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."
Medley: Jack & Neal / California Here I Come
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Written by Joseph Meyer, Al Jolson and Buddy G. De Sylva
Jack was sittin poker faced with bullets backed with bitches
Neal hunched at the wheel puttin everyone in stiches
Braggin bout this nurse he screwed while drivin through nebraska
And when she came she honked the horn and neal just barely missed a
Truck and then he asked her if she'd like to come like that to californy
See a red head in a uniform will always get you horny
She drove like andy granatelli and knew how to fix a flat
And jack was almost at the bottom of his md 2020 neal was yellin
Out the window tryin to buy some bennies from a lincoln
Full of mexicans whose left rear tire blowed and the sonsobitches
Prit near almost ran off the road
well the nurse had spilled the manoshevitz all up and down her dress
Then she lit the map on fire neal just had to guess
Should we try and find a bootleg route or a fillin station open
The nurse was dumpin out her purse lookin for an envelope and
Jack was out of cigarettes we crossed the yellow line
The gas pumps looked like tombstones from here
Felt lonelier than a parking lot when the last car pulls away
And the moonlight dressed the double breasted foothills
In the mirror weaving outa negligee and a black brassiere
The mercury was runnin hot and almost out of gas
Just then florence nightingale dropped her drawers and
Stuck her fat ass half way out of the window with a
Wilson pickett tune
And shouted get a load of this and gave the finger to the moon
countin one eyed jacks and whistling dixie in the car
Neal was doin least a hundred when we saw a fallin star
Florence wished that neal would hold her stead of chewin
His cigar jack was noddin out and dreamin he was in a bar
With charlie parker on the bandstand not a worry in the world
And a glass of beer in one hand and his arm around a girl
And neal was singin to the nurse
Underneath a harlem moon
And somehow you could just tell we'd be in california soon
"Jack & Neal/California Here I Come" is a road trip odyssey portrayed through the eyes of two friends, Jack and Neal. The song is a mix of jazz, blues, rock, and country, loaded with dynamic imagery, unconventional phrases and characters, and an almost carnival-esque atmosphere. The song starts with Jack gambling (sitting poker-faced) while Neal drives, telling him a story about a nurse he supposedly slept with. The nurse had an interesting way of expressing pleasure, honking the horn while driving through Nebraska. Neal, being the excited one, wants the nurse to accompany them to California, and Jack (presumably drunk on his MD 2020) barely acknowledges him.
Then, they come across Mexicans who almost cause an accident, a nurse who spills Manischewitz on her dress, a quest to find petrol, and more. As the road trip continues, the characters appear in strange but vivid colors, shimmering in a surreal atmosphere. This song is not just about two men on a road trip, but it is also about the spirit of California that grips people, its seduction, its grandness. The song also comes with a sense of liberation, transcendence, and the search for a new horizon.
Interesting Facts:
Line by Line Meaning
Jack was sittin poker faced with bullets backed with bitches
Jack was sitting with a serious expression, hiding his emotions, as he held a strong hand of cards with pictures of women on them.
Neal hunched at the wheel puttin everyone in stiches
Neal was driving while hunched over, making everyone in the car laugh uncontrollably.
Braggin bout this nurse he screwed while drivin through nebraska
Neal was boasting about a nurse he had sex with while they were driving through Nebraska.
And when she came she honked the horn and neal just barely missed a
The nurse honked the car horn when she had an orgasm, and Neal almost crashed the car as a result.
Truck and then he asked her if she'd like to come like that to californy
After the incident, Neal asked the nurse if she would like to come to California with them, in a lighthearted manner.
See a red head in a uniform will always get you horny
Neal found redheaded women in uniform to be attractive and arousing.
With her hairnet and those white shoes and a name tag and a hat
Neal described the nurse's appearance, including her hairnet, white shoes, name tag, and hat.
She drove like andy granatelli and knew how to fix a flat
The nurse was a skilled driver and knew how to fix a flat tire, similar to race car driver, Andy Granatelli.
And jack was almost at the bottom of his md 2020 neal was yellin
Jack was almost finished with his bottle of MD 2020, while Neal was yelling for him to hurry up so they could continue driving.
Out the window tryin to buy some bennies from a lincoln
Neal was trying to purchase some benzedrine, a stimulant drug, from someone in a Lincoln car.
Full of mexicans whose left rear tire blowed and the sonsobitches
The Lincoln car was full of Mexican people whose left rear tire had blown out, causing them to almost crash the car.
Prit near almost ran off the road
The near-accident caused the car to almost run off the road.
well the nurse had spilled the manoshevitz all up and down her dress
The nurse had accidentally spilled her Manischewitz wine on her dress, making a mess.
Then she lit the map on fire neal just had to guess
The nurse accidentally set the map on fire, forcing Neal to navigate without it.
Should we try and find a bootleg route or a fillin station open
They had to decide whether to take a secret unauthorized route or to find an open gas station.
The nurse was dumpin out her purse lookin for an envelope and
The nurse was emptying out her purse, looking for an envelope, while the others were making decisions about the route.
Jack was out of cigarettes we crossed the yellow line
Jack had run out of cigarettes, and at the same time, they crossed over the yellow divider line on the road.
The gas pumps looked like tombstones from here
From a distance, the gas pumps looked like tombstones, as if in a cemetery.
Felt lonelier than a parking lot when the last car pulls away
The scene was desolate and lonely, like a parking lot after the last car has departed.
And the moonlight dressed the double breasted foothills
The moonlight illuminated the hillsides, giving them the appearance of having two layers, like a double-breasted suit.
In the mirror weaving outa negligee and a black brassiere
Someone was in the mirror, trying to adjust their clothing - which consisted of a negligee and black brassiere.
The mercury was runnin hot and almost out of gas
The car's engine was overheating and they were running low on fuel.
Just then florence nightingale dropped her drawers and
The nurse suddenly removed her pants (dropped her drawers).
Stuck her fat ass half way out of the window with a
She then stuck her large buttocks halfway out the car window.
Wilson pickett tune
She played a popular song by musician Wilson Pickett to accompany her display.
And shouted get a load of this and gave the finger to the moon
She then yelled for everyone to see her display and gave the middle finger to the moon in a rebellious gesture.
countin one eyed jacks and whistling dixie in the car
The passengers were passing time by playing a card game called one-eyed jacks while also singing along to the traditional folk song, Dixie, playing in the car.
Neal was doin least a hundred when we saw a fallin star
Neal was driving at least one hundred miles per hour when they observed a shooting star in the sky.
Florence wished that neal would hold her stead of chewin
The nurse wished Neal would pay attention to her instead of chewing his cigar.
His cigar jack was noddin out and dreamin he was in a bar
Jack had nodded off and was dreaming about being in a bar or tavern.
With charlie parker on the bandstand not a worry in the world
In Jack's dream, jazz musician Charlie Parker was onstage performing, and Jack did not have a care in the world.
And a glass of beer in one hand and his arm around a girl
Jack was at the bar with a drink in one hand and his arm around a woman's shoulders.
And neal was singin to the nurse
Neal was singing to the nurse, still attempting to impress her.
Underneath a harlem moon
Neal was singing the song 'Underneath a Harlem Moon', likely because it referenced a romantic setting.
And somehow you could just tell we'd be in california soon
Despite the chaotic ride and various incidents, they had a feeling that they would arrive in California soon.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: AL JOLSON, B. G. DESYLVA, JOSEPH MEYER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tome57a
Tom Waits sums up Jack Kerouac’s On The Road in five minutes flat. Seriously crazy wordsmithery.
@JeremyMount
Wordsmithery, awesome!
@sisuboy
Classic Tom Waits story telling.
@RayMelville
This was the song that hooked me onto Tom Waits back in 1987 while browsing in a bookstore on Van Ness in San Francisco. Went out bought Foreign Affairs and Rain Dogs which was his latest release at the time. He only got better since then.
@JeffK1980
2:39-2:47... lol 😁
@ontariohappenings
I laughed out lout to that too.