Tom Waits & Crystal Gayle released an album, One from the Heart, in 1982. I… Read Full Bio ↴Tom Waits & Crystal Gayle released an album, One from the Heart, in 1982. It's a soundtrack album of Tom Waits compositions for the Francis Ford Coppola movie of the same name, One from the Heart. It was recorded from October 1980 to September 1981. The soundtrack was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Music Score.

Crystal Gayle features prominently on the record, performing either solo vocal or singing in duet with Waits on many of the songs. For Coppola's film, Waits originally wanted to work with Bette Midler, who previously sang a duet with him on the Billie Holiday-esque track "I Never Talk to Strangers" from Foreign Affairs, but due to previous engagements, Midler was unavailable.

During the film/album project Waits met his wife Kathleen Brennan, an employee at the studio where it was recorded.

Old Boyfriends
Tom Waits & Crystal Gayle Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Old boyfriends
Lost in the pocket of your overcoat
Like burned out light bulbs on a Ferris Wheel
Old boyfriends

You remember the kinds of cars they drove
Parking in an orange grove
He fell in love, you see

With someone that I used to be

[Chorus:]
Though I very seldom think of him
Nevertheless sometimes a mannequin's
Blue summer dress can make the window like a dream
Ah, but now those dreams belong to someone else
Now they talk in their sleep
In a drawer where I keep all my

Old boyfriends
Remember when you were burning for them
Why do you keep turning them into
Old boyfriends

They look you up when they're in town
To see if they can still burn you down
He fell in love, you see
With someone that I used to be

[Chorus]

Old boyfriends
Turn up every time it rains
Fall out of the pages in a magazine
Old boyfriends

Girls fill up the bars every spring
Dark places for remembering
Old boyfriends

All my old boyfriends
Old boyfriends

Overall Meaning

The song "Old Boyfriends" by Tom Waits and Crystal Gayle is a nostalgic ballad that reflects on the memories and feelings we harbor for past relationships. The song speaks of old boyfriends being lost in the pocket of an overcoat, much like burned out light bulbs on a Ferris wheel, symbolizing how these forgotten memories continue to linger in the back of our minds. The lyrics delve into the specifics of these old relationships, such as the kinds of cars they drove and where they would park in orange groves. The chorus invokes the idea that even though we may not think of these old flames often, certain triggers such as a dress in a store window can bring back memories of them. However, now these dreams and memories belong to someone else, and we are left with a drawer full of old boyfriends.

The song is both bittersweet and melancholic, evoking a sense of loss and longing for the past. The lyrics capture the complex emotions and memories we attach to our past relationships, even when they may no longer hold any real significance in our lives. The chorus emphasizes the idea that we continue to turn our old flames into mere "old boyfriends," which indicates that the emotional attachment we once had to these relationships has now faded away into a distant memory.

Line by Line Meaning

Old boyfriends
The memories of past relationships

Lost in the pocket of your overcoat
The memories of these old boyfriends are always with you, even though you try to forget

Like burned out light bulbs on a Ferris Wheel
These old boyfriends are like the lights on a Ferris Wheel - they shine for a short moment, then fade away

You remember the kinds of cars they drove
You hold on to the small details of these old relationships, like the type of car your ex drove

Parking in an orange grove
You reminisce about romantic moments, like parking in a secluded place like an orange grove

He fell in love, you see, with someone that I used to be
Your ex fell in love with the person you used to be, before you changed

Though I very seldom think of him
You don't often think about your ex, but sometimes certain things trigger memories

Nevertheless sometimes a mannequin's blue summer dress can make the window like a dream
Even a small thing like seeing a blue dress on a mannequin can bring back vivid memories

Ah, but now those dreams belong to someone else
You've moved on and those dreams are now someone else's

Now they talk in their sleep, in a drawer where I keep all my old boyfriends
The memories of these old relationships are kept locked away and hidden

They look you up when they're in town, to see if they can still burn you down
Your exes still try to connect with you to see if you still have feelings for them

Turn up every time it rains, fall out of the pages in a magazine
Memories of past relationships resurface unexpectedly, like old pictures falling out of a magazine

Girls fill up the bars every spring, dark places for remembering
Springtime brings back memories of past relationships, and people tend to frequent bars to forget or remember these people

All my old boyfriends, old boyfriends
A reminder that these memories of old boyfriends are still with you

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, JALMA MUSIC
Written by: TOM WAITS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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