I’ve been listening to him since maybe 1975 or 76, around the time of Heart of Saturday Night. When I was a kid, I thought of him as kind of a curiosity, but still loved his music. Songs (and I use the word loosely) like “Better off Without a Wife”, “Tom Traubert’s Blues” (“I don’t have a drinking problem till I can’t get a drink”, etc., are appealing to the teenager’s sense of humor but still have an innate quality.
After the mid-80’s, I kind of lost touch with him for a decade or so, but when I got a CD player, started picking up some CD’s. I heard him on NPR around the time Orphans came out and got that. There’s no doubt in my mind that it’s the best album of the 2000’s.
This afternoon I put on Real Gone when I was finishing some cabinetry. The penultimate cut is “Day after tomorrow,” which I gave an extra listen to because I’d heard Joan Baez sing it recently. It’s an absolute tearjerker. It’s an incredibly depressing song about a soldier in Afghanistan waiting to go home.
But the tearjerking quality isn’t strictly the lyrics. There’s something about Tom Waits’s music that’s simply beautiful. It certainly is some emotional connection, that something in his music touches my heart, but can anybody explain it? Is it even possible?
It’s not just his songwriting (“Somewhere”), the guy can slay a song despite his perceived inability to sing. But his spoken-word stuff is even emotionally powerful.
Chas,
I thank you for posting Tom Waits’ “Day After Tomorrow”. It is certain that Waits is a gifted poet as illustrated by his lyrics in this song.
This song is as timeless as man fighting man. I found myself particularly moved by this song as I thought of friends lost. A buddy of mine who is a Viet Nam Vet and subsequently had a long career in law enforcement, lost two of his sons within a four month period of time earlier this year. His son’s both saw heavy combat in Afghanistan. Upon their honorable discharge and return to the U.S., both young brothers joined the same National Guard Unit, and both went on to serve their nation and community as Hartford Police Officers. I have little doubt that they both suffered from PTSD.
Those who knew and cared for them grieve for their family, their friends, those who survive the ripple that was their all too short but valiant lives. Sadly, this story plays out day after day across our country.
I am currently working on a poem as a tribute to my Uncle Lou and his beloved 106TH U.S. Army Infantry Golden Lions. His passing on Memorial Day weekend earlier this year, caused me to reflect on the many lives well lived yet lost so tragically.
The sacrifices of our military and their families often go unremarked, sadly forgotten, purposely ignored. Thank you Tom Waits and Chas, for this moving reminder. May God Bless all who serve and their families!
Cayden
I’ve heard the song ‘Day After Tomorrow’ several times thru the years and think it’s his singing in that raspy, whispering voice that conveys a deep sense of yearning for home and to be with family. Heartfelt soulful yearning. Emotionally I think we all connect with that sense of yearning in some way.
Thanks for posting chas, now I’ll have to have a closer listen too.
Thanks for that one – I don’t listen to Frank’s Wild Years much, but this is a standout cut – I’ve always thought he’s tongue-in-cheek paying homage to the classic Bugs Bunny cartoon in which the Tasmanian Devil says after Bugs has buried him, “How come you bury me in the cold cold ground?” (or maybe it’s What for you bury me).
He’ll never be wildly popular, but I think he’s pretty wealthy. I suspect he’s done quite well through his association with Francis Ford Coppola and the Boss’s recording of Jersey Girl (among many others who have recorded his songs).
I think your idea of his never compromising his vision of his art is spot on. One of the things I love about Waits is that he keeps trying new things. I really love his old stuff, but have more respect for his more experimental things. I didn’t really warm up to his changed sound till I heard Paul Young’s version of “A Soldier’s Things” and went back to give Swordfishtrombones a fresh listen (This was probably within two years or so of when it originally came out). The album is incredibly creative, and very noisy, but there are some killer beautiful songs on it. I listen to Gentle Giant, King Crimson, etc., so I honestly like noisy, it’s just that I wasn’t expecting it from Tom Waits in 1982.
Thanks to everyone for your thoughts; I hope some others ring in.
