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."
Make It Rain
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And my best friend
You know the story
Here it comes again
I have no pride
I have no shame
You gotta make it rain
Make it rain!
Since you're gone
Deep inside it hurts
I'm just another sad guest
On this dark earth
I want to believe
In the mercy of the world again
Make it rain, make it rain!
The night's too quiet
Stretched out alone
I need the whip of thunder
And the wind's dark moan
I'm not Able, I'm just Cain
Open up the heavens
Make it rain!
I'm close to heaven
Crushed at the gate
They sharpen their knives
On my mistakes
What she done, you can't give it a name
You gotta make it rain
Make it rain, yeah!
Without her love
Withour your kiss
Hell can't burn me
More than this
I'm burning up all this pain
Put out the fire
Make it rain!
I'm born to trouble
I'm born to fate
Inside a promise
I can't escape
It's the same old world
But nothing looks the same
Make it rain!
Make it rain!
Got to make it rain
Make it rain
You got to make it rain
Got to make it rain
You got to
I stand alone here!
I stand alone here!
Sing it:
Make it rain!
Make it rain!
The lyrics to "Make It Rain" by Tom Waits are a vivid description of heartbreak and despair. The song starts by recounting how the singer has been betrayed by a woman who took all his money and his best friend. He admits to having no pride or shame left and implores for rain, which can be interpreted either literally or metaphorically as a symbolic cleansing of his sorrows. The chorus repeats this cry for rain, emphasizing the desperation and sense of helplessness felt by the singer.
However, the lyrics also suggest a glimmer of hope. The second verse recognizes the pain felt inside and the realization that the world can be harsh and unforgiving. Yet, he still wants to believe in mercy and the possibility of redemption. The third verse brings out a desire for dramatic release; the singer longs for an electric and violent storm that will match his inner turmoil. The song suggests that the singer struggles with his identity and judgment from others, indicated by the Cain/Able reference to the biblical story of Cain, who killed his brother Abel.
Overall, "Make It Rain" is a bleak but poignant exploration of inner conflict and the possibility of renewal. It captures the raw emotions and contradictions of a broken heart, seeking catharsis and healing in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
She took all my money
The singer's significant other took all of their money
And my best friend
The singer's significant other also took their friend away from them
You know the story
This situation is a familiar one for the singer
Here it comes again
The artist is experiencing this situation again
I have no pride
The artist feels shame and regret
I have no shame
Despite feeling shame, the singer is willing to do whatever it takes to improve their situation
You gotta make it rain
The singer is asking for a change in their circumstances
Since you're gone
The artist is struggling with the loss of a loved one
Deep inside it hurts
The pain the artist feels is intense and internal
I'm just another sad guest
The artist feels like a nobody, just one of many people experiencing pain and sadness
On this dark earth
The world the singer lives in can be seen as bleak and depressing
I want to believe
Despite their hardships, the artist wants to have hope for the future
In the mercy of the world again
The singer is looking for a positive change that will help them believe in the world's goodness
The night's too quiet
The singer feels restless and uneasy
Stretched out alone
The singer is lonely
I need the whip of thunder
The artist is hoping for a dramatic change, a big upheaval
And the wind's dark moan
The force of nature they are hoping for is unsettling and mysterious
I'm not Able, I'm just Cain
The singer feels like they are doomed to repeat the tragic mistakes of biblical figures
Open up the heavens
The singer is asking for a powerful change that feels out of their control
Make it rain!
The artist is once again asking for a positive change
I'm close to heaven
The artist feels like they are on the brink of something important
Crushed at the gate
Whatever is blocking the artist from their goal feels insurmountable
They sharpen their knives
The people around the singer seem ready to attack or accuse them
On my mistakes
The artist is being judged for their past actions
What she done, you can't give it a name
The singer's significant other's actions are beyond description
You gotta make it rain
The singer is once again asking for a positive change
Make it rain, yeah!
The singer is expressing urgency and desperation
Without her love
The artist is still feeling the effects of their significant other's absence
Without your kiss
The artist is also experiencing the absence of someone they loved
Hell can't burn me
The singer has experienced immense pain and difficulty, but they feel they can handle anything now
More than this
The singer has been through so much that they can't imagine things getting worse
I'm burning up all this pain
The artist is ready to let go of their pain and move on
Put out the fire
The artist is looking for a way to alleviate their pain
Make it rain!
The artist is once again asking for a positive change
I'm born to trouble
The singer feels like they have always been fated to experience hardship
I'm born to fate
The artist feels like their destiny is out of their control
Inside a promise
There is a hope or chance of better things to come
I can't escape
Despite the potential for a positive change, the singer feels trapped
It's the same old world
The singer is feeling disillusioned
But nothing looks the same
The artist is still hopeful for something new or different
Make it rain!
The artist is once again asking for a positive change
Got to make it rain
The singer is emphasizing their need for a positive change
You got to make it rain
The singer is addressing someone they think can help them
Got to make it rain
The artist is once again emphasizing their need for a positive change
You got to
The artist is directing this to someone they believe can help
I stand alone here!
The artist is feeling isolated
I stand alone here!
The singer repeats this line to emphasize their loneliness
Sing it:
The artist is addressing someone, asking them to join in
Make it rain!
The singer is once again asking for a positive change
Make it rain!
The singer repeats this line to emphasize their need for a positive change
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, JALMA MUSIC
Written by: Kathleen Brennan, Thomas Alan Waits
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Beth Redruth
Lyrics:
She took all my money
And my best friend
You know the story
Here it comes again
I have no pride
I have no shame
You gotta make it rain
Make it rain
Since you're gone
Deep inside it hurts
I'm just another sad guest
On this dark Earth
I wanna believe
In the mercy of the World again
Make it rain
Make it rain
Night's too quiet
Stretched out alone
I need the whip of thunder
And the winds dark moan
I'm not Abel
I'm just Cain
Open up the Heavens
Make it rain
I'm close to Heaven
Crushed at the gate
They sharpen their knives
On my mistakes
What she done
You can't give it a name
You gotta just make it rain
Make it rain
Yeah -eh
Without her love
Without your kiss
Hell can't burn me
More than this
I'm burning with all this pain
Put out the fire
And make it rain
I'm born to trouble
Born to fate
Inside a promise
I can't escape
It's the same old World
But nothin' looks the same
Make it rain
Make it rain
Gotta make it rain
Make it rain
You've got to
Make it rain
You got to
Make it rain
You got to
I stand alone here
I stand alone here
Singin'
Make it rain
Make it rain
Make it rain
Beth Redruth
Lyrics:
She took all my money
And my best friend
You know the story
Here it comes again
I have no pride
I have no shame
You gotta make it rain
Make it rain
Since you're gone
Deep inside it hurts
I'm just another sad guest
On this dark Earth
I wanna believe
In the mercy of the World again
Make it rain
Make it rain
Night's too quiet
Stretched out alone
I need the whip of thunder
And the winds dark moan
I'm not Abel
I'm just Cain
Open up the Heavens
Make it rain
I'm close to Heaven
Crushed at the gate
They sharpen their knives
On my mistakes
What she done
You can't give it a name
You gotta just make it rain
Make it rain
Yeah -eh
Without her love
Without your kiss
Hell can't burn me
More than this
I'm burning with all this pain
Put out the fire
And make it rain
I'm born to trouble
Born to fate
Inside a promise
I can't escape
It's the same old World
But nothin' looks the same
Make it rain
Make it rain
Gotta make it rain
Make it rain
You've got to
Make it rain
You got to
Make it rain
You got to
I stand alone here
I stand alone here
Singin'
Make it rain
Make it rain
Make it rain
Bilal Baab al-Jahannam
Arranging the snare drum and guitar stroke on the same beat is really something! It's like a sonic bolt of electricity :)
Tom Laveign
First Tom Waits song I ever heard, and I must admit it totally blew my mind. This is the very definition of badass.
Tom Laveign
Bruno Aziz Haha, you're damn right I did. I actually heard it a few months ago, and since then he's definitely become one of my top 5 favourite artists.
Robert Balliet
Tom Laveign I agree!
james sedge
Tom Laveign down in the hole !!
Samira Friis
Well said, Bruno! Lol
Robert Balliet
Tom Laveign You got that right! It’s feels like you’re getting scolded. Best vocals ever .
Mr. Echo
"What she done... You can't give it a name" 😌 no matter how you view that line (she did something bad or she did something good) it still hits home!! 🙌
make it rain ✊
Jeremy Brainard
One of my favorite Tom Waits songs. Sounds like he's straight up preaching with that deep, scratchy growl. Long live Tom.