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."
eggs and sausage in a cadillac with susan michelson
Tom Waits Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Of Emma's 49er, there's a rendezvous
Of strangers around the coffee urn tonight
All the gypsy hacks, the insomniacs
Now the paper's been read
Now the waitress said
Eggs and sausage and a side of toast
Coffee and a roll, hash browns over easy
What kind of pie?
In a graveyard charade, a late shift masquerade
Two for a quarter, dime for a dance
With Woolworth rhinestone diamond
Earrings, and a sideway's glance
And now the register rings
And now the waitress sings
The classified section offered no direction
It's a cold caffeine in a nicotine cloud
Now the touch of your fingers
Lingers burning in my memory
I've been 86ed from your scheme
I'm in a melodramatic nocturnal scene
I'm a refugee from a disconcerted affair
As the lead pipe morning falls
And the waitress calls
The song "Eggs and Sausage in a Cadillac with Susan Michelson" by Tom Waits tells the story of a late-night rendezvous at the diner, Emma's 49er. The diner is full of strangers - insomniacs, gypsy hacks, and other night owls. As the night wears on, the waitress takes orders for eggs, sausage, toast, coffee, and more. The scene is surreal and dreamlike, with a graveyard charade and late-shift masquerade playing out. The singer is a refugee from a disconcerted affair, taking solace in the comfort of the diner and the memories of his lover.
The song is a study in mood and atmosphere, capturing the feelings of alienation, loneliness, and longing that often accompany nighttime hours. The diner is a sanctuary, a place of solace and anonymity for those who can't sleep or find themselves adrift in the nocturnal world. The lyrics are rich with detail and evocative imagery, painting a vivid picture of a midnight world.
Line by Line Meaning
Nighthawks at the diner
Late-night patrons fill the diner like Edward Hopper's famous painting 'Nighthawks'.
Of Emma's 49er, there's a rendezvous
The gathering of strangers takes place at Emma's 49er diner.
Of strangers around the coffee urn tonight
The coffee urn is surrounded by unfamiliar faces tonight.
All the gypsy hacks, the insomniacs
The diner attracts eclectic groups like street performers and people who can't sleep.
Now the paper's been read
Everyone has finished reading the newspaper.
Now the waitress said
The waitress speaks up to take orders.
Eggs and sausage and a side of toast
One customer orders a classic breakfast with eggs, sausage, and toast.
Coffee and a roll, hash browns over easy
Another customer wants coffee, bread roll, and hash browns cooked lightly.
Chile in a bowl with burgers and fries
Someone orders a bowl of chili with burgers and fries.
What kind of pie?
The waitress asks about the choice of pie.
In a graveyard charade, a late shift masquerade
The scene feels surreal and eerie, like a play in a cemetery or a fancy dress party at night.
Two for a quarter, dime for a dance
Dancing costs a dime, but two can dance for a quarter.
With Woolworth rhinestone diamond
The dancers wear fake rhinestone jewelry from Woolworth's store.
Earrings, and a sideway's glance
Some women wear earrings and give alluring looks.
And now the register rings
The cash register makes a ringing sound after a transaction.
And now the waitress sings
The waitress hums or sings while cleaning up.
The classified section offered no direction
The newspaper's classified section didn't provide any useful information for someone's search.
It's a cold caffeine in a nicotine cloud
The air is thick with smoke and the beverage is a bitter coffee laden with caffeine.
Now the touch of your fingers
Here, the singer jumps in and recalls a personal experience with someone.
Lingers burning in my memory
The touch of that person's fingers stays in the artist's mind vividly.
I've been 86ed from your scheme
The person cut the artist out of their plans or excluded them from something.
I'm in a melodramatic nocturnal scene
The artist feels as if they're in a dramatic, eerie movie set at night.
I'm a refugee from a disconcerted affair
The singer left a chaotic, confused relationship behind and seeks refuge in the diner's atmosphere.
As the lead pipe morning falls
The sun rises and casts a heavy, gray light like a weighted lead pipe.
And the waitress calls
The waitress beckons the singer to pay and leave as the diner's overnight shift ends.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Thomas Waits
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Paulus
intro: I was always eh, kinda want to like consider myself kind of a pioneer of the palette
A restaurateur if you will
I've wined, dined, sipped and supped in some of the most demonstrably beamer
Epitomable bistros in the Los Angles metropolitan region
Yeah, I've had strange looking patty melts at Norms
I've had dangerous veal cutlets at the Copper Penny
Well what you get is a breaded salsbury steak in a shake-n-bake
And topped with a provocative sauce of Velveeta and uh, half-n-half
Smothered with Campbell's tomato soup
See I have kinda of a uh...well I order my veal cutlet
Christ it left the plate and it walked down to the end of the counter
Waitress, ? she's wearing those rhinestone glasses with the little pearl thing clipped on the sweater
My veal cutlet come down, tried to beat the shit out of my cup of coffee
Coffee just wasn't strong enough to defend itself
Michael Cathcart
My introduction to Tom Waits was in 1977, when I was 9 years old, watching Saturday Night Live... and he did this song. I had never seen or heard anything quite like Tom Waits then, and really, not since. He's his own genre, his own definition, his own universe. Been a fan since that night.
Nmshine
Just wanted to say I have been loving this tune for over 30 years. And still love it. Just awesome. So glad so many feel the same way!
Robert Hadfield
50 years.
Jerome Ayalon
@Robert Hadfield Are we that old? Still one of my favorite albums!
MaiKe
Such a pleasure to read the comments of others who love this music as much as I do.
Juris Klavins
The late night diner crowd is a special fraternity - Tom Waits gets it! 😎
Holywine777
... hope it is still like that...
Max Weaver
I personally think: this is the coolest fucking thing ever laid down on tape. Tom is the singer-songwriter. He takes multiple genres, and interprets them in his own way.Jack Kerouac combined with John Coltrane.
MaiKe
Please don't, but you can say that again :-)
Anthony Salvati
I couldn't agree more, Coltrane and Kerouac, spot on analogy. Imagine my surprise in 1972 while sitting on the lawn at Tanglewood, waiting for Stephen Stills to perform, and a guy who looks like he slept on a park bench shuffles onto the stage by himself and starts half, rapping half singing in a voice that sounds like he had gargled cement ten minutes earlier. At first I thought the opening act was a comedian, but it took about 1 minute to realize different. Then he sat down at the piano joined by the bass, sax player and drummer, and by the end of the set I could have cared less if Stills made an appearance. In fact, no disrespect to Stills, but we left halfway through his set, it seemed insignificant after what we had just witnessed.