Title and reason (if you like )… I’d be interested to hear…
Small Change
Tango 'til they’re sore.
Because … it’s symmetrical. Great tempo, perfect lyrics. The guy could sing a shopping list and I’d still listen, but he just makes these perfect images:
‘Put my clarinet beneath your bed til I get back in town?’
Ooh, actually, NO, it’s probably Jesus Gonna Be Here:
‘I gotta keep myself faithful
And I’ve been so good …
Except for drinkin’
But He knew that I would.
Well, I’m gonna leave this place better,
than the way I found that it was
Jesus gonna be here, he’s gonna here sooooon!’
Soft spot for the whole of ‘Rain Dogs’, walking around Singapore (!) with headphones when I was a kid.
I like Gun Street Girl; mixed up American images:
‘He bought a second hand Nova from a Cuban Chinese
and died his hair in the bathroom of a Texaco’
I like the opening guitar in Going Out West
And just remembered Strange Weather
‘The rose has died because you picked it
I believe that brandy’s mine’
Wow, might as well ask “who’s your favorite child?”
A few that come to mind are Foreign Affair
[quote]. . . your transient position
allows you a perspective that’s unique
though you’ll find your itinerary’s a blessing and a curse
your wanderlust won’t let you settle down
and you’ll wonder how you ever fathomed that you’d be content
to stay within the city limits of a small midwestern town
most vagabonds i knowed don’t ever want to find the culprit
that remains the object of their long relentless quest
the obsession’s in the chasing and not the apprehending
the pursuit you see and never the arrest. . . [/quote]
and I Never Talk to Strangers, off the same album. What a beautiful and touching duet between Waits and Midler.
I like Blue Valentines and Jersey Girl and Little Trip to Heaven. Why? They just sound beautiful.
[quote]Lazy trip to heaven on the wings of your love
Banana moon is shining in the sky,
Feel like I’m in heaven when you’re with me
Know that I’m in heaven when you smile,
Though we’re stuck here on the ground, I got something that I’ve found
And it’s you.
And I don’t have to take no trip to outer space
All I have to do is look at your face,
And before I know it, I’m in orbit around you
Thanking my lucky stars that I’ve found you,
When I see your constellation, honey, you’re my inspiration, and it’s you… . . [/quote]
The Piano has been Drinking. 
How can you not love it?
[quote]The piano has been drinking
my necktie is asleep
and the combo went back to New York
the jukebox has to take a leak
and the carpet needs a haircut. . .
cause the bouncer is a Sumo wrestler
cream puff casper milk toast
and the owner is a mental midget
with the I.Q. of a fencepost
cause the piano has been drinking
the piano has been drinking. . .
and you can’t find your waitress
with a Geiger counter
And she hates you and your friends
and you just can’t get served
without her
and the box-office is drooling
and the bar stools are on fire
and the newspapers were fooling
and the ash-trays have retired
the piano has been drinking
the piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking
not me, not me, not me, not me, not me[/quote]
The Day After Tomorrow
[quote]I turned 21 today
I’ve been saving all my pay
And my plane
It will touch down
On the day after tomorrow.[/quote]
It’s anti-war.
Daimonds on My Windshield
[quote]And a Wisconsin hiker with a cue-ball head
He’s wishing he was home in a Wiscosin bed
But there’s fifteen feet of snow in the East
Colder then a welldigger’s ass
And it’s colder than a welldigger’s ass…[/quote]
When I’m outa state and runnin’ a little late…
Step Right Up
[quote]Step right up, step right up, step right up,
Everyone’s a winner, bargains galore
That’s right, you too can be the proud owner
Of the quality goes in before the name goes on
One-tenth of a dollar, one-tenth of a dollar, we got service after sales
You need perfume? we got perfume, how 'bout an engagement ring?
Something for the little lady, something for the little lady,
Something for the little lady, hmm
Three for a dollar
We got a year-end clearance, we got a white sale
And a smoke-damaged furniture, you can drive it away today
Act now, act now, and receive as our gift, our gift to you
They come in all colors, one size fits all
No muss, no fuss, no spills, you’re tired of kitchen drudgery
Everything must go, going out of business, going out of business
Going out of business sale
Fifty percent off original retail price, skip the middle man
Don’t settle for less
How do we do it? how do we do it? volume, volume, turn up the volume
Now you’ve heard it advertised, don’t hesitate
Don’t be caught with your drawers down,
Don’t be caught with your drawers down
You can step right up, step right up…
[/quote]
Runs in my head every time I go to a night market.
Pasties and a G-string
Smelling like a brewery,
looking like a tramp
I ain’t got a quarter
got a postage stamp
Been five o’clock shadow boxing
all around the town
Talking with the old men
sleeping on the ground
Bazanti bootin
al zootin al hoot
and Al Cohn
sharin this apartment
with a telephone pole
and it’s a fish-net stockings
spike-heel shoes
Strip tease, prick tease
car keys blues
and the porno floor show
live nude girls
dreamy and creamy
and the brunette curls
Chesty Morgan and a
Watermelon Rose
raise my rent and take off
all your clothes
with the trench coats
magazines bottle full of rum
she’s so good, it make
a dead man cum, with
pasties and a g-string
beer and a shot
Portland through a shot glass
and a Buffalo squeeze
wrinkles and cherry
and twinky and pinky
and FeFe live from Gay Paree
fanfares rim shots
back stage who cares
all this hot burlesque for me
cleavage, cleavage thighs and hips
from the nape of her neck
to the lip stick lips
chopped and channeled
and lowered and louvered
and a cheater slicks
and baby moons
she’s hot and ready
and creamy and sugared
and the band is awful
and so are the tunes
crawlin on her belly shakin like jelly
and I’m getting harder than
Chinese algebraziers and cheers
from the compendium here
hey sweet heart they’re yellin for more
squashing out your cigarette butts
on the floor
and I like Shelly
you like Jane
what was the girl with the snake skins name
it’s an early bird matinee
come back any day
getcha little sompin
that cha can’t get at home
getcha little sompin
that cha can’t get at home
pasties and a g-string
beer and a shot
Portland through a shot glass
and a Buffalo squeeze
popcorn, front row
higher than a kite
and I’ll be back tomorrow night
and I’ll be back tomorrow night
Great lyrics, that voice that’s perfect for a pervy tune; and a fun/bouncy feel.
From when I was a high school punk, Waltzing Matilda, which we always used to play at the end of a hard night of beer, babes, & bud. Can anyone do bittersweet melancholy better?
From one point in my early 20’s when I had a monster (unrequited) crush on a second cousin ( 
), I Hope That I Don’t Fall In Love With You, again, unparallelled for late night wallowing with cigarettes and cheap whiskey.
Me three on the Rain Dogs lurve, what a masterpiece (although Heartattack & Vine runs pretty close), but out of the album, I guess it would be Downtown Train (die, Rod Rod the Salted Cod), but also because the video is soooo good.
Best interview? Letterman, I think it’s the one where he sings the show out with Time. I’ll bet it’s on Youtube.
Letterman: So Tom, I was reading somewhere about how, for a while, you were living in your car in LA. Can you tell us about that?
TW: Ah, yeah, well, you know, Daaaaaave…uh, I think…most everyone’s lived in a car at some point in their life…
Letterman: OK, Tom, what was it like when you were growing up, tell us about your family…
TW: Ack, ehhhhh, well, actually, Daaaaaave…my father, my father, my father was…an exhaust manifold…
And my mother…was a tree…
I remember that thedog (what was his name? Ralph?) covered it on the muppet show. Must be on youtube somewhere.
[quote=“zender”]Oh, Yeah! What a great interview Tom Waits is.
youtube.com/watch?v=zP1TC21Q … PL&index=9[/quote]
Solly, no youtubee at workee…
Is that the one where he says something like “New York is a boat, and the water’s on fire”?
He was Dr. Heller in Mystery Men. Just how cool is that movie?
[quote=“the chief”][quote=“zender”]Oh, Yeah! What a great interview Tom Waits is.
youtube.com/watch?v=zP1TC21Q … PL&index=9[/quote]
Solly, no youtubee at workee…
Is that the one where he says something like “New York is a boat, and the water’s on fire”?[/quote]
Yup. That’s the one.
[quote=“zender”][quote=“the chief”][quote=“zender”]Oh, Yeah! What a great interview Tom Waits is.
youtube.com/watch?v=zP1TC21Q … PL&index=9[/quote]
Solly, no youtubee at workee…
Is that the one where he says something like “New York is a boat, and the water’s on fire”?[/quote]
Yup. That’s the one.[/quote]
Jeez, zenny, I just recalled, looking at your post, that me and my friends in high school could sing along with Pasties & a G String WORD FOR WORD.
I think this is 1/2 an endorsement of the ease with which young learners absorb information, and 1/2 an endorsement of how weirdly focused you can get when really really fucking high…
Cleavage! Cleavage!
Thighs and hips!
From the nape of her neck to her lipstick lips!
What’s He Building?
[quote]What’s he building in there?
What the hell is he building
In there?
He has subscriptions to those
Magazines… He never
Waves when he goes by
He’s hiding something from
The rest of us… He’s all
To himself… I think I know
Why… He took down the
Tire swing from the Peppertree
He has no children of his
Own you see… He has no dog
And he has no friends and
His lawn is dying… and
What about all those packages
He sends. What’s he building in there?
With that hook light
On the stairs. What’s he building
In there… I’ll tell you one thing
He’s not building a playhouse for
The children what’s he building
In there?
Now what’s that sound from under the door?
He’s pounding nails into a
Hardwood floor… and I
Swear to god I heard someone
Moaning low… and I keep
Seeing the blue light of a
T.V. show…
He has a router
And a table saw… and you
Won’t believe what Mr. Sticha saw
There’s poison underneath the sink
Of course… But there’s also
Enough formaldehyde to choke
A horse… What’s he building
In there. What the hell is he
Building in there? I heard he
Has an ex-wife in some place
Called Mayors Income, Tennessee
And he used to have a
consulting business in Indonesia…
but what is he building in there?
What the hell is building in there?
He has no friends
But he gets a lot of mail
I’ll bet he spent a little
Time in jail…
I heard he was up on the
Roof last night
Signaling with a flashlight
And what’s that tune he’s
Always whistling…
What’s he building in there?
What’s he building in there?
We have a right to know…[/quote]
What’s he building in there?
More of a spoken word piece rather than a song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaLjwSpZ6Cs
It’s basically written about me.
“No children, no dog, no friends. And his lawn is dying.”
“…he gets a lot of mail but he doesn’t have any friends.”
“I heard he was on the roof last night signaling with a flashlight.”
Ha. For some reason that reminds me of Lou Reed’s great song, The Gift.
Damn you Funk! 
Not being a real fan like previous posters, I don’t know that many Tom Waits’ songs.
I would say my favorite is Downtown Train. And Jersey Girl 2nd.
“16 Shells from a Thirty-Ought-Six”
It resonates from a certain era in my life that I often look back upon fondly.
Ignorance was bliss!
No doubt.
“Gun Street Girl” #1.
“Yesterday is Here”, “Down in the Hole”, “Swordfishtrombones”, “Time” completing my top 5.