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."
Take It With Me
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's a long time since I drank champagne
The ocean's blue, as blue as your eyes
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
Old long since gone, now way back when
We lived in Coney Island
There ain't no good thing ever dies
Far, far away a train whistle blows
Wherever you're goin', wherever you've been
Waving goodbye at the end of the day
You're up and you're over, and you're far away
Always for you, and forever yours
It felt just like the old days
We fell asleep on Beaula's porch
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
All broken down by the side of the road
I's never more alive or alone
I've worn the faces off all the cards
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
The children are playing at the end of the day
Strangers are singing on our lawn
It's got to be more than flesh and bone
All that you've loved is all you own
In a land there's a town, and in that town there's a house
And in that house there's a woman
And in that woman there's a heart I love
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
In "Take Me Home," Tom Waits is going through a time of reflection and thinking about where he has been and where he is going. He shuts off his phone and enjoys the silence, thinking about how it has been a long time since he had champagne. He compares the blue ocean to the blue of someone’s eyes, possibly the person he is thinking of. He decides to take it all with him when he goes because there is no good thing that ever dies. The singer reflects on his past when he lived in Coney Island and thinks about how all things of worth should be taken with him on this journey.
The sound of a train whistle far away makes him contemplate that life moves on, and people move on. However, wherever people are heading or have been, there is always someone waving goodbye at the end of the day. Even though life changes and people move on, there are some things that one carries forever. He remembers the time when he fell asleep on Beaula's porch, feeling loved and cared for, and this memory will be with him forever. At one point in time, the singer was broken down at the side of the road and felt like he was never more alive or alone. He has worn the faces off all the cards, meaning that he has lived life to the fullest and experienced everything. Therefore, he decides to take it all with him when he goes.
The end of the lyrics points out that all that is loved is all that is owned, and in the land, there is always a house with someone's heart that he loves. So he will take all of it with him when he goes as these memories and experiences are the only things that no one else owns.
Line by Line Meaning
The phone's off the hook, no one knows where we are
We want to be alone; we don't want to be interrupted by anyone.
It's a long time since I drank champagne
It's been a while since I celebrated, since I did something special.
The ocean's blue, as blue as your eyes
The ocean is as beautiful as your eyes; it is mesmerizing.
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
I will always remember this moment; I will cherish it even after I leave.
Old long since gone, now way back when
We talked about our past and remembered how things used to be long ago.
We lived in Coney Island
We were once happy; we had everything we wanted, surrounded by the people we loved.
There ain't no good thing ever dies
Memories never die; they stay with us forever.
Far, far away a train whistle blows
Someone is leaving; they are going away, and we don't know when we'll see them again.
Wherever you're goin', wherever you've been
It doesn't matter where you are going or where you've been; what matters is the journey itself.
Waving goodbye at the end of the day
Saying goodbye is never easy; it's always painful.
You're up and you're over, and you're far away
You have moved on, and you are far away now. We hope you find what you're looking for.
Always for you, and forever yours
I will always be here for you, no matter what happens.
It felt just like the old days
We had a good time reminiscing; it felt like we were back in the old days.
We fell asleep on Beaula's porch
We were so comfortable, so relaxed, that we fell asleep on a warm summer night.
All broken down by the side of the road
I'm stranded, but it doesn't matter; I feel alive; I feel like I'm free.
I's never more alive or alone
I am truly alive; I am free from everything that has held me back.
I've worn the faces off all the cards
I've been through a lot of things; I've lost a lot of battles, but I'm still here.
The children are playing at the end of the day
Children are still innocent; they still find joy in the small things in life.
Strangers are singing on our lawn
Even strangers can find happiness; they can feel a connection with others, no matter how brief.
It's got to be more than flesh and bone
Life is more than just physical; it's about the connections we make, the memories we create.
All that you've loved is all you own
In the end, what really matters is the love we give and receive, the memories we create.
In a land there's a town, and in that town there's a house
Somewhere out there, there is a place that we can make our own.
And in that house there's a woman
In that place, there is someone who loves us, who will be there for us through thick and thin.
And in that woman there's a heart I love
In that person, there is someone who means everything to us, who we cherish and adore.
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
I will always remember this place, this person, this moment. It will be with me forever.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, JALMA MUSIC
Written by: Kathleen Brennan, Thomas Alan Waits
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
josé luís almeida
[and the lyrics, on its own a beautiful poem]
Phone's off the hook
No one knows where we are
It's a long time since I drank champagne
The ocean is blue
As blue as your eyes
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
Old long since gone
Now way back when we lived in Coney Island
Ain't no good thing ever dies
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
Far far away a train whistle blows
Wherever you're goin
Wherever you've been
Waving good bye at the end of the day
You're up and you're over and you're far away
Always for you, and forever yours
It felt just like the old days
We fell asleep on Beaula's porch
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
All broken down by the side of the road
I was never more alive or alone
I've worn the faces off all the cards
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
Children are playing at the end of the day
Strangers are singing on our lawn
It's got to be more than flesh and bone
All that you've loved is all you own
In a land there's a town
And in that town there's a house
And in that house there's a woman
And in that woman there's a heart I love
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
I'm gonna take it with me when I go.
Chantal Gallagher
The phone's off the hook, no one knows where we are
It's a long time since I drank champagne
The ocean's blue, as blue as your eyes
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
Old long since gone, now way back when
We lived in Coney Island
There ain't no good thing ever dies
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
Far, far away a train whistle blows
Wherever you're goin', wherever you've been
Waving goodbye at the end of the day
You're up and you're over, and you're far away
Always for you, and forever yours
It felt just like the old days
We fell asleep on Beaula's porch
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
All broken down by the side of the road
I's never more alive or alone
I've worn the faces off all the cards
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
The children are playing at the end of the day
Strangers are singing on our lawn
It's got to be more than flesh and bone
All that you've loved is all you own
In a land there's a town, and in that town there's a house
And in that house there's a woman
And in that woman there's a heart I love
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
josé luís almeida
[and the lyrics, on its own a beautiful poem]
Phone's off the hook
No one knows where we are
It's a long time since I drank champagne
The ocean is blue
As blue as your eyes
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
Old long since gone
Now way back when we lived in Coney Island
Ain't no good thing ever dies
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
Far far away a train whistle blows
Wherever you're goin
Wherever you've been
Waving good bye at the end of the day
You're up and you're over and you're far away
Always for you, and forever yours
It felt just like the old days
We fell asleep on Beaula's porch
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
All broken down by the side of the road
I was never more alive or alone
I've worn the faces off all the cards
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
Children are playing at the end of the day
Strangers are singing on our lawn
It's got to be more than flesh and bone
All that you've loved is all you own
In a land there's a town
And in that town there's a house
And in that house there's a woman
And in that woman there's a heart I love
I'm gonna take it with me when I go
I'm gonna take it with me when I go.
Aida
Oooo Zot sa e bukur!!!
Falemnderit!
♥️💔
Burke Rosen
Can’t get this one out of my head...it’s perfect.
BLZBOB
Thank you. x
Andrea Berkely
Favre Ettori, I think all of Tom Waits lyrics are poetry! Thanks, Jose Luis Almieda for putting it down in written form!
Favari Ettore
Music should be a poem, always
Christopher W
A universe that could make Tom Waits and 4 minutes of music like this deserves a second chance.
EvaGardner
Yes that’s great creator, the universe
James Williams
I can't follow that, Christopher. Beautifully put.
Ezekiel Brockmann
@Christopher W I disagree.
If you pull your nose out of the prescribed train of thought, you won't see anything but beauties.