Tag Archives: Tom Waits

ART, LIVES, MOVING PICTURES, PICTURE POEMS, POETIC NONSENSE, SOUNDS

TOM TIME

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Recently, I’ve become addicted to Tom Waits.  He’s the existential zen master of musical eloquence.

Well the smart money’s on Harlow and the moon is in the street
And the shadow boys are breaking all the laws
And you’re east of East Saint Louis and the wind is making speeches
And the rain sounds like a round of applause
And Napoleon is weeping in a carnival saloon
His invisible fiancee’s in the mirror
And the band is going home, it’s raining hammers, it’s raining nails
And it’s true there’s nothing left for him down here

And it’s time time time, and it’s time time time
And it’s time time time that you love
And it’s time time time

And they all pretend they’re orphans and their memory’s like a train
You can see it getting smaller as it pulls away
And the things you can’t remember tell the things you can’t forget
That history puts a saint in every dream

Well she said she’d stick around until the bandages came off
But these mama’s boys just don’t know when to quit
And Mathilda asks the sailors “Are those dreams or are those prayers?”
So close your eyes, son, and this won’t hurt a bit

Oh it’s time time time, and it’s time time time
And it’s time time time that you love
And it’s time time time

Well things are pretty lousy for a calendar girl
The boys just dive right off the cars and splash into the street
And when they’re on a roll she pulls a razor from her boot
And a thousand pigeons fall around her feet
So put a candle in the window and a kiss upon his lips
As the dish outside the window fills with rain
Just like a stranger with the weeds in your heart
And pay the fiddler off ’til I come back again

Oh it’s time time time, and it’s time time time
And it’s time time time that you love
And it’s time time time
And it’s time time time, and it’s time time time
And it’s time time time that you love
And it’s time time time.

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MISERY’S THE RIVER OF THE WORLD

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Video by Richard Borge

Lyrics and Music by Tom Waits:

Misery’s the River of the World.
Misery’s the River of the World.

The higher the monkey can climb the more he shows his tail.
Call no man happy ’til he dies.
There’s no milk at the bottom of the pail.

God builds a church.
The Devil builds a chapel like the thistles that are growing ’round the trunk of a tree.

All the good in the world you can put inside a thimble and still have room for you and me.

If there’s one thing you can say about Mankind: there’s nothing kind about Man.

You can drive out Nature with a pitch fork but it always comes roaring back again.

Misery’s the River of the World.
Misery’s the River of the World.
Misery’s the River of the World.

For want of a bird the sky was lost.
For want of a nail  a shoe was lost.
For want of a life the knife was lost.
For want of a toy a child was lost.

Misery’s the River of the World.
Misery’s the River of the World.
Everybody Row! Everybody Row!
Misery’s the River of the World.
Misery’s the River of the World.
Everybody Row! Everybody Row!

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LIE TO ME

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You got to lie to me…. If you don’t, then nothing moves on. This universe is built of lies. Think about it: if everybody always told the exact, whole, unaltered truth about every detail of their thoughts and actions we would all die an agonizing death of excruciating boredom!  Don’t take my word for it.  Try it.  Tell everyone the exact, unaltered truth about what you really think and what you really do all the time. Do it for 3 days. Even 24 hours.  Or, how about 20 minutes?  I dare you! Send me an e-mail and tell me what happened.  lrs@lawrencerspencer.com

Meanwhile, watch this Tom Waits video of his song title “LIE TO ME”:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3KnCL0S_Ws&feature=share&list=AL94UKMTqg-9BDxNZOybRbK_np1W_t39Ml

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WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD

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One of the reasons I love Tom Waits songs is that is his sacrilegious disagreement with reality. And, the mo-fo can really do music good!

Lyrics:


put a dead cat on the railraod tracks
when the wolf bains blooming by the tressel
and get the eyeball of a rooster
and the stones from a ditch
and wash em down with bilge water
and say you’ll never snitch
take the buttons from a yellow jacket
the feather from a buzzard
and the blood from the bounty hunters cold black heart
catch the tears of a window
in a thimble made ofglass
tell your mamaand your papa
theycan kiss your ass
poison all the water in the wishin’ well
and hang all them scarecrows from a sycamore tree
burn down all those honeymoons
put em in a pillow case
and wait next to the switch blades at the amusements park for me
strangle all the cristmas carols
scratch out all you prayers
tie em up with barbed wire
and push them down the stairs
and i’ll whittle you a pistol
for reepin’ nightmares off the blinds
those sunsabitches always seem to sneak up from behind
syphom all the gas from your daddys pickup truck
fill up jonnys t bird
i got a couple bucks
put on little perfume and ribbon in your hair
careful that you don’t wake up the hounds
tear a bolt of lightning
off the side of the sky
and throw in the cedar chest
if you want me to tell you why
bring the gear shift knob from a 49 mere
and lay down here beside me
let me hold you in the dirt
and you’ll tremble as the flames
tear the throat out of the night
sink your teeth into my shoulder
dig your nails into my back
tell that lettle girl to let go of my sleeve
you’ll be awoman when i catch you
as you faqll in love with me

then with my double barrel shotgun
and a whole box of shells
we’ll celebrate the 4 of july
we’ll do 100 mph
spendin’ someone elses dough
and we’ll drive all the way to reno
on the wrong side of the road.