clothes
But nobody has any wool
Lost in the harbor
And over here they want diamonds to wear
But there aren't any here
And over there everyone's hiding their tears
But they're crying inside
And the wall won't come down
Till they're no longer afraid of themselves
And if you don't believe me ask yourselves
And then I can come down to the harbor
Down to the harbor
And then I will fill the ocean back up with my tears
I still have a couple more years
And then I can come back to the harbor
Down to the harbor
The song "Lost in the Harbor" by Tom Waits & Kronos Quartet is a poignant ballad about the desperation and longing of those who are simply hoping for a better life but are held back by circumstances beyond their control. The lyrics speak to the idea that although we all have different desires and needs, we are all ultimately searching for the same thing - a way to find happiness and fulfillment in a world that can be cruel and challenging.
The opening lines of the song are particularly striking, as they paint a picture of a world where people are constantly searching for something that is just out of reach. The ladies want sweet perfume, but there are no roses to make it from. The roses, meanwhile, are too frightened to bloom because there is no one to nurture them. This creates a sense of sadness and resignation, as if the people in this world have given up hope of ever finding what they are looking for.
The rest of the song continues in this vein, exploring the various desires and needs of different people and how they can be held back by fear and uncertainty. The final lines of the song, where the singer promises to fill the ocean back up with his tears, are particularly moving, as they suggest a deep well of emotion and sorrow that we all carry with us.
Line by Line Meaning
Over here the ladies all want sweet perfume
The women in this place desire luxury items like perfume.
But there's never a rose
However, there are no flowers or gifts available for them.
And over there the roses are frightened to bloom
Meanwhile, in other places, the flowers are too scared to grow due to certain environmental conditions.
So they never can grow
As a result, they cannot reach their full potential.
And over here they need wool
In this location, people require materials for clothing.
For weaving their baby's new clothes
Specifically, they want to create new garments for their infants.
But nobody has any wool
However, they cannot obtain such materials due to a shortage.
And the sheep are all lost in the harbor
The animals that would've provided wool are trapped in the harbor, making it unavailable.
And over here they want diamonds to wear
People in this place desire expensive jewelry.
But there aren't any here
Despite their wishes, there are no gems for them to wear.
And over there everyone's hiding their tears
In other areas, people are hiding their sadness.
But they're crying inside
Even though they put on a brave face, they're still feeling emotional pain.
And the wall won't come down
There is a metaphorical wall separating these people from their wants and needs.
Till they're no longer afraid of themselves
They must overcome their fears and accomplish personal growth before their desires can be fulfilled.
And if you don't believe me ask yourselves
The singer is asking the audience to contemplate their own feelings and situations to understand the truth in his lyrics.
And then I can come down to the harbor
Only after these personal obstacles are overcome can he visit the harbor and bring change.
Down to the harbor
Returning to the location where these needs are unmet.
And then I will fill the ocean back up with my tears
The singer will express and release his own pain to empathize with others and bring healing.
I still have a couple more years
He intends to continue working towards understanding and emotional growth.
And then I can come back to the harbor
Only after sufficient time and progress can he return to attempt change again.
Down to the harbor
Returning to the location where these needs are unmet.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, JALMA MUSIC
Written by: KATHLEEN BRENNAN, THOMAS ALAN WAITS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@copediff
and over there everyone's hiding their tears
but they're crying inside
@0otee
Thank you monsieur Tom… Great sounds from the inner👌🌺
❣️Songs to Sooth the Soul❣️
Great for today.. With War mongers in Ukraine.. 😱😡
@frankgallagher2374
Beautiful
@the-bottom-of-a-black-hole-.
"A monster frightened by the waves walked along the beach during low tide dragging a stick, longing for the horizon as the lines in the sand behind him were gently stolen by the sea."
,dan'
@barbeluthomasfischer4577
Welove you❤❤❤😊
@barbeluthomasfischer4577
🕗🕘🕤🕥🌒⭐♥️🌏🌏⛵⛵⛵⛵⛵⛵⛵✈😘
@barbeluthomasfischer4577
😢