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."
Poor Little Lamb
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Wakes up in the morning alone
Poor little lamb knows what's coming
Life is an empty cup
Poor little lamb watch your shoulder
Coyote's waiting out there
Nobody will get any older
So let's go on a bummer this summer
Where we won't have to be afraid
The world will be on a hummer, boys
And we'll laugh and we'll drink lemonade
The lyrics to Tom Waits's song "Poor Little Lamb" depict a sense of loneliness and the struggles that come with navigating through life. The first verse introduces the main character, the poor little lamb, whose fleece is cold and wakes up alone in the morning. The lamb knows what's coming in life, which suggests a sense of inevitability and fate. The line "life is an empty cup" implies that the lamb feels hollow or lacking in purpose.
The second verse warns the lamb to watch their shoulder because a coyote is waiting out there. This verse could be interpreted as a metaphor for the challenges in life and the need to be vigilant and prepared for whatever may come. The line "nobody will get any older if we don't find a way out of here" could allude to the idea that if we don't make changes, we will be stuck in the same stagnant state.
The chorus provides a glimmer of hope, suggesting that the lamb and their companions go on a bummer (an excursion or adventure) this summer, where they can be free from fear. The final line, "we'll laugh and we'll drink lemonade," suggests a respite, a moment of joy and comfort amidst the struggles of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Poor little lamb now his fleece is all cold
The subject of the song is feeling vulnerable and exposed after being mistreated.
Wakes up in the morning alone
The subject of the song is feeling isolated and unsupported in their struggle.
Poor little lamb knows what's coming
The subject of the song is anticipating more hardship or danger in their future.
Life is an empty cup
The subject of the song feels like they have nothing left to give and nothing to gain from their experiences.
Poor little lamb watch your shoulder
The subject of the song is warned to be vigilant and cautious in order to avoid being hurt or taken advantage of.
Coyote's waiting out there
The subject of the song is reminded of the cruel and predatory nature of the world around them.
Nobody will get any older
The song suggests that life is fleeting and uncertain, and that our time is limited.
If we don't find a way out of here
The song suggests that we need to take action to improve our situation, or we will be trapped in a cycle of despair and suffering.
So let's go on a bummer this summer
The song proposes that we should seek refuge or escape from our troubles by indulging in alcohol or other vices.
Where we won't have to be afraid
The song suggests that we need to find a place where we can feel safe and secure, even if it means abandoning our responsibilities or obligations.
The world will be on a hummer, boys
The song suggests that we should reframe our perspective and see the world as a place of celebration or opportunity, rather than despair.
And we'll laugh and we'll drink lemonade
The song proposes that we should embrace joy and pleasure, even in the face of hardship, by indulging in simple pleasures and companionship.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: THOMAS ALAN WAITS, WILLIAM KENNEDY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@people_hater
this is actually really good
i hope that tik tok doesnt ruin this song and it blows up by chance and not a stupid edit