The Piano Has Been Drinking--Tom Waits

by blondie 16 Replies latest social entertainment

  • blondie
    blondie

    Martha

    Tom Waits
    Closing Time

    Operator, number, please:
    it's been so many years
    Will she remember my old voice
    while I fight the tears?
    Hello, hello there, is this Martha?
    this is old Tom Frost,
    And I am calling long distance,
    don't worry 'bout the cost.
    'Cause it's been forty years or more,
    now Martha please recall,
    Meet me out for coffee,
    where we'll talk about it all.

    And those were the days of roses,
    poetry and prose and Martha
    all I had was you and all you had was me.
    There was no tomorrows,
    we'd packed away our sorrows
    And we saved them for a rainy day.

    And I feel so much older now,
    and you're much older too,
    How's your husband?
    and how's the kids?
    you know that I got married too?
    Lucky that you found someone
    to make you feel secure,
    'Cause we were all so young and foolish,
    now we are mature.

    And those were the days of roses,
    poetry and prose and Martha
    all I had was you and all you had was me.
    There was no tomorrows,
    we'd packed away our sorrows
    And we saved them for a rainy day.

    And I was always so impulsive,
    I guess that I still am,
    And all that really mattered then
    was that I was a man.
    I guess that our being together
    was never meant to be.
    And Martha, Martha,
    I love you can't you see?

    And those were the days of roses,
    poetry and prose and Martha
    all I had was you and all you had was me.
    There was no tomorrows,
    we'd packed away our sorrows
    And we saved them for a rainy day.

    And I remember quiet evenings
    trembling close to you...

  • blondie
    blondie
    Tom Traubert's Blues
    (Tom Waits 1976)
    Wasted and wounded, it ain't what the moon did
    Got what I paid for now
    See ya tomorrow, hey Frank can I borrow
    A couple of bucks from you?
    To go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
    You'll go a waltzing Matilda with me

    I'm an innocent victim of a blinded alley
    And tired of all these soldiers here
    No one speaks English and everything's broken
    And my Stacys are soaking wet
    To go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
    You'll go a waltzing Matilda with me

    Now the dogs are barking and the taxi cab's parking
    A lot they can do for me
    I begged you to stab me, you tore my shirt open
    And I'm down on my knees tonight
    Old Bushmill's I staggered, you buried the dagger
    Your silhouette window light
    To go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
    You'll go a waltzing Matilda with me

    Now I lost my Saint Christopher now that I've kissed her
    And the one-armed bandit knows
    And the maverick Chinaman and the cold-blooded signs
    And the girls down by the strip-tease shows
    Go, waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
    You'll go a waltzing Matilda with me

    No, I don't want your sympathy
    The fugitives say that the streets aren't for dreaming now
    Manslaughter dragnets and the ghosts that sell memories
    They want a piece of the action anyhow
    Go, waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
    You'll go a waltzing Matilda with me

    And you can ask any sailor and the keys from the jailor
    And the old men in wheelchairs know
    That Matilda's the defendant, she killed about a hundred
    And she follows wherever you may go
    Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
    You'll go a waltzing Matilda with me

    And it's a battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace
    And a wound that will never heal
    No prima donna, the perfume is on
    An old shirt that is stained with blood and whiskey
    And goodnight to the street sweepers
    The night watchman flame keepers and goodnight to Matilda too
  • shamus
    shamus

    Tom Waits is one of my all-time fav's. It's nice to see that others here enjoy him too.

    I am a HUGE FAN! I would love to see him live! I'd probably spend lots of cash to see him live, but I heard he only plays in the states. One day before he dies, I'll go see him and idoloze him like the WTBTS says that I am doing... LOL!

    You all have excellent taste in music! I am very impressed!

  • blondie
    blondie

    Yes, it is amazing (smile). I have loved Tom Waits for years and years. Few understood why. I love a good melody, lyric, and a piano player. His voice has that grittiness that enhances the message in his lyrics that tease our senses, our emotions.

    http://www.officialtomwaits.com/

  • blondie
    blondie
    Georgia Lee
    Georgia Lee

    (Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan)

    Cold was the night, hard was the ground
    They found her in a small grove of trees
    Lonesome was the place where Georgia was found
    She's too young to be out
    On the street.

    Why wasn't God watching?
    Why wasn't God listening?
    Why wasn't God there for
    Georgia Lee?

    Ida said she couldn't keep Georgia
    From dropping out of school
    I was doing the best that I could
    But she kept runnin away from this world
    These children are so hard to raise good

    Why wasn't God watching?
    Why wasn't God listening?
    Why wasn't God there for
    Georgia Lee?

    Close your eyes and count to ten
    I will got and hid but then
    Be sure to find me. I want you to find me
    And we'll play all over
    We will play all over again

    There's a toad in the witch grass
    There's a crow in the corn
    Wild flowers on a cross by the road
    And somewhere a baby is crying
    For her mom
    As the hills turn from green back
    To gold

    Why wasn't God watching?
    Why wasn't God listening?
    Why wasn't God there for
    Georgia Lee?

  • Gollum
    Gollum

    I love almost everything this man has done. Amazing stuff. I'm waiting for the chance to see him live. I also keep checking Amazon to see if they will ever release "Big Time", that concert movie he did a few years back.

    Anyway, to add to the lyrics pileup, Here is one of my favorites, "Emotional Weather Report"

    late night and early morning low clouds
    with a chance of fog
    chance of showers into the afternoon
    with variable high cloudiness
    and gusty winds, gusty winds
    at times around the corner of
    Sunset and Alvorado
    things are tough all over
    when the thunder storms start
    increasing over the southeast
    and south central portions
    of my apartment, I get upset
    and a line of thunderstorms was
    developing in the early morning
    ahead of a slow moving coldfront
    cold blooded
    with tornado watches issued shortly
    before noon Sunday, for the areas
    including, the western region
    of my mental health
    and the northern portions of my
    ability to deal rationally with my
    disconcerted precarious emotional
    situation, it's cold out there
    colder than a ticket taker's smile
    at the Ivar Theatre, on a Saturday night
    flash flood watches covered the
    southern portion of my disposition
    there was no severe weather well
    into the afternoon, except for a lone gust of
    wind in the bedroom
    in a high pressure zone, covering the eastern
    portion of a small suburban community
    with a 103 and millibar high pressure zone
    and a weak pressure ridge extending from
    my eyes down to my cheeks cause since
    you left me baby
    and put the vice grips on my mental health
    well the extended outlook for an
    indefinite period of time until you
    come back to me baby is high tonight
    low tomorrow, and precipitation is
    expected

  • amac
    amac

    Blondie has already posted my two favorites...Martha and Tom Traubert's Blues.

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