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."
Martha
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's been so many years
Will she remember my old voice
While I fight the tears?
Hello, hello there, is this Martha?
This is old Tom Frost
And I am calling long distance
Don't worry 'bout the cost
Now Martha please recall
Meet me out for coffee
Where we'll talk about it all
And those were the days of roses
Poetry and prose and Martha
All I had was you and all you had was me
There was no tomorrows
We'd packed away our sorrows
And we saved them for a rainy day
And I feel so much older now
And you're much older too
How's the husband?
And how's your kids?
You know that I got married too?
Lucky that you found someone
To make you feel secure
'Cause we were all so young and foolish
Now we are mature
And those were the days of roses
Poetry and prose and Martha
All I had was you and all you had was me
There was no tomorrow
We'd packed away our sorrows
And we saved them for a rainy day
And I was always so impulsive
I guess that I still am
And all that really mattered then
Was that I was a man
I guess that our being together
Was never meant to be
And Martha, Martha
I love you can't you see?
And those were the days of roses
Poetry and prose and Martha
All I had was you and all you had was me
There was no tomorrows
We'd packed away our sorrows
And we saved them for a rainy day
And I remember quiet evenings
Trembling close to you
The song "Martha" by Tom Waits is a melancholic reflection on the past and the nostalgia for a lost love. The lyrics begin with the singer calling an operator to connect him with Martha, a woman he has not spoken to in over 40 years. He reminisces about their past relationship and the days of roses, poetry, and prose. He asks about her life, her husband, and her children, and tells her he got married too. He reflects on his impulsive nature and the fact that their being together was never meant to be. The singer ends the song expressing his love for Martha and the memories they shared.
The song is layered with emotions of regret, longing, and the passing of time. The singer is looking back at his life with Martha and how things could have been. The song is a reflection of the human condition and the inevitability of change and loss. It is a testament to the power of human connection and the ways in which love and memories can endure.
Line by Line Meaning
Operator, number, please
Tom is calling the operator for help to connect him with Martha.
It's been so many years
Tom hasn't spoken to Martha in a long time.
Will she remember my old voice
Tom is worried if Martha will recognize Tom's voice after many years.
While I fight the tears?
Tom is trying to hold back his tears while talking to Martha.
Hello, hello there, is this Martha?
Tom has finally connected with Martha.
This is old Tom Frost
Tom identifies himself as Tom Frost.
And I am calling long distance
Tom is calling Martha from another location.
Don't worry 'bout the cost
Tom tells Martha not to worry about the expensive long-distance phone call.
'Cause it's been forty years or more
Tom mentions that it's been a long time since they last spoke.
Now Martha please recall
Tom requests Martha to remember their past.
Meet me out for coffee
Tom asks Martha to meet him for coffee.
Where we'll talk about it all
Tom wants to discuss their past relationship with Martha.
And those were the days of roses
Tom remembers the good old days.
Poetry and prose and Martha
Tom associates Martha with poems and writings.
All I had was you and all you had was me
Tom and Martha only had each other in their past relationship.
There was no tomorrows
Tom didn't care about the future.
We'd packed away our sorrows
Tom and Martha kept their problems to themselves.
And we saved them for a rainy day
Tom and Martha put their problems aside for later.
And I feel so much older now
Tom feels like he has aged quickly over the years.
And you're much older too
Tom acknowledges that Martha has aged as well.
How's the husband?
Tom inquires about Martha's husband.
And how's your kids?
Tom also asks about Martha's children.
You know that I got married too?
Tom reveals that he got married as well.
Lucky that you found someone
Tom is happy that Martha has found someone to be with.
To make you feel secure
Tom thinks Martha's relationship with her partner has made her feel more secure.
'Cause we were all so young and foolish
Tom acknowledges that they were both young and inexperienced in the past.
Now we are mature
Tom thinks they have both matured since their past relationship.
I guess that our being together
Tom realizes that being together with Martha wasn't meant to be.
Was never meant to be
Tom believes that their relationship wasn't meant to work out.
And Martha, Martha
Tom repeats Martha's name for emphasis.
I love you can't you see?
Tom confesses his love for Martha.
And I was always so impulsive
Tom admits that he acted without thinking in the past.
I guess that I still am
Tom thinks he is still impulsive.
And all that really mattered then
Tom reflects on what mattered most to him in the past.
Was that I was a man
Tom thinks that proving his manhood was important to him at that time.
And I remember quiet evenings
Tom recalls calm moments with Martha.
Trembling close to you
Tom remembers feeling nervous when close to Martha.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Thomas Alan Waits
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Paolo Bellutta
Operator, number please
It's been so many years
Will she remember my old voice
While I fight the tears?
Hello, hello there, is this Martha?
This is old Tom Frost
And I am calling long distance
Don't worry 'bout the cost
'Cause it's been 40 years or more
Now, Martha, please recall
Meet me out for coffee
Where we'll talk about it all
And those were the days of roses, poetry and prose
And, Martha, all I had was you, and all you had was me
There was no tomorrows, we'd packed away our sorrows
And we saved them for a rainy day
And I feel so much older now
And you're much older too
How's your husband and how's the kids?
You know that I got married too?
Lucky that you found someone
To make you feel secure
'Cause we were all so young and foolish
Now we are mature
And those were the days of roses, poetry and prose
And, Martha, all I had was you, and all you had was me
There was no tomorrows, we'd packed away our sorrows
And we saved them for a rainy day
And I was always so impulsive
I guess that I still am
And all that really mattered then
Was that I was a man
I guess that our being together
Was never meant to be
And Martha, Martha
I love you, can't you see?
And those were the days of roses, poetry and prose
And, Martha, all I had was you, and all you had was me
There was no tomorrows, we'd packed away our sorrows
And we saved them for a rainy day
And I remember quiet evenings
Trembling close to you
Joe Blogs
One of my top-500 Tom Waits songs.
kayte lopez
I'm a newbie to Tom's music, but I love him & am addicted!! So far, Martha is my favorite because I relate to it 100%. I bawled when I first heard it. I name my plants & one I named, Martha.
Micael Håkans
You are right, one of mine too!... :)
Chris Kumka
He was at the time of this recording on top of his game
Jamie McDonald
This is the sweetest song I’ve heard in a very long time. The emotion of it is so real. Thank you, Tom for such a lovely song.
Benjamin Cisco
I think it's safe to say, there will never be another artist like Tom Waits. Thank you Tom ❤
Winfield Ritzert
I heard the entire album played on an upstate radio station. Before i got home i stopped and bought it.. I never get tired of how it makes me feel..
Anthea Blackmore
Transported back over 30 years....music doesn’t get any better than this
Kevin Keene
How about 50 years! 1973- 2023
DOORN media
Please forgive me... I just discovered this pure gem and i am 24
Never heard this one before. But it's like an instant crush
Those lyrics... damn... goosebumbs