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."
Taint No Sin
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the music softly moans
T'ain't no sin to take off your skin
And dance around in your bones
When it gets too hot for comfort
And you can't get an ice cream cone
T'ain't no sin to take off your skin
Just like those bamboo babies
Down in the South Sea tropic zone
T'ain't no sin to take off your skin
And dance around your bones
The song 'Tain't No Sin' by Tom Waits speaks about letting go of inhibitions and enjoying life without societal restrictions. The lyrics suggest that people should embrace their inner selves and express themselves freely, regardless of what others might think. The line "T'ain't no sin to take off your skin and dance around in your bones" refers literally to shedding one's clothes, but can also be interpreted as shedding one's emotional armor and being vulnerable in front of others.
The lyrics also reference syncopation and music that is moaning softly. The syncopation is a musical term that refers to rhythms that emphasize off-beats, which creates a feeling of movement and energy. The music that "softly moans" creates a sensual and intimate atmosphere, encouraging listeners to feel comfortable enough to be themselves and let go of their inhibitions.
The final verse of the song references "bamboo babies down in the South Sea tropic zone," which can be interpreted as a metaphor for the uninhibited freedom that the song promotes. Bamboo babies typically refer to dolls made from bamboo, but in this context, they represent carefree spirits who dance and live without any societal restrictions.
Line by Line Meaning
When you hear sweet syncopation
When you hear music that's rhythmically complex and catchy
And the music softly moans
And the music elicits a sensual and emotional response
T'ain't no sin to take off your skin
It's not immoral to let loose and fully express yourself
And dance around in your bones
By shedding societal expectations, you can dance freely and beautifully
When it gets too hot for comfort
When circumstances become unbearable
And you can't get an ice cream cone
And there's no small comfort to be had
T'ain't no sin to take off your skin
It's still perfectly fine to remove the masks that hide your true self
And dance around your bones
And dance freely and joyfully in your own skin
Just like those bamboo babies
Just like the dolls made of bamboo stalks
Down in the South Sea tropic zone
In the hot and tropical South Pacific region
T'ain't no sin to take off your skin
It's not wrong to completely let go and be yourself
And dance around your bones
And dance like nobody's watching or judging
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: EDGAR LESLIE, WALTER DONALDSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
honouryourvomit
This one gets me on the dance floor everytime...such an infectious groove!
twobalcain
You stole my comment.
Kendra
I absolutely love this... its simply wonderful...
Nabium
When I was a teenager Tom Waits became my favourite artist about the same time as Burroughs became my favourite writer. I would go out hunting all the record stores around Oslo for Tom Waits albums, but this was one of the hardest records to find, so when I finally discovered that they had collaborated it kinda blew my head a little. It still kinda does.
earthstick
The organ melody sounds like someone rummaging around in the attic, searching through old boxes and suitcases for the right notes. The notes that got recorded are just the ones they had to clear out of the way.
SPOGGETT
i'm reeeaaallly holding a fever right now, and this song is the VIBE
Tristan Caver
This made my night
Dr. Pulp's Theater of Horror
Hell of a duo!
Alfred Baker
Fine album. Waits experimenting a lot here. Highly recommended.
EYEWHO ASKYA
I didnt know this had anything to do with Tom. Had it under Burroughs for years. Awesome!