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."
Walk Away
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With a little drop of poison in the red red blood
She need a way to turn around the bend
She said I want to walk away and start over again
There are things I've done I can't erase
I want to look in the mirror see another face
I said, "never", but I'm doing it again
No more rain, no more roses
On my way, shake my thirst in a cool cool pond
There's a winner in every place
There's a heart that's beating in every page
The beginning of it starts at the end
When it's time to walk away and start over again
Weather's murder at a hundred and three
William Ray shot Corabell Lee
A yellow dog knows when he has sinned
You wanna walk away and start over again
No more rain, no more roses
On my way, shaking my thirst in a cool cool pond
Cooper told Maui the whole block's gone
They're dying for jewelry, money, and clothes
I always get out of the trouble I'm in
I want to walk away, start over again
I left my bible by the side of the road
Carve my initials in an old dead tree
I'm going away but I'm going to be back when
It's time to walk away and start over again
Ho ho yeah, hmm, yeah
Gotta walk away, gotta walk away, gotta walk away
Just wanna walk away yeah, wanna walk away and start over again
Wanna walk away, wanna walk away, wanna walk away
The lyrics to Tom Waits's "Walk Away" tell a story of a woman named Dot King who is seeking redemption for the things she has done in her past. Dot King is described as being made "from the bone of Cain," implying that she is marked by sin and guilt. She has a "little drop of poison" in her blood, representing her dark past, and she wants to "walk away and start over again." She longs to look in the mirror and see a new face, one that is free from her troubled past.
The lyrics suggest that Dot King is not alone in her desire to start over. There are others who have sinned and want to walk away from their past lives. The song mentions a few examples, such as William Ray who shot Corabell Lee, and Cooper who tells Maui that "the whole block's gone" due to their desire for material possessions. Despite these examples, the song suggests that redemption is possible, and that by walking away and starting over again, one can find a new beginning.
The chorus of the song, which repeats "no more rain, no more roses, on my way, shake my thirst in a cool cool pond," implies that Dot King is seeking a simpler life, free from the complications of her past. The final verse, in which the singer carves his initials in an old dead tree, suggests that he too is seeking a fresh start, but leaves the story open-ended, allowing listeners to interpret it in their own way.
Line by Line Meaning
Dot King was whittled from the bone of Cain
Dot King is a dark, sinister character who is believed to have inherited her evilness from her ancestor Cain.
With a little drop of poison in the red red blood
Her wickedness is further facilitated by the poison flowing in her veins.
She need a way to turn around the bend
She wants to escape her past and find a new direction in life.
She said I want to walk away and start over again
She desires a fresh start, an opportunity to leave everything behind and begin afresh.
There are things I've done I can't erase
She has committed terrible actions that she cannot undo.
I want to look in the mirror see another face
She wants to change her reflection to see someone new and different, to move away from the ugliness of her past self.
I said, 'never', but I'm doing it again
Despite initially resisting the temptation to start afresh, she is now back to considering the prospect.
I wanna walk away, start over again
She reiterates her desire for a new beginning and a fresh start.
No more rain, no more roses
She wants to leave behind her past pain and suffering in favor of a new beginning.
On my way, shake my thirst in a cool cool pond
She envisions a peaceful, calm place where she can quench her thirst for renewal and rebirth.
There's a winner in every place
Every new beginning is an opportunity for success and triumph.
There's a heart that's beating in every page
In every new chapter of life, there are people who share the same struggles and heartaches.
The beginning of it starts at the end
In order to have a new beginning, one must first end the previous chapter of their life.
When it's time to walk away and start over again
She acknowledges that the idea of starting anew is bound to occur only when it is the right time.
Weather's murder at a hundred and three
The scorching heat of summer can play havoc with people's lives.
William Ray shot Corabell Lee
Violent actions can ruin lives and leave permanent scars.
A yellow dog knows when he has sinned
Even animals, which are not purposely malicious, know when they have committed wrongdoings.
You wanna walk away and start over again
People feel the urge to leave their past behind and start anew when they reach their breaking point.
Cooper told Maui the whole block's gone
The singer is aware of the decay and moral breakdown in their surroundings.
They're dying for jewelry, money, and clothes
People are being driven to desperation and even death for material gain and status symbols.
I always get out of the trouble I'm in
The artist has always managed to overcome past troubles thanks to their resilience and resourcefulness.
I want to walk away, start over again
The artist reiterates their desire for a completely fresh start.
I left my bible by the side of the road
The singer is leaving behind their past beliefs and stories to embrace a new way of life.
Carve my initials in an old dead tree
The artist wants to leave their mark and be remembered even if their past self is left behind.
I'm going away but I'm going to be back when
The singer is confident that they will return, albeit as a different and improved person.
It's time to walk away and start over again
The singer emphasizes that one should commence a new chapter of life only when they feel it's the right time to do so.
Ho ho yeah, hmm, yeah
An expression of affirmation and agreement regarding the necessity of change and new beginnings.
Gotta walk away, gotta walk away, gotta walk away
The artist emphasizes the urgency and necessity of starting afresh fully.
Just wanna walk away yeah, wanna walk away and start over again
The artist reiterates the desire for a fresh start, emphasizing its importance.
Wanna walk away, wanna walk away, wanna walk away
The artist emphasizes anew their desire for change and renewal.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: KATHLEEN BRENNAN, THOMAS ALAN WAITS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Maelvamp
Dot King was whittled from the bone of Cain
With a little drop of poison in the red red blood
She need a way to turn around the bend
She said I want to walk away and start over again
There are things I've done I can't erase
I want to look in the mirror see another face
I said, "never", but I'm doing it again
I wanna walk away, start over again
No more rain, no more roses
On my way, shake my thirst in a cool cool pond
There's a widower in every place
There's a heart that's beating in every page
The beginning of it starts at the end
When it's time to walk away and start over again
Weather's murder at a hundred and three
William Ray shot Corabell Lee
A yellow dog knows when he has sinned
You wanna walk away and start over again
No more rain, no more roses
On my way, shaking my thirst in a cool cool pond
Cooper told Molly the whole block's gone
They're dying for jewelry, money, and clothes
I always get out of the trouble I'm in
I want to walk away, start over again
I left my bible by the side of the road
Carve my initials in an old dead tree
I'm going away but I'm going to be back when
It's time to walk away and start over again
Ho ho yeah, hmm, yeah
Gotta walk away, gotta walk away, gotta walk away
Just wanna walk away yeah, wanna walk away and start over again
Wanna walk away, wanna walk away, wanna walk away
@brandonman94
This is true for any Waits song. Nothing compares to slamming some beers, stepping out on your tiny apartment's balcony with another drink in hand, and lighting up while listening to Tom Waits.
@weca123
Dude I know it's been 7 years since your comment, but you've described it so well. Actually doing it right now ))
@schnook11
I need to revisit this way of listening to Tom...
@Yantryman
9 years. Still the essence.
@brandonman94
@@Yantryman And I'm still here, livin' the life! Had to cut back a little from college, but not much haha.
@Yantryman
@Steven respect and all the best! Also we still enjoy with Tom!
@hatorimatori
Mr. Waits thank you for existing.
@sunshinekwon9516
This song is my number one favorite song of Tom Waits...and then the list goes on. Love this guy, such a unique and eccentric talent.
@carlweiskott7623
I agree it's da bomb. 💣 Check out 'Who are you this time?" Different emotions, but a similarly hard hitting Waits song (imo)
@hellradiolives
I never realized how damn much I liked Tom Waits ... until I listened just one more time.