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 Waitsâs 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 FreischĂźtz" 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 BĂźchner. 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 â 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 â ideally naked and purring on the hood of a new car. I have adamantly and repeatedly refused this dubious honor."
Straight To The Top
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Up where the air is fresh and clean
I'm going straight up to the top, oh yeah
If you know me, you know what I mean
I can't let sorrow
Pull ol' Frankie down
Live for tomorrow, I have found, you
I'm going straight up to the top, oh yeah
I just know that I will never stop, no, no
Until I know I'm wild and free
I'm like a champagne bubble, pop-pop-pop
I'm like those birdies
High up in the trees
I can't let sorrow pull ol' Frankie down
Live for tomorrow, I have found, you
I'm going straight up to the top, oh yeah
Up where the air is fresh and clean
I can't let sorrow pull ol' Frankie down
Live for tomorrow, I have found, you
I'm going straight up to the top, oh yeah
Up where the air is
Up where the air is
Up where the air is
Up where the air is
Up where the air is fresh and clean, hoo
Hoo, hoo
The lyrics of Tom Waits's Straight To The Top can be interpreted as an expression of the artist's ambition, his unyielding determination to succeed and rise to the top of his field. The line, "I'm going straight to the top, oh yeah," is a confident declaration of his intentions, while the imagery of the "air [that] is fresh and clean" suggests a desire for a clean slate, a fresh start where he can leave behind any past failures or regrets. The repetition of the phrase "I can't let sorrow pull ol' Frankie down" reinforces this idea â Waits is determined not to let any negative emotions or setbacks hold him back.
The lyrics also reference the desire for freedom and spontaneity, exemplified by the metaphor of the "champagne bubble, pop-pop-pop" and the "birdies high up in the trees." These images suggest a carefree, joyful attitude that contrasts with the determination that underlies the song. Waits seems to be saying that achieving success doesn't have to be a heavy burden, but can instead be a liberating experience.
Overall, the lyrics of Straight To The Top can be seen as a celebration of ambition, drive, and the desire to break free from constraints and limitations to achieve one's goals.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm going straight to the top, oh yeah
I am very determined to succeed and reach the highest level of success.
Up where the air is fresh and clean
I want to attain a better life and a much more comfortable living for myself, away from the struggles of the lower parts of life.
If you know me, you know what I mean
I am confident in myself that those who understand me can see my potential for greatness.
I can't let sorrow Pull ol' Frankie down
I cannot afford to let my sadness and pain bring me down to a much lower state than before.
Live for tomorrow, I have found, you
Instead of living in the past, I found a reason to look forward to tomorrow with optimism and hope.
I just know that I will never stop, no, no
I believe that there is no limit to what I can achieve and I am not going to slow down anytime soon.
Until I know I'm wild and free
I am not satisfied until I am able to live a carefree and liberated life.
I'm like a champagne bubble, pop-pop-pop
I am full of energy and constantly fizzing with excitement.
I'm like those birdies High up in the trees
I am free-spirited like the birds that roost on the treetops.
Up where the air is fresh and clean
I want to be up in the clean air and away from the struggles of the lower parts of life.
I can't let sorrow pull ol' Frankie down
Sadness cannot weigh me down because I do not want it to.
Live for tomorrow, I have found, you
I will never stop hoping for a better tomorrow, and you are the reason why.
Up where the air is
I will move to a higher level of success and live a much better life.
Up where the air is
I will be in places much higher and much farther than before.
Up where the air is
I will experience a new atmosphere and a different type of living.
Up where the air is
I will be in a more comfortable, free, and preferably wealthy place.
Up where the air is fresh and clean, hoo
I will be in a fresh, new environment with clean air and away from the struggles and pains of the streets.
Hoo, hoo
A vocalization expressing triumph or joy.
Lyrics Š Universal Music Publishing Group, JALMA MUSIC
Written by: Gregory Peter Cohen, Thomas Alan Waits
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@PrivateSchemers1
I play this when I'm in an ironic mood.
@sarahlees4587
same. Just blew a gallery exhibition cos I got the dates wrong. Not so wild & free.
@vanderbasrenate
My man x
@kennewedi
Only Problem with Tom Waits his music! There is nothin' that fit's after you listened to this record! So the only ting I can comeup with is turning it and play site A again than B again and than again same problem! Hahaha!đ
@lilatsuchiyama8289
You have to fill the void with more Tom Waits albums đ
@pilarpaesbarreto7954
Reinfield
@jimingram2702
Yes, Renfield.