Lyrics -

Album
16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought-Six
Big Black Mariah
Clap Hands
Cold Cold Ground
Falling Down
Gun Street Girl
Johnsburg, Illinois
Rain Dogs
Red Shoes
Ruby's Arms
Straight To The Top (Rhumba) Straight To The Top (Vegas)
Strange Weather
Telephone Call From Istanbul
Time
Train Song
Underground
Way Down In The Hole
Yesterday Is Here
Movie
16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought-Six
9th & Hennepin
Big Black Mariah
Clap Hands
Cold Cold Ground
Gun Street Girl
Frank's Wild Years
Hang On St. Christopher
I'll Take New York
Innocent When You Dream
Johnsburg, Illinois
More Than Rain
Rain Dogs
Shore Leave
Straight To The Top (Vegas)
Strange Weather
Telephone Call From Istanbul
Time
Train Song
Way Down In The Hole

Album

16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought-Six

(Swordfishtrombones studio version, 1983)

I plugged⁽²⁾ sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six⁽³⁾

And a black crow snuck through a hole in the sky

So I spent all my buttons on an old pack mule

Oh, and I made me a ladder from a pawn shop marimba⁽⁴⁾

And I leaned it up against a dandelion tree

Leaned it up against a dandelion tree

Leaned it up against a dandelion tree

Ma, cook them feathers on a tire iron spit

And I filled me a sachel⁽⁵⁾ full of old pig corn⁽⁶⁾

And I beat me a billy⁽⁷⁾ from an old French horn

Whoa, and I kicked that mule to the top of the tree

Kicked that mule to the top of the tree

Blew me a hole 'bout the size of a kickdrum⁽⁸⁾

And I cut me a switch from a long branch elbow

I'm gonna whittle you into kindlin''⁽⁹⁾

Black crow, sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

Whittle you into kindlin'

Black crow, sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

Well, I slept in the holler of a dry creek bed

And I tore out the buckets from a red Corvette⁽¹⁰⁾

Tore out the buckets⁽¹¹⁾ from a red Corvette

Lionel and Dave and the Butcher made three

Oh, you got to meet me by the knuckles of the skinnybone tree

With the strings of a Washburn⁽¹²⁾ stretched like a clothes line

Oh, you know me and that mule scrambled right through the hole

Me and that mule scrambled right through the hole

I'm gonna whittle you into kindlin'

Black crow, sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

Whittle you into kindlin'

Black crow, sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

Now I hold him prisoner in a Washburn jail

That I strapped on the back of my old kick mule

Strapped it on the back of my old kick mule

I bang on the strings just to drive him crazy

Oh, I strum it loud to rattle his cage

Strum it loud just to rattle his cage

Strum it loud just to rattle his cage

Strum it loud just to rattle his cage

Whoa, I'm gonna whittle you into kindlin'

Black crow, sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

Whittle you into kindlin'

Black crow, sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music admin. by Ackee Music Inc. (ASCAP), � 1983-1998

Official release: "Swordfishtrombones", Island Records Inc., 1983 &

"Beautiful Maladies", Island Records Inc., 1998

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)

16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought-Six

(Big Time live version, 1988)

Good evening!

Plugged⁽²⁾ sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six⁽³⁾

And a black crow snuck through a hole in the sky

And I spent all my buttons on an old pack mule

And I made me a ladder from a pawn shop marimba⁽⁴⁾

I leaned it all up 'gainst a dandelion tree

I leaned it all up 'gainst a dandelion tree

Gonna whittle you into kindlin''⁽⁹⁾

Sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

Whittle you into kindlin'

Sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

Now, I slept in the holler of a dry creek bed

And I tore out the buckets from a red Corvette⁽¹⁰⁾

Tore out the buckets⁽¹¹⁾ from a red Corvette

Lionel and Dave, Butcher made three

Meet me by the knuckles of the skinnybone tree

With the strings of a Washburn⁽¹²⁾ like a clothes line

Now, me and that mule, right through the hole

Me and that mule, right through the hole

Whittle you into kindlin'

Sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

Whittle you into kindlin'

Sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

I will whittle you into kindlin'

Sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

Whittle you into kindlin'

Sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

Gonna take a

38 hours long gone train

I just

Long gone train

Just long gone train

I just long

I just long

I just long

Long

Hey-hey.

Good evening!

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music, Admin. by Ackee Music, Inc. (ASCAP), � 1983-1988

Official release: "Big Time", � Island Visual Arts Inc. (P) Island Records Inc., 1988

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)

Further reading: Big Time full story

Known covers:

The Piano Has Been Drinking. The Piano Has been Drinking. April, 1990. Chlodwig/ BMG Germany (in German/ K�lsch)

It's A Mystery. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band. 1995. Capitol/ EMI Records

Bukowski Waits For Us - Vol. 2. Michael Kiessling. September 25, 2000. Buschfunk (Germany)

Wicked Grin. John Hammond. March 13, 2001. Emd/ Virgin

God Is A Tom Waits Fan. The Box Spring Hogs. May 2004. Self-released demo

For My Smoke. Shiloh Lindsey. July 30, 2004. Self-released

Koskenkorvapuusti. The Mescaline Smugglers. 2006. Self-released

Wailin´Inc. Live. Wailin´Inc. (James Wailin). May 16, 2006. No Cover Productions (NCPR42)

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ 16 Shells From A Thirty Ought Six

- Tom Waits (1983): "I tried to get a 'chain gang work song-feel holler. Get a low trombone to give a feeling of a freight train going by. It's Stephen Hodges on drums, Larry Taylor on acoustic bass, Fred Tackett on electric guitar, Victor Feldman on brake drum and bell plate and Joe Romano on trombone. So, I wanted to have that kind of a sledgehammer coming down on anvil. Originally I saw the story as a guy and a mule going off looking for this crow. He has a Washburn guitar strapped on the side of his mule and when he gets the crow he pulls the strings back and shoves this bird inside the guitar and then the strings make like a jail. Then he bangs on the strings and the bird goes out of his mind as he is riding off over the hill. So I tried to make the story a bit impressionistic but at the same time adding some very specific images in there. I worked a long time on this. The feel of it was really critical. I added snare and we pulled the snare off 'cause it made it shuffle too much. I liked the holes in it as much as I liked what was in them. It was a matter of trying to get that feeling of a train going. Originally I tried it just with organ and bass. Then I was afraid to add too much to it 'cause sometimes you get a feel that's appropiate. If you try to heap too much on it then it crumbles into the strain" (Source: "Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones". Island Promo interview, 1983)

- Tom Waits (1983): "16 Shells - I wanted a chain gang sort of a feel - banging a hammer on an anvil - Huuh - like a work song -Huuh. used brake drum and bell plate and tried to take it outside -certain instruments bring you indoors, other instruments take you outdoors, trying to get that kind of feel on it" (Source: Unidentified Swordfishtrombones Interview (interviewer's tape). Date: 1983/ 1984)

- Tom Waits (1983): "16 Shells From A 30.6" is a field holler done with a hammer on an anvil. It's about this guy who captures this black crow and puts it in his guitar and then bangs on the strings and drives the bird mad on the side his mule as he goes off. Originally, I was going to put 16 shells in the belly of a scarecrow and blame it all on him. It was about a farmer in Kansas and it wouldn't rain, so he got despondent and shot his scarecrow" (Source: "The Beat Goes On" Rock Bill magazine (USA). October 1983, by Kid Millions)

- Quoting from "Scarecrow" (Unreleased track, from 'Foreign Affairs' sessions, July through August, 1977): "... And pump sixteen shells in the belly of a scarecrow. And blame it all on him."

⁽²⁾ Plug v.: To shoot someone, esp. to kill by shooting (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner)

⁽³⁾ Thirty Ought Six: Rifle designed in 1906 with a bullet/ barrel gauge of 30. Ought is colloquial for the number zero.

⁽⁴⁾ Marimba: A row of tuned wooden bars mounted in a box and played with mallets - similar to a xylophone or vibraphone (Source: The Folk File, Bill Markwick)

⁽⁵⁾ Sachel: (satchel) n. A small bag, often having a shoulder strap, used for carrying books or clothing (Source: The American Heritage� Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright � 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company)

⁽⁶⁾ Pig corn: Genetically modified low-phytate corn grown for feeding pigs and chickens. Not meant for human consumption

⁽⁷⁾ Billy: "A billy or billy-can is a kettle that a traveller or hiker would take along. So it's a small kettle that one would use over an open fire. A popular reference for this would be the Austrailian song Waltzing Matilda (...and he sang as he sat and waited while his billy boiled, you'll come a waltzing Matilda with me...) So in the Waits song - he makes a kettle (billy) out of the bell of a French horn." (Submitted by Phil Kane as sent to Tom Waits Library. Library. July 2, 2004)

⁽⁸⁾ Kick drum n.: The bass drum in a drum kit, operated by a foot pedal (Source: The Folk File, Bill Markwick)

⁽⁹⁾ Whittle (you) into kindlin': Whittle is to carve delicately with a knife, kindling a small piece of wood with which to start a fire. Another way to say this would be to cut you down to size, to put you in your place (Submitted by Mark Cook, eGroups discussionlist. September, 2000)

⁽¹⁰⁾ Corvette: American sportscar produced by Chevrolet.

- Corvette: also mentioned in: A Nickel's Worth Of Dreams, 1977: "And take that Corvette Stingray with a four-on-the-floor.", Gun Street Girl, 1985: "Blew a hole in the hood of a yellow Corvette."

⁽¹¹⁾ Buckets: car front seats

⁽¹²⁾ Washburn: Brand of a guitar maker

Big Black Mariah

(Raindogs studio version, 1985)

Well, it's cuttin' through the cane break⁽²⁾, rattling the sill⁽³⁾

Thunder that the rain makes when the shadow top the hill

Big light on the back street, hill to Evermore⁽⁴⁾

Packin' down the ladder⁽⁵⁾ with the hammer to the floor

Here come the Big Black Mariah

Here come the Big Black Mariah

Here come the Big Black Mariah

I see the Big Black Ford

Well, he's all boxed up⁽⁶⁾ on a red bell dame

Hunted Black Johnny with a blind man's cane

A yellow bullet with a rag⁽⁷⁾ out in the wind

An old blind tiger⁽⁸⁾ got an old bell Jim

Here come the Big, yeah, Black Mariah

Here come the Big, yeah, Black Mariah

Here come the Big Black Mariah

Here come the Big Black Ford

Sent to the skies on a Benny Jag Blue⁽⁹⁾

Off to bed without his supper like a Lindabrides⁽¹⁰⁾ do

He got to do the story with the old widow Jones

He got a wooden coat⁽¹¹⁾, this boy is never coming home

Here come the Big, yeah, Black Mariah

Here come the Big, yeah, Black Mariah

Here come the Big Black Mariah

I see that Big Black Ford

Cut through the cane break...

Oh yeah

Oh yeah

Well, he's all boxed up on a red bell dame

Fat Blue Charlie with a blind man's cane

A hundred yellow bullets, shook a rag out in the wind

An old black tiger on a pair of blue wings⁽¹²⁾

Here come the Big, yeah, Black Mariah

Here come the Big, yeah, Black Mariah

Here come the Big, yeah, Black Mariah

Here come the Big, yeah, Black Ford

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music (ASCAP), � 1985

Official release: Rain Dogs, Island Records Inc., 1985

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)

Big Black Mariah

(Big Time live version, 1988)

I'm cutting through the cane break⁽²⁾, rattling the sill⁽³⁾

Thunder that the rain makes when the shadow tops the hill

Big light on the back street, hill to Evermore⁽⁴⁾

Packing down the ladder⁽⁵⁾ with the hammer to the floor

Here come the Big Black Mariah, here come the Big Black Mariah baby

Here come the Big Black Mariah, here come the big black Ford

Well I'm all boxed up⁽⁶⁾ on a red belle dame

Flat Blue Johnny with a blind man's cane

A yellow bullet with a rag⁽⁷⁾ out in the wind

That old blind tiger⁽⁸⁾, an old bell

Here come the Big Black Mariah, here come the Big Black Mariah

Here come the Big Black Mariah baby, here come the big black Ford, yeah

Now we're all boxed up on a red belle dame

Flat Blue Johnny with a blind man's cane

A yellow bullet with a rag out in the wind

That old blind tiger, an old bell

Here come the Big Black Mariah, here come the Big Black Mariah baby

Here come the Big Black Mariah, here come the big black Ford

Oh yeah, Big Black Mariah, here come the Big Black Mariah

Here come the Big Black Mariah

Here come the Big Black Mariah

Here come the Big Black Mariah

Here come the Big Black Mariah

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music, Admin. by Ackee Music, Inc. (ASCAP), � 1985-1988

Official release: "Big Time", � Island Visual Arts Inc. (P) Island Records Inc., 1988

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)

Also included in Big Time the Movie. Further reading: Big Time full story

Known covers:

Wicked Grin. John Hammond. March 13, 2001. Emd/ Virgin

The Carnival Saloon Live. The Carnival Saloon. October, 2001. Self-released (Ireland)

The Silverhearts Play Raindogs. The Silverhearts. October 5, 2005. Banbury Park Records

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Big Black Mariah/ Black Maria, Black Mariah

- n.: A police wagon or truck used to take arrested persons to jail (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner, 1975)

- The black van which conveys prisoners from the police courts to jail. The French call a mud-barge a "Marie-salope." The tradition is that the van referred to was so called from Maria Lee, a negress, who kept a sailors' boarding house in Boston. She was a woman of such great size and strength that the unruly stood in dread of her, and when constables required help, it was a common thing to send for Black Maria, who soon collared the refractory and led them to the lock-up. So a prison-van was called a "Black Maria." (Source: "The First Hypertext Edition of The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable", E. Cobham Brewer. � 1997-99 Bibliomania.com Ltd).

- n.: A hearse (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner, 1975)/ Cassel's Dictionary of Slang. Jonathon Green 1998. Cassel & Co., 2000)

- "We can dispose of the fashionable London lady straightaway, as the expression for a police or prison van is quite certainly American in origin. The Boston story is about Maria Lee, a large black woman who kept a boarding house in the 1820s with such severity that she became more feared than the police, who called on her to help them catch and restrain criminals. The story almost certainly became attached to her much later because she was well-known, black, and was named Maria, but there's no evidence that she was actually the source of the name for the police vans. The first reference we have to such a vehicle in Boston is dated 1847, which might seem to be rather too long after her heyday for there to be a direct connection. The book that Eric Partridge mentions is Peter Ploddy, and Other Oddities of 1844, by Joseph Clay Neal, a well-known American journalist and humorist of the period. It contains the story The Prison Van; or, The Black Maria, whose title was until recently thought to be the first known use of the term. In it, the author wrote: "In Philadelphia ... the popular voice applies the name of 'Black Maria' to each of these melancholy vehicles". However, we now know, as the result of research by George Thompson, that the term was in use in New York about a decade earlier, since the term was used in at least two newspaper reports, one of 1835 and the other of 1836. The former was in the New York Transcript of 24 Dec 1835 and said "A man named Henry Stage ... contrived to make his escape on Saturday last while on his way from Bellevue prison to the city in the carriage generally known as 'Black Maria' ". One sidelight on the term which many World Wide Words subscribers have pointed out is that it is universally pronounced (as in "I call the wind Maria"), and not the more common American (as in "Ave, Maria"). This is probably a perpetuation in this fixed phrase of a way of saying the name that was once more common than it is now. Douglas G Wilson has suggested a possible association with a famous black racehorse of the period, also named Black Maria, which was foaled in Harlem, New York, in 1826. She won many races (her purse winnings alone amounted to nearly $15,000, a very large sum for the period), but it seems that her most famous exploit was on 13 October 1832, when she won the race for the Jockey Club purse of $600 at the Union Course. In 1870, an article about her in Harper's New Monthly Magazine noted that "The track was heavy, and yet, to achieve a victory, twenty miles had to be run. We wonder if there is a horse on the turf to-day that could stand up under such a performance as this?". The dates are highly suggestive. Here is a black racehorse whose most famous exploit is in New York in 1832, and only three years later her name is used for a police van in the same city. There can be no proof without further evidence-which may never be forthcoming-but like her many admirers, I'd put my money on her to be first past the post." (Source: World Wide Words is copyright � Michael Quinion, 1996-2004)

- The different explanations of "a Black Maria(h)" being either a police wagon or a prison van or a hearse (or even an ambulance) have led to different interpretations of the song. 1. An arrested person being taken to jail. 2. A prisoner being taken to death row. 3. A deceased person being driven to the graveyards. Though the first interpretation (police wagon/ paddy wagon) is most common, there's several clous in the song that seem to suggest this is about a black hearse (Boxed up, Sent to the skies, Of to bed without his supper, Do the story with the old widow Jones, He got a wooden coat, This boy is never coming home) (Thanks to Fran Mironchik for pointing to these alternative interpretations. September 17, 2003)

- Tom Waits (1985): "A Mariah is - originally it was the woman that ran some kind of a cathouse in New Orleans I guess and every time it got popped they figured she was the one that blew the whistle so the paddy wagon pulled up out in front and down through the years they started referring to it as the Black Mariah. Now it's the hearse or whatever." (Source: "Rain Dogs Island Promo Tape" (taped comments on songs as sent to radio stations). Date: late 1985)

- Rip Rense: "One on which Richards appears is a menacing thing called "Big Black Mariah," which was explained as being about (take your pick) a fabled New Orleans madam, the police, a hearse or Mr. Death" (Source: "Enigmatic Waits survives, thrives" The San Diego Union-Tribune. By Rip Rense. November 1, 1985)

- Tom Waits (1986): "There was something in there that I thought he {Keith Richards] would understand. I picked out a couple of songs that I thought he would understand and he did. He's got a great voice and he's just a great spirit in the studio. He's very spontaneous, he moves like some kind of animal. I was trying to explain Big Black Maria and finally I started to move in a certain way and he said, "Oh, why didn't you do that to begin with? Now I know what you're talking about.' It's like animal instinct." (Source: "Waits Happening" Beat magazine 1986, by Pete Silverton)

- Notice the excessive use of words starting with the letter "B": cane Break, Big light, Back street, Big Black Mariah, Big Black Ford, Boxed up, Bell dame, Black Johnny, Blind man's cane, yellow Bullet, Blind tiger, Bell Jim, BigBlack Mariah, Big Black Ford, Benny jag Blue, off to Bed, Linda Brides, this Boy, Big Black Mariah, Big Black Ford, cane Break, Boxed up, Bell dame, Blue Charlie, Blind man's cane, yellow Bullets, Black tiger, Blue wings, Big Black Mariah, Big Black Ford

⁽²⁾ Cane break n.: A field that is not planted between two fields that are planted with sugar cane. (Source: Tom Waits Digest, Seth Nielssen)

⁽³⁾ Sill n.: The shaft or thill of a carriage (Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, � 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.)

⁽⁴⁾ Evermore (ever more?): Might be quoting from Tolkien's trilogy The Lord Of The Rings. "The Battle of Evermore" is an acoustic guitar and mandolin track from Led Zeppelin's album: "Four Symbols, Runes, Zoso", 1971. It is based on events in the third of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books, The Return of the King

⁽⁵⁾ Ladder: n. [16C] the gallows (Source: Cassel's Dictionary of Slang. Jonathon Green 1998. Cassel & Co., 2000)

⁽⁶⁾ Boxed up: 1. adj. [20C.] (N.Z.) imprissoned (Source: Cassel's Dictionary of Slang. Jonathon Green 1998. Cassel & Co., 2000) 2. v. enclosed or confined as if in a box/ coffin

⁽⁷⁾ Rag n.: A flag. (Source: "The First Hypertext Edition of The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable", E. Cobham Brewer. � 1997-99 Bibliomania.com Ltd)

⁽⁸⁾ Blind tiger: [1920s] the owner of an illicit bar. (ety. unknown) (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner, 1975). Though this is the common explanation found in dictionaries, it doesn't seem to be the right interpretation for this song

⁽⁹⁾ Benny Jag Blue:

- Benny: 1. Any amphetamine pill, esp. benzedrine. Addict and student use since c1945. (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner, 1975) 2. Intoxication as a result of using Benzedrine, a trade name for an amphetamine. Drug culture. (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner, 1975) Benny/ Bennie/ Bennies n. [1940s] (orig. US drugs) Benzedrine, thus Benny-head, a benzedrine user (Source: Cassel's Dictionary of Slang. Jonathon Green 1998. Cassel & Co., 2000)

- Jag: -jag. Similar to -fest, -jag = any session or period of uniterupted and unrestrained activity. The connotation however, is of a fit rather then a feast. the suffix word conveys a suggestion of compulsion (crying jag, candy jag, cigarette jag). (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner, 1975). Jag n. 1. A spree, usu. a drinking party. 2. Fig., a spree or splurge, a spell of unrestrained activity of any kind. (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner, 1975). 3. [1950s+] the taking of a drug, usu. narcotic, but also cannabis or LSD. (Source: Cassel's Dictionary of Slang. Jonathon Green 1998. Cassel & Co., 2000) 4. [late 19C+] (US) a period of indulgence, a fit, a spree of any kind. [1910s+] (orig. US) a breakdown, an emotional collapse, often as a crying jag, lenghty and profound sobbing (Source: Cassel's Dictionary of Slang. Jonathon Green 1998. Cassel & Co., 2000)

- Blue: 1. Drunk (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner, 1975). 2. Melancholy; sad; depressed. Colloq. n. (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner, 1975). 3. n. [1900s - 30s] a spree (Source: Cassel's Dictionary of Slang. Jonathon Green 1998. Cassel & Co., 2000) 4. (drugs) [1960s] usu. in pl. an amphetamine 5. [early 19C] (orig. US) a general intensifier, e.g. blue murder, scared blue 6. adj. [1910s-60s] euph. for BLOODY adj. (Source: "The First Hypertext Edition of The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable", E. Cobham Brewer. � 1997-99 Bibliomania.com Ltd)

⁽¹⁰⁾ Lindabrides: a euphemism for a female of no repute, a courtezan. Lindabrid�s is the heroine of the romance entitled The Mirror of Knighthood, one of the books in don Quixote's library (pt. I. i. 6), and the name became a household word for a mistress. It occurs in two of sir W. Scott's novels, Kenilworth and Woodstock (Source: Brewer's Readers Guide, revised edition, 1898)

⁽¹¹⁾ Wooden (over)coat: = wooden kimona. A coffin. Some underworld and fictional use since c1920 (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner, 1975)

⁽¹²⁾ The last verse is not included in the lyric sheet (transcription by Ulf Berggren as sent to Raindogs Listserv discussionlist, November 1, 1999).

Clap Hands

(Rain Dogs studio version, 1985)

Sane, sane, they're all insane

Fireman's blind, the conductor is lame

A Cincinnati jacket and a sad luck dame

Hangin' out the window with a bottle full of rain

Clap hands

Clap hands

Clap hands

Clap hands

Said roar, roar, the thunder and the roar

Sumbitch is never comin' back here no more

The moon in the window and a bird on the pole

We can always find a millionaire to shovel all the coal⁽²⁾

Clap hands

Clap hands

Clap hands

Clap hands

Said steam, steam, a hundred bad dreams

Goin' up to Harlem with a pistol in his jeans

A fifty dollar bill inside a Paladin's⁽³⁾ hat

And nobody's sure where Mr. Knickerbocker's⁽⁴⁾ at

Roar, roar, the thunder and the roar

Sumbitch is never comin' back here no more

Moon in the window and a bird on the pole

Always find a millionaire to shovel all the coal

Clap hands

Clap hands

Clap hands

Clap hands

I said steam, steam, with a hundred bad dreams

Goin' up to Harlem with a pistol in his jeans

A fifty dollar bill inside a Paladin's hat

And nobody's sure where Mr. Knickerbocker's at

Shine, shine, a Roosevelt dime⁽⁵⁾

All the way to Baltimore and runnin' out of time

Salvation Army seemed to wind up in the hole

They all went to Heaven in a little row boat

Clap hands

Clap hands

Clap hands

Clap hands

Oh clap hands

Oh clap hands

Oh clap hands

Clap hands

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music (ASCAP), � 1985-1998

Official release: "Rain Dogs", Island Records Inc., 1985 &

"Beautiful Maladies", Island Records Inc., 1998

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Anthology 1983-2000" (Nuova Carisch s.r.l. Milan/ Italy, 2001)

Clap Hands

(Big Time live version, 1988)

Wine, wine, why the goose drank wine⁽¹⁾

And the monkey chewed tobacco on a streetcar line

Now the line broke and the monkey got choked

And they all went to heaven in a little row boat

Clap hands

Sane, sane, they're all insane, fireman's blind, the conductor's lame

A Cincinnati jacket and a sad-luck dame

Hang out the window with a bottle full of rain

Clap hands, oh clap hands, oh clap hands, well clap hands

I said roar, it's the thunder and the roar

I ain't never coming back no more

There's a moon in the window, a bird on the pole

I can always find a millionaire to shovel all the coal⁽²⁾

Well clap hands baby, well clap hands, clap hands

I said dream, it's a hundred bad dreams

Going up to Harlem with a pistol in my jeans

A Cincinnati jacket and a sad-luck dame

Hanging out the window with a bottle full of rain

Now it's roar, it's the thunder and the roar

I ain't coming back no more

I got a moon in the window, a bird on the pole

I can always find a millionaire to shovel all the coal

Clap hands, well clap hands baby, well clap hands

Clap hands, clap hands

Shine, shine, a Roosevelt dime⁽³⁾

All the way to Baltimore and running out of time

Salvation Army seemed to wind up in the hole

All went to heaven in a little row boat

It's roar, it's the thunder and the roar

I ain't coming back no more

I got a moon in the window, a bird on the pole

I can always find a millionaire to shovel all the coal

Clap hands, well clap hands, clap hands

Clap hands, clap hands, clap hands

Clap hands, clap hands, clap hands

Clap hands, clap hands, clap hands

Clap hands, clap hands, clap hands

Clap hands, clap hands, clap hands

Clap hands, clap hands, clap hands

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music, Admin. by Ackee Music, Inc. (ASCAP), � 1985-1988

Official release: "Big Time", � Island Visual Arts Inc. (P) Island Records Inc., 1988

Also included in Big Time movie (1988). Further reading: Big Time full story

Known covers:

Fjorton S�nger. Bad Liver & Hans Brustna Hj�rtan. 1989. Nonstop Records (1989), City Records (re-release May, 1993) NSM 33-15 (in Swedish: "Sl� dank")

The Piano Has Been Drinking. The Piano Has been Drinking (Gerd K�ster). April, 1990 Chlodwig (BMG Germany). Performed in German/ K�lsch (Maat H��sch)

Live 1989-1993. The Piano Has Been Drinking (Gerd K�ster). November 15, 1993. Chlodwig (BMG/ Germany). Performed in German/ K�lsch (Maat H��sch)

Bo Ramsey And The Backsliders Live. Bo Ramsey And The Backsliders. June, 1995. Trailer

Tanz Um Den Heiligen Bim Bam. Gerd K�ster. October 30, 1995. Chlodwig (BMG). Performed in German/ K�lsch (Maat H��sch)

What's All These Blues About? Lex Romane & Joe Riillo. June, 1996. Self-released

Deep Blue. Peter Mulvey. 1997. Eastern Front Records

Whispers Of Time. Toxic Blues Again. December, 1999. Self-released

Wits End Sessions. Big Skin and Gary Knowlton. 2000. Self-released

Bukowski Waits For Us - Vol. 1. Michael Kiessling. September 25, 2000. Buschfunk (Germany)

Metropolis. Caravane de Ville. 2001. Mescal/ Sony

Saving All My Love For You (a tribute to Tom Waits). Claudia Bettinaglio. January, 2001. Taxim Records (Germany)

Wicked Grin. John Hammond. March 13, 2001. Emd/ Virgin

Dancing With St. Peter. Sign Of 4. October 7, 2002. Track Records

Kazik Staszewski "Piosenki Toma Waitsa". Kazik Staszewski. March, 2003. VIP Production / Luna Music: LUNCD 093-2 (in Polish)

In Cattivit�. Quintorigo. March, 2003. Universal Italia

Dancing With St. Peter. $ign Of 4. April, 2003. Track (Navarre)

Pornoshow - Laura Fedele Interpreta Tom Waits. Laura Fedele. May, 2003. Auditorium, AUD 00902 (in Italian)

God Is A Tom Waits Fan. The Box Spring Hogs. May 2004. Self-released demo

The Silverhearts Play Raindogs. The Silverhearts. October 5, 2005. Banbury Park Records

El Mundo Es Plano. Purple Sex Heads. 2006. Valve Records

Lucky To Be Alive. Various artists. May 19, 2006. Dossier Records (Germany) benefit sampler (performed by Carsten Klatte)

Keys to the Castle. Mare Edstrom. September 15, 2006. Spiritone Records

Guitar Screams Live. Jeff Kollman. October, 2006. Marmaduke

Steve Evans Quartet, 2 Sets. Steve Evans. December 4, 2006. Self-released

Blue Whisper. The Headhunters. April 3, 2007. Self-released (Italy)

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Clap Hands

- Tom Waits (1985): "Well I just kinda embedded a nursery rhyme. Just a eh... You know, eh: "Wine, wine, why the goose drank wine/ the monkey chewed tobacco on the streetcar line/ The line broke the monkey got choked/ we all went to heaven in a little row boat" yeah. "Shine, shine, a Roosevelt dime/ All the way to Baltimore and running out of time." Same meter, same... I just tried to imagine all these eh... these guys going up the A-train. All the millionaires in tuxedos shoveling all the coal into the... y'know? Everyone's hanging out of the window, y'know? Just kind of a little... dark little... kind of a Ralph Steadman eh drawing." (Source: "Nightlines Interview" Nightlines on CBC Stereo (Canada) conducted by Michael Tearson. Date: New York. Late 1985)

- Tom Waits (1985): "As you get older, the things it was once important to have around you become less so, especially with children. New York is like a weapon, you live with all these contradictions and it's intense, sometimes unbearable." "It's a place where you think you should be doing more about what you see around you, a place where the deadline to get the picture of the bum outside your apartment becomes more important than his deadline to get a crust or a place to sleep, which is a real deadline." "You see things like the $400 shoe followed by the $500 ball gown stepping into the pool of blood from the bum that was killed the night before. That's what I was trying to get in that song 'Clap Hands' - "You can always find a millionaire to shovel all the coal" because millionaires like to go places that are downbeat, that aren't so chi chi." (Source: "Hard Rain". New Musical Express: Gavin Martin. October 19, 1985)

- Wine, wine, why the goose drank wine. Quoting: American jump rope rhyme/ children's clapping song. Sometimes called "A Rubber Dolly".

- Version 1: A Rubber Dolly "My mommy told me If I was goodie That she would buy me A rubber dolly My auntie told her I kissed a soldier. Now she won't buy me A rubber dolly Ohhhhh...3..6..9.. The goose drank wine, The monkey spit tobacco, On the streetcar line, Line broke, The monkey got choked, And they all went to heaven in a little row boat. Clap-Clap!"

- Version 2: Untitled jump rope rhyme "Three, six, nine, the goose drank wine, The monkey chewed tobacco on the street car line The lion choked, the monkey croaked, And they all went to heaven in a little row boat, Clap-Clap! Clap-Clap!"

⁽²⁾ A millionaire to shovel all that coal:

- Tom Waits (1985): "New York is like a weapon, you live with all these contradictions and it's intense, sometimes unbearable... It's a place where you think you should be doing more about what you see around you, a place where the deadline to get the picture of the bum outside your apartment becomes more important than his deadline to get a crust or a place to sleep, which is a real deadline. You see things like the $ 400 shoe followed by the $500 ballgown stepping into the pool of blood from the bum that was killed the night before. That's what I was trying to get in that song 'Clap Hands' - "You can always find a millionaire to shovel all the coal" because millionair es like to go places that are downbeat, that aren't so chi chi." (Source: "Hard Rain". New Musical Express: Gavin Martin. October 19, 1985)

⁽³⁾ Palladin's hat: Palladin (Richard Boone) was a character in the 'Have Gun Will Travel' CBS television series in the '1950s/ 1960s. "The hit CBS series aired from 1957 to 1963 and was centered on Paladin, an educated knight-errant gunslinger who, upon payment of $1,000, would leave his well-appointed suite in San Francisco's Hotel Carlton to pursue whatever mission of mercy or justice a well-heeled client commissioned. A gourmet and connoisseur of fine wine, fine women, and Ming Dynasty artifacts, Paladin would quote Keats, Shelley, and Shakespeare with the same self-assurance that he brought to the subjugation of frontier evildoers. Unlike the archetypal western hero, Paladin wore black rather than white, complete with an ebony hat embellished by a band of silver conches and a holster embossed with a silver chess knight. He sported a villain's mustache and wasn't enamored of his horse; declining even to justify its existence with an appealing name. And he seemed to relish the adventures of the mind--his chess matches and library--far more than the frontier confrontations from which he drew his livelihood." (Source: "Have Gun Will Travel" by Peter Orlick. The Museum of Broadcast Communications � 2003 Copyright)

⁽⁴⁾ Knickerbocker: In the New York of the 1830's this was the popular name for the wealthy descendant of Dutch immigrants. At the time the expression gained popularity through the humoristic book "History of New York" (seen through the eyes of the main character Diedrich Knickebocker). Later on the name was also used for bibliophiles or "bookworms"

⁽⁵⁾ Roosevelt dime: U.S. coin denomination: 10-cent. All of the U.S. coins currently minted portray past U.S. Presidents. They are the Lincoln one-cent piece, adopted in 1909; the 25-cent piece portraying Washington, first minted in 1932; the five-cent piece honouring Jefferson, adopted in 1938; the Franklin D. Roosevelt dime, introduced in 1946; and the Kennedy half-dollar, which appeared in 1964. Coin denominations: 25-cent, 10-cent, five-cent, and one-cent pieces, are familiarly known as the quarter, dime, nickel, and penny

Cold Cold Ground

(Frank's Wild Years studio version, 1987)⁽¹⁾

Crest fallen⁽²⁾ sidekick⁽³⁾ in an old cafe

Never slept with a dream before he had to go away

There's a bell in the tower, Uncle Ray bought a round

Don't worry 'bout the army in the cold cold ground

Cold cold ground

Cold cold ground

Cold cold ground

Now don't be a cry baby when there's wood in the shed

There's a bird in the chimney and a stone in my bed

When the road's washed out, we pass the bottle around

And wait in the arms of the cold cold ground

The cold cold ground

The cold cold ground

The cold cold ground

There's a ribbon in the willow and a tire swing rope

And a briar patch of berries takin' over the slope

The cat'll sleep in the mailbox and we'll never go to town

Till we bury every dream in the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

The cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

Give me a Winchester rifle and a whole box of shells

Blow the roof off the goat barn, let it roll down the hill

The piano is firewood, Times Square is a dream

I find we'll lay down together in the cold cold ground

The cold cold ground

The cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

Call the cops on the Breedloves⁽⁴⁾, bring a Bible and a rope

And a whole box of Rebel⁽⁵⁾ and a bar of soap

Make a pile of trunk tires and burn 'em all down

Bring a dollar with you, baby, in the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

Take a weathervane rooster, throw rocks at his head

Stop talking to the neighbors until we all go dead

Beware of my temper and the dog that I've found

Break all the windows in the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music (ASCAP), � 1986-1987

Official release: Frank's Wild Years, Island Records Inc., 1987

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)

Further reading: Frank's Wild Years the play

Cold Cold Ground

(Big Time live version, 1988)⁽¹⁾

Well, Crest fallen⁽²⁾ sidekick⁽³⁾ in an old cafe

It slept with a dream before he had to go away

There's a bell in the tower, Uncle Ray bought a round

Don't worry 'bout the army in the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

Now don't be a cry baby when there's wood in the shed

There's a bird in the chimney and a stone in my bed

And the road's washed out, we pass the bottle around

And wait in the arms of the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

There's a ribbon in the willow and a tire swing rope

A briar patch of berries takin' over the slope

The cat'll sleep in the mailbox and we'll never go to town

Bury every dream in the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

Give me a Winchester rifle and a whole box of shells

Blow the roof off the goat barn, let it roll down the hill

The piano is firewood, Times Square is a dream

Lay down together in the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

Call the cops on the Breedloves⁽⁴⁾, bring a Bible and a rope

Whole box of Rebel⁽⁵⁾ and a bar of soap

Make a pile of trunk tires and burn 'em all down

Bring a dollar with you, baby, in the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music, Admin. by Ackee Music, Inc. (ASCAP), � 1986-1987-1988-1998

Official release: "Big Time", � Island Visual Arts Inc. (P) Island Records Inc., 1988 &

"Beautiful Maladies", Island Records Inc., 1998

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)

Further reading: Frank's Wild Years the play

Also included in Big Time movie (1988). Further reading: Big Time full story

Known covers:

Leave A Light On, John Gogo. August, 1997. Cd Cd's (Canada)

Miles On The Rail. Grievous Angels. September 8, 1998. Bloodshot Records, BS 038

Bukowski Waits For Us - Vol. 1. Michael Kiessling. September 25, 2000. Buschfunk (Germany)

Being Tom Waits. Billy`s Band. 2001. Self-released demo album (Russia)

Saving All My Love For You (a tribute to Tom Waits). Claudia Bettinaglio. January, 2001. Taxim Records (Germany)

The Greatest Story Ever Hula'd. Grabass Charlestons. October 31, 2003. No Idea Records

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Cold Cold Ground:

- Tom Waits (1987): "That's the only real Marty Robbins-influenced number on there. Just kind of a hardening back to his earlier times; a romantic song thinking about home, and all that." (Source: "From the set of Ironweed, Tom Waits talks with Rip Rense". New York Post: Rip Rense. Early 1987)

- Intro from the movie 'Big Time' (1988): "It's good to be back in the land of wigs and novelties. Go ahead and laugh, but when you're in Indiana and you need wigs and novelties... You can hang it up, buddy! I looked everywhere. Woke up in a cold sweat, one thing on my mind I wanted a cigarette lighter as big as an encyclopedia You know those? You open the top and it goes CLINK And then WHOOM It's thrilling It's good to be in the Wilshire district, you know You know, close to everything Shopping and that type of thing All real important things with us Actually, Wilshire's a little snooty Western's very friendly So we're kind of... we're kind of... Would you say we're on the corner of Friendly and Snooty? The two missing seven dwarfs Friendly and Snooty All right, this is a song about a little guy who lives in a little house... " (Submitted by Ulf Berggren. Tom Waits eGroups discussionlist, 2000). Refers to the Wiltern Theatre being on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue.

⁽²⁾ Crestfallen: To be or to look disheartened, saddened, depressed, like chapfallen and chopfallen, indicates the physical signs of a drooping spirit. A bird with a drooping crest is cast down in spirits, confidence and courage(Source: A dictionary of euphemisms, Neaman/ Silver)

⁽³⁾ Side-kick, sidekick n.: A partner; a close friend or comrade; a pal; a buddy (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner)

⁽⁴⁾ Breedlove: A name of a family from the book "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison

⁽⁵⁾ Whole box of Rebel: "Must say that I always thought "whole box of rebel and a bar of soap" was a reference to a case ("box") of Rebel Yell, a bourbon that is a favorite of Tom's close personal friend Keith Richards. In fact, I would not be at all surprised if Keith kept the company in business, and not through endorsements, if you know what I'm saying" (Submitted by Brendan Costello. Raindogs Listserv discussionlist. September, 2000)

Falling Down

I've come 500 miles just to see your halo

Come from St. Petersburg, Scarlett and me

When I open my eyes, I was blind as can be

And to give a man luck⁽²⁾, he must fall in the sea

And she wants you to steal and get caught

For she loves you for all that you are not

When you're falling down, falling down

When you're falling down, falling down, falling down

You forget all the roses don't come around on Sunday

She's not gonna choose you for standing so tall

Go on take a swig⁽³⁾ of that poison⁽⁴⁾ and like it

And now don't ask for silverware, don't ask for nothing

Go on and put your ear to the ground

You know you'll be hearing that sound, falling down

You're falling down, falling down

Falling down, falling down

Falling down

When you're falling down, falling down, falling down

Go on down see that wrecking ball come swing in on her now

Everyone knew that hotel was a goner

They broke all the windows and took all the door knobs

And they hauled it away in a couple of days

Now someone yelled timber, take off your hat

We all look smaller down here on the ground

When you're falling down, falling down, falling down

Falling down, falling down

Falling down

Someone's falling down, falling down, falling down

Falling down, falling down

Falling down

Written by: Tom Waits⁽¹⁾

Published by: Jalma Music, Admin. by Ackee Music, Inc. (ASCAP), � 1988

Official release: "Big Time", � Island Visual Arts Inc. (P) Island Records Inc., 1988

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)

Further reading: Big Time full story

Known covers:

Fjorton S�nger. Bad Liver & Hans Brustna Hj�rtan. 1989. Nonstop Records (1989), City Records (re-release May, 1993) NSM 33-15 (in Swedish: "Fall p� kn�")

Temptation. Holly Cole, 1995. Blue Note Records/ Capital (Japan/ USA)

Falling Down (single). Scarlett Johansson. April 8, 2008. Rhino Records/ Atco. (same version as on Anywhere I Lay My Head, 2008)

Anywhere I Lay My Head. Scarlett Johansson. May 20, 2008. Atco Records

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Falling Down:

- Tom Waits (1988): "Falling Down." That was cut in the studio. That's kind of.. Song I was doing on the road but we never got a good take of it. So, I got home, rather than bring a band out from New York to Los Angeles, I worked with people who were already there: Larry Taylor and Fred Tackett, and Richie Hayworth, so it... We put that on there, too, so, you know, you can get a subscription to Playboy if you send in $5 and eh, I'll send you some Spencer steaks, we're having a contest..." (Source: "Mixed Bag, WNEW New York" Date: October, 1988)

⁽²⁾ Luck, give a man: Orig. "Give a man luck and throw him into the sea". Meaning that his luck will save him even in the greatest extremity. Referring to Jonah and Arion, who were cast into the sea, but carried safely to land, the one by a whale and the other by a dolphin. (Source: "The First Hypertext Edition of The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable", E. Cobham Brewer. � 1997-99 Bibliomania.com Ltd)

⁽³⁾ Swig n.: A swallow, gulp, or mouthful, esp. of whisky (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner). Also mentioned in "Burma Shave" (Why don't you have another swig, and pass that car if you're so brave)

⁽⁴⁾ Poison: n. [19C+] an ironic term for drink in general; thus [1910+] (Aus.) poison-shop, a public house (name your poison). (Source: "Cassell's Dictionary Of Slang". Jonathon Green. Cassel & Co., 1998. ISBN: 0-304-35167-9)

Gun Street Girl

(Rain Dogs studio version, 1985)

[One two three]

Fallin' James⁽²⁾ in the Tahoe mud

Stick around to tell us all the tale

Well, he fell in love with a Gun Street girl

Now he's dancin' in the Birmingham⁽³⁾ jail

Dancin' in the Birmingham jail

Well, he took a hundred dollars off a Slaughterhouse Joe⁽⁴⁾

Bought a brand new Michigan twenty gauge

He got all liquored up⁽⁵⁾ on that roadhouse corn⁽⁶⁾

Blew a hole in the hood of a yellow Corvette⁽⁷⁾

A hole in the hood of a yellow Corvette

He bought a second hand Nova from a Cuban Chinese

And dyed his hair in the bathroom of a Texaco

With a pawnshop radio quarter past four

He left Waukegan⁽⁸⁾ at the slammin' of the door

Left Waukegan at the slammin' of the door

I said, John, John, he's long gone

Gone to Indiana, ain't never comin' home

I said, John, John, he's long gone

Gone to Indiana, ain't never comin' home

He's sittin' in a sycamore⁽⁹⁾ in St. John's Wood

Soakin' day old bread in kerosene⁽¹⁰⁾

Well, he was blue as a robin's egg and brown as a hog

He's stayin' out of circulation till the dogs get tired

Out of circulation till the dogs get tired

Shadow fixed the toilet with an old trombone

He never get up in the morning on a Saturday

Sittin' by the Erie⁽¹²⁾ with a bull-whipped dog

Tellin' everyone he saw, 'They went thatta way, boys'

Tellin' everyone he saw, 'They went thatta way'

Now the rain like gravel on an old tin roof

The Burlington Northern pullin' out of the world

Now a head full of bourbon and a dream in the straw

And a Gun Street girl was the cause of it all

A Gun Street girl was the cause of it all

Get ridin' in the shadow by the Saint Joe Ridge

And the click clack tappin' of a blind man's cane

And he was pullin' into Baker on a New Year's Eve

With one eye on the pistol and the other on the door

One eye on the pistol and the other on the door

Miss Charlotte took her satchel down to King Fish Row

Smuggled in a brand new pair of alligator shoes

With her fireman's raincoat and her long yellow hair

Well, they tied her to a tree with a skinny millionaire

Tied her to a tree with a skinny millionaire

I said, John, John, he's long gone

Gone to Indiana, ain't never comin' home

I said, John, John, he's long gone

Gone to Indiana, ain't never comin' home

Bangin' on a table with an old tin cup

I sing, I'll never kiss a Gun Street girl again

I'll never kiss a Gun Street girl again

I'll never kiss a Gun Street girl again

I said, John, John, he's long gone

Gone to Indiana, ain't never comin' home

I said, John, John, he's long gone

Gone to Indiana, ain't never comin' home

Gun Street Girl

(Big Time live version, 1988)

Falling James⁽²⁾ in the Tahoe mud

Stick around to tell us all the tale

Well he fell in love with a Gun Street girl

Blew a hole in the hood of a yellow Corvette

Blew a hole in the hood of a yellow Corvette

John, John, he's long gone

Well he's gone to Indiana, he ain't never coming home

John, John, he's long gone

Well he's gone to Indiana, he ain't never coming home

Well he took a hundred dollars off a slaughterhouse Joe⁽⁴⁾

Bought a brand new Michigan twenty-gauge

He got all liquored up⁽⁵⁾ on the road house corn⁽⁶⁾

Blew a hole in the hood of a yellow Corvette⁽⁷⁾

A hole in the hood of a yellow Corvette

John, John, is long gone

Why he's gone to Indiana, he ain't never coming home

John, John, is long gone

Why he's gone to Indiana, he ain't never coming home

Miss Charlotte took her satchel down to King Fish Row

smuggled in a brand new pair of alligator shoes

With her fireman's raincoat and her long yellow hair

They tied her to a tree with a skinny millionaire

They tied her to a tree with a skinny millionaire

John, John, he's long gone

Why he's gone to Indiana, he ain't never coming home

John, John, he's long gone

Why he's gone to Indiana, he ain't never coming home

John, John

John, John

My papa was a rollin' stone

My papa was a rollin' stone

Wherever he hung he said was his home

When he died all he left us was alone

John, John

John, John

John, John

Now I was banging on a table with an old tin cup

Sing I'll never kiss a Gun Street girl again

I will never kiss a Gun Street girl again

I will never kiss a Gun Street girl again

John, John

John, John

John, John

John, John

John, John

John, John

John, John

Known covers:

Reheated. Canned Heat. 1988. SPV Records (Germany). Produced by Larry Taylor

Burnin' Live. Canned Heat. 1990. AIM Australia/ Spv Germany. Re-released in 2003 (Spv Records, UK)

Outlaws (Live & Unreleased). Luke Doucet. September, 2004. Six Shooter Records

The Silverhearts Play Raindogs. The Silverhearts. October 5, 2005. Banbury Park Records

Bangin' On The Table With An Old Tin Cup. Pascal Fricke. April 12, 2007. Self-released (Germany)

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Gun Street Girl

- Tom Waits (1985): "Gun Street Girl is about a guy who's having trouble with the law and he traces all of these events back to this girl he met on Gun Street right there on Center Market right in Little Italy there." (Source: "Rain Dogs Island Promo Tape", taped comments on songs as sent to radio stations, late 1985)

- Tom Waits (1985): "I tried to make it a tale in a tale, y'know? Where is the end of this tale? Y'know? There's: "Telling everyone they saw the went thataway". There's this girl tied to a tree with a skinny millionaire and a guy coming into Baker with a pistol and a... So I just tried to throw it all in there and make it like eh... "What the hell's going on around here?!" Y'know? It's like when you wake up in the middle of the night and you try to remember something that you don't, you remember just pieces of things? Y'know?" (Source: "Nightlines Interview" Nightlines on CBC Stereo (Canada) conducted by Michael Tearson. Date: New York. Late 1985)

⁽²⁾ Falling James

- Falling James is a real person. He is a transvestite guitarist who plays with a rock band called "Leaving Trains". Waits was apparently amused by some of the anecdotes that Falling James might have told over the years, one of which could have included something about slipping in the mud in the Lake Tahoe area (Submitted by: Gary Duncan. Raindogs Listserv discussionlist. September, 2000. Drew Slayton. E-mail message to Tom Waits Library. October, 2001). Further reading: Leaving Trains site

⁽³⁾ Joe, a: n. [20C] 1. A generic name for a person, e.g. joe average, joe citizen, the average man in the street; also one who has a job or position, e.g. joe plainclothes, a plain clothes policeman, working joe one who is employed etc. 2. a stupid or offensive person (Source: "Cassell's Dictionary Of Slang". Jonathon Green. Cassel & Co., 1998. ISBN: 0-304-35167-9)

⁽⁴⁾ Birmingham: Also mentioned in Swordfishtrombones, 1983: "Some say they saw him down in Birmingham, sleeping in a boxcar going by."

⁽⁵⁾ Liquored up: adj. [1920s+] (US) drunk (Source: "Cassell's Dictionary Of Slang". Jonathon Green. Cassel & Co., 1998. ISBN: 0-304-35167-9)

⁽⁶⁾ Corn n.: Liquor, esp. corn whisky, home made or illegally sold (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner)

⁽⁷⁾ Corvette

- American sportscar produced by Chevrolet.

- Corvette: also mentioned in: A Nickel's Worth Of Dreams, 1977: "And take that Corvette Stingray with a four-on-the-floor.", 16 Shells From A Thirty Ought Six, 1983: "And I tore out the buckets from a red Corvette."

⁽⁸⁾ Waukegan: Waukegan is situated north of Chicago, right on Lake Michigan. Some 40 miles west of Waukegan is Johnsburg, Illinois. This is where Kathleen Brennan is said to have grown up (as told in the same titled song from Swordfishtrombones, 1983)

⁽⁹⁾ Sycamore tree

1. Any of various deciduous trees of the genus Platanus, especially P. occidentalis of eastern North America, having palmately lobed leaves, ball-like, nodding, hairy fruit clusters, and bark that flakes off in large colorful patches. Also called buttonball, buttonwood (Source: The American Heritage� Dictionary of the English Language, Houghton Mifflin - Third Edition).

2. Sycamore (American Sycamore): Platanus occidentalis. In keeping with its size, Sycamores have the largest leaves of any native tree in North America. Frequently, the trunk of a Sycamore will be divided into several large, secondary trunks. The bark of the Sycamore perhaps is its most striking feature: mottled creamy white and brown with the darker bark of older trees peeling away from the lighter-colored, younger bark. Typically, the Sycamore grows on bottomlands, floodplains, and on the banks of streams. The tough, coarse-grained wood is difficult to split and work. It has various uses, including butchers' blocks. A few birds feed on the fruit, and several mammals eat twigs and bark. The related Oriental and London Planetrees are ornamental shade trees, frequently planted along streets. (Source: OPLIN: � 1997 Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN) & The Ohio Historical Society (OHS))

- The tree which Zacchaeus climbed to get a better look at Jesus.

- Also mentioned in Wrong Side Of The Road: "Poison all the water in the wishin' well and hang all them scarecrows from a Sycamore tree."

⁽¹⁰⁾ Soakin' day old bread in kerosene: WW-II survival countertracking technique, to escape a tracker dog trailing ones scent, by carrying bread or tobacco soaked in petrol, gasoline or kerosene.

⁽¹²⁾ Erie, on the: Sitting by the Erie: Not taking chances; hiding. Underworld use (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner)

⁽¹³⁾ During the 1999 Mule Variations tour Waits often combined this song with "Ain't goin' down to the well

Johnsburg, Illinois

(Swordfishtrombones studio version, 1983)

She's my only true love

She's all that I think of

Look here: in my wallet that's her

She grew up on a farm there

There's a place on my arm

where I've written her name next to mine

You see: I just can't live without her

and I'm her only boy

And she grew up outside McHenry

in Johnsburg, Illinois

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music (ASCAP), � 1983-1998

Official release: "Swordfishtrombones", Island Records Inc., 1983 &

"Beautiful Maladies", Island Records Inc., 1998

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)

Johnsburg, Illinois

(Big Time live version, 1988)

She's my only true love

She's all that I think of

Look here: in my wallet that's her

She grew up on a farm there

There's a place on my arm

where I've written her name next to mine

You see: I just can't live without her

and I'm her only boy

And she grew up outside McHenry

in Johnsburg, Illinois

Known covers:

Fat Cats. Johnny Hooper. December, 1992. Self-released CDJRH2

Overdressed Late Guy. Park Stickney. 1995. Self-released (instrumental)

The Sweetheart Break-in. The Supreme Music Program/ Megan Mullally. 2000. Unknown label

Everyone Says It's On. Jason Falkner. 2001. Air Mail Recordings

5000 Days. The Bad Examples. January, 2002. Waterdog Music

Pornoshow - Laura Fedele Interpreta Tom Waits. Laura Fedele. May, 2003. Auditorium, AUD 00902 (in Italian)

Sometime Ago. Anke Jochmaring. January 15, 2006. Phonector

Still Time. Matthias Bergmann. February 1, 2008. Jazz4ever Records (instrumental)

Wies Merge. Ton Engels. December 12, 2007. Vulcano Records PlatCD7210

Stomp Glide Wobble. The Northside Southpaws. January 25, 2008. Self-released

Jenny Scheinman, Jenny Scheinman. May 27, 2008 Koch Records

Grapefruit Moon: Songs of Tom Waits. Southside Johnny & La Bamba's Bigband. September 19, 2008. Evangeline (Soulfood Music)

Flutter And Wow. Charlie Wood. May 18, 2009. Archer Records

American Dream. Taylor Haskins. June 8, 2010. Sunnyside Records

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Tom Waits (1983): "My wife is from Johnsburg, Illinois. It's right outside McHenry and up by the ching-a-lings. She grew up on a farm up there. So it's dedicated to her. It's real short. Somehow I wanted just to get it all said in one verse. There are times when you work on a song and end up repeating in the second verse what you already said in the first. So I thought I would be more appropriate if it's just like a feeling of a sailor somewhere in a cafe, who opens his wallet and turns to the guy next to him and shows him the picture while he's talking a bout something else and says: "Oh, here. That's her." and then closes his wallet and puts it back in his pants. It relates in some way to "Shore Leave" in the sense that it talks about Illinois. So thematically I was trying to tie it into "Shore Leave" (Source: "Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones". Island Promo interview, 1983)

- Live from Stockholm 1987: "She's my only true love She's all that I think of. Look here in my wallet, that's her. She grew up on a farm there. There's a place on my arm. Where I've written her name next to mine. You see, I just... [tries the high note but fails, talks]... This is where it all falls apart for me! It's kind of an unfinished thing, we're still working on it. I'm just checking to see if you're still with me! You see, the best songs are the ones that aren't finished yet. Cause there's still places in them where you can put things, you know. We just got to a little shelf and there was nothing on it. We're gonna have to come up with something to put in there. So you're part of this little process now. Oh yeah, there's this thing: [sings] You see, I just can't live without her. And I'm her only boy. And she grew up outside McHenry. In Johnsburg, Illinois. You see, I just can't live without her. And I'm her only boy. And she grew up outside McHenry. In Johnsburg, Illinois" (Transcribed by Ulf Berggren. Listserv Raindogs discussionlist. March, 2000)

- Some 40 miles west of Johnsburg, Illinois is the city of Waukegan (as mentioned in Gun Street Girl, 1985: "He left Waukegan at the slammin' of the door."

Rain Dogs

(Rain Dogs studio version, 1985)

Inside a broken clock

Splashing the wine with all the rain dogs

Taxi, we'd rather walk

Huddle⁽²⁾ a doorway with the rain dogs

For I am a rain dog too

Oh, how we danced and we swallowed the night

For it was all ripe for dreaming

Oh, how we danced away all of the lights⁽³⁾

We've always been out of our minds

The rum pours strong and thin

Beat out the dustman with the rain dogs

Aboard a shipwreck train

Give my umbrella to the rain dogs

For I am a rain dog too

Oh, how we danced with the Rose of Tralee⁽⁴⁾

Her long hair black as a raven

Oh, how we danced and you whispered to me

You'll never be going back home

Oh, how we danced with the Rose of Tralee

Her long hair black as a raven

Oh, how we danced and you whispered to me

You'll never be going back home

Further reading: Raindogs full story

Rain Dogs

(Big Time live version, 1988)

Inside a broken clock, splash the wine with all the rain dogs

Taxi, taxi, taxi we'd rather walk

Huddle⁽²⁾ a doorway with the rain dogs

For I am a rain dog, too

I know how we danced and we swallowed the night

Her long hair black as a raven

I know how we danced and she whispered to me⁽³⁾

We'll never be going back home

I know how we danced and we swallowed the night

Her long hair black as a raven

I know how we danced and she whispered to me

We'll never be going back home

Oh, how we danced with the Rose of Tralee⁽⁴⁾

Her long hair black as a raven

I know how we danced and she whispered to me

We'll never be going back home

Further reading: Raindogs full story

Known covers:

Fjorton S�nger. Bad Liver & Hans Brustna Hj�rtan. 1989. Nonstop Records (1989), City Records (re-release May, 1993) NSM 33-15 (in Swedish: "Fyllhund")

Spiewomalowanie. Mariusz Lubomski. 1994. Self-released. In Polish "Zmokniete psy"

Bukowski Waits For Us - Vol. 1. Michael Kiessling. September 25, 2000. Buschfunk (Germany)

Being Tom Waits. Billy`s Band. 2001. Self-released demo album (Russia)

The Carnival Saloon Live. The Carnival Saloon. October, 2001. Self-released (Ireland)

A Postcard From... Billy's Band. 2003. Self-released (Russia)

Kazik Staszewski "Piosenki Toma Waitsa". Kazik Staszewski. March, 2003. VIP Production / Luna Music: LUNCD 093-2 (in Polish)

Pornoshow - Laura Fedele Interpreta Tom Waits. Laura Fedele. May, 2003. Auditorium, AUD 00902 (in Italian)

Black As A Raven. The Jim-Jams. 2004. Flotainment

God Is A Tom Waits Fan. The Box Spring Hogs. May 2004. Self-released demo

The Silverhearts Play Raindogs. The Silverhearts. October 5, 2005. Banbury Park Records

We´re Not Bitter. Children Of Celebrities. July 28, 2007. Self-released

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Rain Dogs

- Tom Waits (1985): "People who live outdoors. You know how after the rain you see all these dogs that seem lost, wandering around. The rain washes away all their scent, all their direction. So all the people on the album are knit together, by some corporeal way of sharing pain and discomfort." (Source: "The Sultan Of Sleaze" YOU magazine, by Pete Silverton. Date: New York. Early October, 1985)

- Tom Waits (1985): "It's a kind of word I made up for people who sleep in doorways. I mean, New York when it rains, all the peelings and cigarette butts, float to the surface like in Taxi Driver when he says, "someday a real raids gonna come along and wash all the scum of f the street". Looks better in the rain, like it's been lacquered." (Source: "Lower east side story". The Face: Elissa van Poznak. Ca. October, 1985)

- Tom Waits (1985). "Maybe I should say something about the title of the album, "Rain Dogs". You know dogs in the rain lose their way back home. They even seem to look up at you and ask if you can help them get back home. 'Cause after it rains every place they peed on has been washed out. It's like "Mission Impossible". They go to sleep thinking the world is one way and they wake up and somebody moved the furniture." (Source: "Tom Waits for no man". Spin Magazine: Glenn O'Brien. November, 1985)

- Tom Waits (1985): "A Rain Dog is - you notice it more in lower Manhattan than anywhere else - after a rain in New York all the dogs that got caught in the rain, somehow the water washed away their whole trail and they can't get back home so about 4 in the morning you see all these stranded dogs on the street and they're looking around like - won't you help me get back home, sir, please - excuse me sir - excuse me sir - can you help me find my way back home - all makes and models, the short ones, the black ones, the tall ones, the expensive ones, the long ones, the disturbed ones, they all want to get home. So that's a Rain Dog. It's like falling asleep somewhere and you thought you knew where you were and when you woke up - it's like Mission Impossible - they changed the furniture and the walls and windows and the sky turned a different colour and you can never get back and most of the stories in this record have to do with people in New York who are experiencing a considerable amount of pain and discomfort." (Source: "Rain Dogs Island Promo Tape" (taped comments on songs as sent to radio stations). Date: late 1985)

- Tom Waits (1985) (What are Raindogs?): "Eh... I don't know... you can get 'em in Coney Island. They're little eh... It's eh... They come in a bun. And eh... It's just water in a bun. That's all... It's a bun that's been... It's a bun without a hot-dog in it. (laughs) It's just... it's been left out in the rain and they're called a Raindog. And they're less expensive then a standard hot-dog... ... ... No, a Raindog is a... is anybody who eh... people who sleep in doorways. People who don't have credit cards. People who don't go to church. People who don't have eh, y'know, a mortgage, y'know? Who fly in this whole plane by the seat of their pants. People who... are going down the road eh, y'know?" (Source: "Nightlines Interview" Nightlines on CBC Stereo (Canada) conducted by Michael Tearson. Date: New York. Late 1985)

- Tom Waits (1985): "You see all these dogs out on the street looking lost. They kind of look up at you like: `'scuse me sir, can you, uh, ...(deep voice) can you help me? 'cause the rain has washed away all the scents; the way they got wherever they got. So they can't find their way back home." (Source: "Enigmatic Waits survives, thrives" The San Diego Union-Tribune. By Rip Rense. November 1, 1985)

⁽²⁾ Huddle v.t.: To crowd (things) together to mingle confusedly; to assemble without order or system (Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, � 1996, 1998 MICRA, I)

⁽³⁾ Oh, how we danced: Notice the musical and lyrical reference to "The Anniversary Waltz" (Words and music by Al Jolson and Saul Chaplin): "Oh, how we danced On the night we were wed; We vowed our true love Though a word wasn't said. The world was in bloom, There were stars in the skies Except for the few That were there in your eyes. Dear, as I held you So close in my arms, Angels were singing A hymn to your charms, Two hearts gently beating Were murmuring low, "My darling, I love you so." The night seemed to fade Into blossoming dawn; The sun shone anew But the dance lingered on. Could we but relive that Sweet moment sublime, We'd find that our love Is unaltered by time."

⁽⁴⁾ Rose of Tralee: A yearly beauty contest in Ireland. The original Rose of Tralee was a young dairymaid turned children's maid named Mary O'Connor who caught the eye of young William Pembroke Mulchinock of the Mulchinock Estate where she was working. This soon turned to love, but due to staunch family pride and an accusation that he had killed a man this never turned to marriage. William fled and returned years later to find that she had just died. After an unsuccessful marriage in America and then living the rest of his days alone in Ireland, he died and was buried next to his beloved in 1864. (Source: Tom Waits Digest, Seth Nielssen)

Red Shoes

Red Shoes By The Drugstore

(Blue Valentine studio version, 1978)

She wore red shoes by the news-stand

as the rain splashed the Nickle⁽¹⁾

and spilled like Chablis all along the midway

There's a little bluejay

in a red dress, on a sad night

One straw in a rootbeer

A compact⁽²⁾ with a cracked mirror

A bottle of evening in Paris perfume

What's this sad tune?

He told her to wait in by the magazines

To take care of some business it seems

Bring a raincoat

Bring a suitcase

Bring your dark eyes

and wear those red shoes

There's a dark huddle⁽³⁾ at the bus stop

Umbrellas arranged in a sad bouquet

li'l Caesar⁽⁴⁾ got caught

he was going down to second

He was cooled

Changing stations on the chamber

to steal a diamond ring

from a jewelry store for his baby

He loved the way she looked

in those red shoes

She waited by the drugstore

Caesar had never been this late before

The dogs bayed the moon⁽⁵⁾

and rattled their chain

and the cold jingle of taps in a puddle

was the burglar alarm

snitchin'⁽⁶⁾ on Caesar

The rain washes memories from the sidewalks

and the hounds splash the Nickle full of soldiers

and Santa Claus is drunk

in the Ski Room⁽⁷⁾

and it's Christmas Eve

in a sad caf�

when the moon gets it's way

there's a little blue jay by the news-stand

Red shoes

Red shoes

So meet me tonight by the drugstore

Meet me tonight by the drugstore

Meet me tonight by the drugstore

Goin out tonight

Goin out tonight

Goin out tonight

Wear your red shoes

Red shoes

Red shoes

Red shoes

Red shoes

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Fifth Floor Music, Inc. (ASCAP),� 1978

Official release: Blue Valentine, Elektra Entertainment/ WEA International Inc., 1978

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Big Time" (Amsco Publications, 1988)

Red Shoes

(Big Time live version, 1988)

She wore red shoes by the news-stand

and the rain splashed the Nickel⁽¹⁾

and it spilled like Chablis, all along the midway

There's a little bluejay

wearing red shoes, on a sad night

One straw in a rootbeer

A compact⁽²⁾ with a cracked mirror

A bottle of evening in Paris perfume

What is this sad tune?

He told her to wait in by the magazines

For, he told her to wait for the magazines

Oh, bring a raincoat

Oh, bring a suitcase

Oh, bring your dark eyes

Wear those red shoes, red shoes, red shoes

red shoes, red shoes, red shoes, red shoes

red shoes, red shoes

There's a dark huddle⁽³⁾ at the bus stop

Umbrellas arranged in a sad bouquet

Caesar⁽⁴⁾ got caught

Oh, Little Caesar got caught, going down to second

Little Caesar got caught, going down to second

He was cooled

Changing stations on the chamber

to steal a diamond ring from a jewelry store for his baby

He loved the way she looked in those red shoes

He loved the way she looked in those red shoes

He loved the way she looked in those red shoes

Red shoes, red shoes

You got to meet me tonight by the drugstore baby

Meet me tonight by the drugstore baby

Going out tonight

Going out tonight wear those red shoes

Going out tonight put on those red shoes

Going out tonight put on those red shoes

Red shoes, red shoes, red shoes, red shoes, red shoes

Now the hounds splash the Nickle full of soldiers

Now Santa Claus is drunk in the Ski Room⁽⁷⁾

And it's Christmas Eve in a sad caf�

When the moon gets it's way

There's a little blue jay by the news-stand

Wearing red shoes

She wearing red shoes

You got to meet me tonight by the drugstore baby

Meet me tonight by the drugstore baby

Going out tonight

Put on your red shoes

Put on your red shoes

Put on your red shoes

Put on your red shoes

Put on your red shoes

Red shoes, red shoes, red shoes, red shoes, red shoes

Red shoes

Put on your red shoes baby

Red shoes, red shoes, red shoes, red shoes, red shoes

Red shoes, red shoes, red shoes, red shoes, red shoes

Red shoes, red shoes, red shoes, red shoes, red shoes

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Fifth Floor Music Inc. (ASCAP), � 1978-1988

Official release: "Big Time", � Island Visual Arts Inc. (P) Island Records Inc., 1988

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Big Time" (Amsco Publications, 1988)

Further reading: Big Time full story

Known covers:

Step Right Up (The Songs Of Tom Waits). Various artists. November, 1995. Manifesto Records. Performed by The Wedding Present

R�d Pust - Sven Henriksen synger Tom Waits, Sven Henriksen. 1996. Sonet (in Norwegian: "En r�d sko ved butikken")

Singles 1995-97. The Wedding Present. October, 1999. Cooking Vinyl Records - COOK CD 184 (same version as on "Step Right Up: The Songs Of Tom Waits", 1995)

Red Harmony. Riguelle & Hautekiet. 2000. LC Music (Belgium)

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ The Nickle/ The Nickel:

- Tom Waits: (introducing 'On The Nickel', 1979): "In downtown Los Angeles, there's a place called Fifth Street, it's a place where all the hoboes are, and they call it "on the nickel". There was a motion picture called "On the nickel" that was written by Ralph Waite and this is a story, kinda a wino's lullaby." (Source: Tom Waits on the Don Lane show, 1979. Transcribed by Luke Martin)

- Tom Waits (introducing 'On The Nickel', 1979): "I'd like to do a new song here. This is eh, it's about downtown Los Angeles on 5th Street. And eh all the winos affectionately refer to it as The Nickel. So this is kind of a hobo's lullaby." (Source: BBC - Tonight In Person, July 1979)

- The Nickel: also mentioned in On the Nickel, 1980: "Well they're lined up all around the block, on the Nickel over there.."

⁽²⁾ Compact: a small portable case used to contain face powder, usually comes with a foldable mirror.

⁽³⁾ Huddle n.: 1. A densely packed group or crowd, as of people or animals 2. A small private conference or meeting (Source: The American Heritage� Dictionary of the English Language, Houghton Mifflin - Third Edition)

⁽⁴⁾ Little Caesar: Might be inspired by or referring to Warner Bros.' classical gangster film "Little Caesar" from 1930. "One of the most well-known and best of the early classical gangster films is Warner Bros.' and director Mervyn LeRoy's Little Caesar (1930). It is often called the grandfather of the modern crime film, with its quintessential portrayal of an underworld character that rebelliously challenged traditional values. Although it was not the first gangster film of the talkies era, it is generally considered the prototype of future gangster films. It is a taut, fast-moving (at a brisk 80 minutes) and vivid film that set the genre's standards and launched the entire popular film type. Little Caesar reflects the technically primitive nature of early film-making, with a straight-forward, blunt narrative (composed of a series of tableaux), yet its hard-hitting gritty realism gripped audiences. Unlike many other gangster films, the film did not feature graphic bloodshed, depict violence on-screen, or sensationalize street language, but its tone was somber and tough. Its low-budget sets and cheap, sleazy atmosphere added to the film's impact. The crime film's impact at the start of the sound era was remarkable - its box-office popularity spawned many others like it (mostly from the Warner Bros. studios) in the decade of the 1930's. The film's title character was based, in part, after the character of real-life, ruthless gangster Al Capone - a vain and cruelly vicious Italian mobster who experienced a similar rise and fall. [Little Caesar also resembled Brooklyn underworld gangster Buggsy Goldstein.]" (Further reading: Little Caesar review at filmsite.org. Thanks to Floris Cooman for pointing out this reference).

⁽⁵⁾ Bay the moon: To bark at the moon. (French, aboyer, to bark at.). (Source: "The First Hypertext Edition of The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable", E. Cobham Brewer. � 1997-99 Bibliomania.com Ltd)

⁽⁶⁾ Snitch:

- v.t.: To steal or take small items. v.i. To inform against, betray, squeal, esp. to another's superior or teacher (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner).

- Also mentioned in "Wrong Side Of The Road" (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)

⁽⁷⁾ Ski Room: A bar at 5851 Sunset Blvd. LA/ USA (close to Herb Cohen's office) that Waits, Chuck E. Weis and Rickie Lee Jones regularly frequented.

Ruby's Arms

(Heartattack And Vine studio version, 1980)

I will leave behind all of my clothes, I wore when I was with you

All I need's my railroad boots and my leather jacket

As I say goodbye to Ruby's arms, although my heart is breaking

I will steal away out through your blinds, for soon you will be waking

The morning light has washed your face, and everything is turning blue now

Hold on to your pillow case, there's nothing I can do now

As I say goodbye to Ruby's arms, you'll find another soldier

And I swear to God by Christmas time, there'll be someone else to hold you

The only thing I'm taking is the scarf off of your clothesline

I'll hurry past your chest of drawers and your broken wind chimes

As I say goodbye, I say goodbye, I say goodbye to

Ruby's arms

I will feel my way down the darkened hall, and out into the morning

The hobos at the freight yards have kept their fires burning

So Jesus Christ, this goddamn rain, will someone put me on a train

I'll never kiss your lips again, or break your heart

As I say goodbye, I say goodbye, I say goodbye to

Ruby's arms

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Fifth Floor Music Inc. (ASCAP), � 1980 & Warner Bros. Music Ltd, 1986

Official release: "Heartattack And Vine", Elektra Entertainment/ WEA Entertainment Inc., 1980 &

"Asylum Years", WEA International Inc., 1986

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Anthology" (Amsco Publications, 1988/ Nuova Carisch, 2000)

Ruby's Arms

(Big Time live version, 1988)

I will leave behind all of my clothes

I wore when I was with you

All I need's my railroad boots

and my leather jacket

As I say goodbye to Ruby's arms

although my heart is breaking

I will steal away out through your blinds

for soon you will be waking

The morning light has washed your face

and everything is turning blue now

Hold on to your pillow case

there's nothing that I can do now

As I say goodbye to Ruby's arms

you'll find another soldier

And I swear to God by Christmas time

there'll be someone else to hold you

The only thing I'm taking is

the scarf off of your clothesline

I'll hurry past your chest of drawers

and your broken wind chimes

As I say goodbye

I'll say goodbye

Say goodbye

to Ruby's arms

I steal away down the darkened hall

out into the morning

The hobos at the freight yards

have kept their fires burning

So, Jesus Christ this goddamn rain

will someone put me on a train

I'll never kiss your lips again

or break your heart

As I say goodbye

I say goodbye

I say goodbye

to Ruby's arms

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Fifth Floor Music Inc. (ASCAP), � 1980-1988

Official release: "Big Time", � Island Visual Arts Inc. (P) Island Records Inc., 1988

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Anthology" (Amsco Publications, 1988/ Nuova Carisch, 2000)

Further reading: Big Time full story

Known covers:

Fjorton S�nger. Bad Liver & Hans Brustna Hj�rtan. 1989. Nonstop Records (1989), City Records (re-release May, 1993) NSM 33-15 (in Swedish: "Rubys famn")

Vanity. Jan Vayne. 1994. EMI (The Netherlands)

Songs Of Tom Waits. Dolphin Blue. 1995. Self-released demo (Germany)

Step Right Up (The Songs Of Tom Waits). Various artists. November, 1995. Manifesto Records. Performed by Frente!

The Sweetheart Break-in. The Supreme Music Program/ Megan Mullally. 2000

Nach Mir Die Sintflut - Ambros singt Waits. Wolfgang Ambros. October 9, 2000. Ariol/ Gig Records 74321 797002 (in German: "Es is vorbei")

Wordless Dialogues. Diego Conti & Stefano Taglietti (instrumental). 2001.Ecamlab (Italy)

V.S.O.P. Casino Steel. February 26, 2001. The Orchard

Carlotta's Portrait. Trio Ptak/ Gonsior/ Mayerhofer. 2004. Turkish Bath Records

23. Golly. July, 2004. Media - Arte (Knopf Germany)

East Of Sunset - Soundtrack. Various artists. September 13, 2005. Manifesto Records. Performed by: The Caseworker

Dolphin Blue Live. Dolphin Blue. December, 2007. Rising Sun Productions (German CDR)

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Tom Waits (1980): "I love Jerry's arrangement on it. He used a brass choir and made it sound like a Salvation Army band at the top of the tune. It really got me. It's a little bit like that Matt Monro thing, "I Will Leave You Softly" (sings a verse). I was trying to visualize this guy getting up in the morning before dawn and leaving on the train, with the clothesline outside. I just closed my eyes and saw this scene and wrote about it." (Source: "Heartattack and Vine". Us promo pack: Stephen Peeples. September 4, 1980)

Straight To The Top (Rhumba) Straight To The Top (Vegas)

Straight To The Top (Rhumba)

(Frank's Wild Years studio version, 1987)

I'm going straight up to the top, oh yeah

Up where the air is fresh and clean

I'm going straight up to the top, oh yeah

If you know me, you know what I mean

I can't let sorrow pull ol' Frankie down

Live for tomorrow, I have found you

I'm going straight up to the top, oh yeah

Up where the air is fresh and clean

I just know I will never stop, no no

Until I know I'm wild and free

I'm like a champagne bubble, pop pop pop

I'm like those birds high up in the tree

I can't let sorrow pull ol' Frankie down

Live for tomorrow, I have found you

I'm going straight up to the top, oh yeah

Up where the air is fresh and clean, yeah

I can't let sorrow pull ol' Frankie down

Live for tomorrow, I have found you

I'm going straight up to the top, oh yeah

Up where the air is

Up where the air is

Up where the air is

Up where the air is

Up where the air is fresh and clean, yeah

Written by: Tom Waits and Greg Cohen

Published by: Jalma Music (ASCAP), � 1986-1987-1998

Official release: "Frank's Wild Years", Island Records Inc., 1987 &

"Beautiful Maladies", Island Records Inc., 1998

Further reading: Frank's Wild Years the play

Straight To The Top (Rhumba)

(Big Time live version, 1988)

Be a man!

I'm going straight up to the top, oh yeah

Where the air is fresh and clean

I'm going up, up to the top, oh yeah

If you know me, you know what I mean

I can't let sorrow pull me on down

Live for tomorrow, oh baby I have found you

I'm going straight up to the top, oh yeah

Where the air is fresh and clean

I know I just can't stop, oh no

Till I know I'm wild and free

I'm like a champagne bubble, pop pop

I'm like those birds high up in the tree

I can't let sorrow pull me on down

Live for tomorrow, yeah, I have found you

I'm going straight up to the top, oh yeah

Where the air is fresh and clean, yeah

I can't let sorrow pull me down

Live for tomorrow, oh baby, oh baby

I'm going straight up to the top, oh yeah

Where the air is, where the air is

Where the air is, where the air is

Where the air is fresh, fresh and clean, yeah

Fresh and clean, fresh and clean

Fresh and clean, fresh and clean

Fresh and clean, fresh and clean, fresh and clean

Get on up, get on up now, get on up, get on up

Get on up, get on up, get on up, get on up, get on up

Get on up, get on up, get on up, get on up, get on up

Get on up, get on up, get on up, get on up, get on up

Get on up, get on up, get on up, get on up

Written by: Tom Waits and Greg Cohen

Published by: Jalma Music, Admin. by Ackee Music, Inc. (ASCAP), � 1986-1988

Official release: "Big Time", � Island Visual Arts Inc. (P) Island Records Inc., 1988

Further reading: Frank's Wild Years the play

Further reading: Big Time full story

Straight To The Top (Vegas)

(Frank's Wild Years studio version, 1987)

I'm going straight to the top, whoa

I'm going where the air is fresh and clean

I'm going straight up to the top

If you know me, you know what I mean

I can't let Mister Sorrow try and pull ol' Frankie down

We live for tomorrow, I have found you

Straight to the top

I'm going up where the air is fresh and clean

I know I'm never gonna stop

Until I know, I know I'm wild and free

Hey, I'm going straight up to the top

And if you know me, you know what I mean

I can't let ol' Mister Sorrow try and pull me down

I live for tomorrow, I have found you

I'm going straight to the top, whoa

I'm going up where the air is fresh and clean

Yeah, whoa

I can't let Mister Sorrow pull ol' Frankie down

We live for tomorrow, I have found you

Straight to the top, oh yeah

Up where the air is

Up where the air is

Up where the air is

Up where the air is

Up where the air is fresh and clean, whoa

Whoa, how about that band? Whoa!

Written by: Tom Waits and Greg Cohen

Published by: Jalma Music (ASCAP), � 1986-1987

Official release: Frank's Wild Years, Island Records Inc., 1987

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)

Further reading: Frank's Wild Years the play

Straight To The Top (Vegas)

(Big Time live version, 1988)

I'm going straight to the top, oh yeah

I'll be going where the air is fresh and clean

Top!

I'm going up, up where the air is fresh and clean

I'm not gonna let Doctor Sorrow operate on me today

I just got to live for tomorrow, someone made me that way

Top!

I'm going up where the air is fresh and clean, yeah

I just can't let sorrow bring me down

So people, let's have a warm round of applause for Johnny Marinara on the tenor

saxophone! Let him know that you love him. Let's hear it for all the

fluorescence tonight! Johnny Perchiutto, Johnny Pellegrino, Johnny Marinara,

Johnny (...?...)

Up where the air is, where the air is fresh, fresh and clean

Whoa, how about that band!

Beautiful!

Thank you!

Written by: Tom Waits and Greg Cohen

Published by: Jalma Music, Admin. by Ackee Music, Inc. (ASCAP), � 1986-1988

Official release: "Big Time"( movie), � Island Visual Arts Inc. (P) Island Records Inc., 1988

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)

Further reading: Frank's Wild Years the play

Further reading: Big Time full story

Known covers:

Play It Cool. Lea DeLaria. June 12, 2001.Warner Brothers

A Postcard From... Billy's Band. 2003. Self-released (Russia)

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Straight To The Top

- Tom Waits (1987): "Kind of a floor show --- yeah, that was a little Louis Prima influence there. Louis Prima in Cuba. A little pagan. Not so Vegas --- more pagan. Like a guy who is obviously not going straight to the top, but the fact that he feels as though he is makes you almost believe that he might be; that somebody like that is going to burn a hole in something - but certainly not the business. Probably himself. We used the Optigon on that. RR: I was going to ask what that is. WAITS: It's one of the early organs created for home use. Where you have a program disc that you put inside the organ, and it creates a variety of sound worlds for you to become part of. Like they have the Tahitian/ Polynesian number complete with birds and waterfall. And you can be a 32-piece orchestra --- instant adagio for strings, you know. There's a cabaret setting, a little jazz thing with a kind of Charlie Byrd feel to it."...RR: How did you use it (the Optigon) on "Straight To The Top---Rhumba?" TW: "I believe it was set on the outdoor tropical thing. Rainforest. Don't try this at home yourself. They have these little floppy discs, a little door, and you put one in, close the door and... the magic happens." (Source: "From the set of Ironweed, Tom Waits talks with Rip Rense". New York Post: Rip Rense. Early 1987)

- Live intro from the movie Big Time: "Oh, you're beautiful! No no! I know, I know You hear that all the time, you know [sings] You are beautiful to me Wow, I mean... it's wild, but right now, I don't know I feel closer to you than I do my own family And that's kind of tragic, when you think about it I don't know, I feel I can look right inside those black little hearts of yours And I feel that I know you all individually and as a group I don't know, it's wild, it's never happened before Is it a full moon, I don't know Have a cigar! Know what I'm sayin'? [starts throwing cigars out into the audience] One for the balcony [throws one into the front rows instead] Whoa! I'm sorry, baby! I threw my arm out in spring training I lost everything in the stock market But there's only one place to go... " (Transcribed by Ulf Berggren. Tom Waits eGroups discussionlist, 2000)

- Tom Waits (1988): "Well, that's one of those eh... One of those phrases that just keeps you going. It's like "Big Time" y'know? It's like... You gotta have a plan in this world y'know, you gotta have some place you want to go so you know when you've arrived. And eh "Straight To The Top" is eh... just one of those songs." (Source: "Fresh Air Interview" National Public Radio's broadcast of Fresh Air. Hosted by Terry Gross. Produced by WHYY (Philadelpia). September 28, 1988)

Strange Weather

(Acoustic demo version, 1987)

Will you take me across the channel

London Bridge is falling down⁽²⁾

Strange, a woman tries to save

More than a man will try to drown

And it's the rain that they predicted

And the forecast every time

The rose has died because you picked it

I believe that brandy's mine

And all over the world

Strangers talk only about the weather

All over the world it's the same

It's the same

It's the same

And the world is getting flatter

And the sky is falling all around

And nothing is the matter

For I'll never cry in town

And a love like ours, my dear

Is best measured when it's down

And I never buy umbrellas

For there's always one around

And all over the world

Strangers talk only about the weather

All over the world it's the same

It's the same

And you know that it's beginning

And you know that it's the end

Once again we are strangers

As the fog goes rolling in

And all over the world

Strangers talk only about the weather

All over the world it's the same

It's the same

Written by: Tom Waits and Kathleen Waits-Brennan⁽¹⁾

Published by: Jalma Music (ASCAP), � 1986-1987

No official release: demo version broadcast on KCRW-FM, Santa Monica, August 24, 1987

The song was written for Marianne Faithfull: 'Strange Weather', 1987

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)

Strange Weather

(Marianne Faithfull version, 1987)

Will you take me across the Channel,

London Bridge is falling down.

Strange a woman tries to save

What a man will try to drown.

And he's the rain that they predicted,

It's the forecast every time.

The rose has died because you picked it

An' I believe that brandy's mine.

And all over the world Strangers

Talk only about the weather.

All over the world

It's the same

It's the same

It's the same.

The word is getting flatter,

The sky is falling all around.

And nothing is the matter

For I never cry in town.

And a love like ours, my dear,

Is best measured when it's down.

And I never buy umbrellas,

For there's always one around.

And all over the world Strangers

Talk only about the weather.

All over the world

It's the same

It's the same

It's the same.

And you know that it's beginning,

And you know that it's the end

When once again we are strangers

And the fog comes rolling in.

And all over the world Strangers

Talk only about the weather.

All over the world

It's the same

It's the same

It's the same.

Written by: Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan

Official release (Marianne Faithfull): Strange Weather. Marianne Faithfull, 1987 PGD/ Polygram 842593 (CD).

Island Records 7 90613-1 (LP). Island 422 842 593-2 (CD)

Published by: Jalma Music, Admin. by Ackee Music, Inc. (ASCAP), � 1987-1988-1998

Official release (Tom Waits): "Big Time", � Island Visual Arts Inc. (P) Island Records Inc., 1988 &

"Beautiful Maladies", Island Records Inc., 1998

(Recorded at The Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles. November 9, 1987)

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)

Strange Weather

(Big Time live version, 1988)

Will you take me across the channel

London Bridge is falling down⁽²⁾

Strange, a woman tries to save

More than a man will try to drown

And it's the rain that they predicted

It's the forecast every time

The rose has died because you picked it

I believe that brandy's mine

And all over the world

Strangers talk only about the weather

All over the world it's the same

It's the same

And the world is getting flatter

And the sky is falling all around

Oh, and nothing is the matter

For I'll never cry in town

And a love like ours, my dear

Is best measured when it's down

And I never buy umbrellas

Cause there's always one around

And all over the world

Strangers talk only about the weather

All over the world it's the same

It's the same

And you know that it's beginning

And you know that it's the end

Once again we are strangers

As the fog goes rolling in

And all over the world

Strangers talk only about the weather

All over the world it's the same

It's the same

It's the same

Written by: Tom Waits and Kathleen Waits-Brennan

Published by: Jalma Music, Admin. by Ackee Music, Inc. (ASCAP), � 1987-1988-1998

Official release: "Big Time", � Island Visual Arts Inc. (P) Island Records Inc., 1988 &

"Beautiful Maladies", Island Records Inc., 1998

(Recorded at The Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles. November 9, 1987)

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)

Further reading: Big Time full story

Known covers:

Strange Weather. Marianne Faithfull, 1987. PGD/ Polygram 842593 (CD). Island Records 7 90613-1 (LP). Island 422 842 593-2 (CD, 1990)

Blazing Away. Marianne Faithfull. January 3, 1995. Island (Universal)

Marianne Faithfull, The Island Anthology. Marianne Faithfull. October, 1998. Island (Universal)

Silent House. Vera Coomans & Philip Hoessen. November 1998. Pink Records (The Netherlands)

Faithfull Covers. Andi Sexgang. April 4, 2000. Dressed to Kill

Devil May Care. Kate Hammett-Vaughan. April, 2002. Maximum Jazz MAX-1201

Voice & Bass. Georgette Dee. November 17, 2003. Dmd Music (DA Music Germany)

Spider And The Fly. Onalea. April 29, 2005. Dandi Productions (Canada)

Crow's Nest/ Nid De Pie. Claire Jenkins Avec Band. September 10, 2007. Self-released (Canada)

Dolphin Blue Live. Dolphin Blue. December, 2007. Rising Sun Productions (German CDR)

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Tom Waits (1987): "We did this at home, I haven't really listened to it all that much. Kathleen and I wrote this together so this is the first version of it and then we gave it to Marianne and she recorded it on an album that she did with Hal Willner - who may be listening." (Source: KCRW-FM interview. August 24, 1987)

⁽²⁾ London Bridge is falling down: Quoting from "London Bridge" (Traditional, unknown copyright)

- Version 1: "London Bridge is falling down, Falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down, My fair lady! Build it up with iron bars, Iron bars, iron bars. Build it up with iron bars, My fair lady! Iron bars will bend and break, Bend and break, bend and break. Iron bars will bend and break, My fair lady! Build it up with needles and pins, Needles and pins, needles and pins. Build it up with needles and pins, My fair lady! Pins and needles rust and bend, Rust and bend, rust and bend. Pins and needles rust and bend, My fair lady! Build it up with penny loaves, Penny loaves, penny loaves. Build it up with penny loaves, My fair lady! Penny loaves will tumble down, Tumble down, tumble down. Penny loaves will tumble down, My fair lady! Build it up with silver and gold, Silver and gold, silver and gold. Build it up with silver and gold, My fair lady! Gold and silver I've not got, I've not got, I've not got. Gold and silver I've not got, My fair lady! Here's a prisoner I have got, I have got, I have got. Here's a prisoner I have got, My fair lady! What's the prisoner done to you, Done to you, done to you? What's the prisoner done to you, My fair lady! Stole my watch and broke my chain, Broke my chain, broke my chain. Stole my watch and broke my chain, My fair lady! What'll you take to set him free, Set him free, set him free? What'll you take to set him free, My fair lady! One hundred pounds will set him free, Set him free, set him free. One hundred pounds will set him free, My fair lady! One hundred pounds we have not got, Have not got, have not got. One hundred pounds we have not got, My fair lady! Then off to prison he must go, He must go, he must go. Then off to prison he must go, My fair lady!"

- Version 2 (Source: Zelo Nursery Rhymes ( (c) 1996-2000 C. Thomas Wright III): "London Bridge is falling down, Falling down, Falling down London Bridge is falling down, My fair lady Take a key and lock her up, Lock her up, Lock her up Take a key and lock her up, My fair lady How will we build it up, Build it up, Build it up? How will we build it up, My fair lady? Build it up with silver and gold, Silver and gold, Silver and gold Build it up with silver and gold, My fair lady Gold and silver I have none, I have none, I have none Gold and silver I have none, My fair lady Build it up with needles and pins, Needles and pins, Needles and pins Build it up with needles and pins, My fair lady Pins and needles bend and break, Bend and break, Bend and break Pins and needles bend and break, My fair lady Build it up with wood and clay, Wood and clay, Wood and clay Build it up with wood and clay, My fair lady Wood and clay will wash away, Wash away, Wash away Wood and clay will wash away, My fair lady Build it up with stone so strong, Stone so strong, Stone so strong Build it up with stone so strong, My fair lady Stone so strong will last so long, Last so long, Last so long Stone so strong will last so long, My fair lady."

Telephone Call From Istanbul

(Frank's Wild Years studio version, 1987)

All night long on the broken glass

Livin' in a medicine chest

Mediteromanian hotel back

Sprawled across a roll top desk

The monkey rode the blade on an overhead fan

They paint the donkey blue if you pay⁽²⁾

I got a telephone call from Istanbul

My baby's comin' home today

Will you sell me one of those if I shave my head?

Get me out of town, is what Fireball said

Never trust a man in a blue trench coat⁽³⁾

Never drive a car when you're dead⁽⁴⁾

Saturday's a festival, Friday's a gem

Dye your hair yellow and raise your hem

Follow me to Beulah's⁽⁵⁾ on Dry Creek Road

I got to wear the hat that my baby done sewed, whoo!

Will you sell me one of those if I shave my head?

Get me out of town, is what Fireball said

Never trust a man in a blue trench coat

Never drive a car when you're dead

Saturday's a festival, Friday's a gem

Dye your hair yellow and raise your hem

Follow me to Beulah on Dry Creek Road

I got to wear the hat that my baby done sewed

Well, take me down to buy a tux on Red Rose Bear

I got to cut a hole in the day

I got a telephone call from Istanbul

My baby's comin' home today

Sell me one of those if I shave my head

Get me out of town, is what Fireball said

Never trust a man in a blue trench coat

Never drive a car when you're dead

Saturday's a festival, Friday's a gem

Dye your hair yellow and raise your hem

Follow me to Beulah's on Dry Creek Road

I got to wear the hat that my baby done sewed, whoo!

Telephone Call From Istanbul

(Big Time live album version, 1988)

I was all night long on the broken glass

Livin' in a medicine chest

Mediteromanian hotel back

Sprawled across a roll top desk

My pet old monkey rode the blade on an overhead fan

They paint the donkey blue if you pay⁽²⁾

I got a telephone call from Istanbul

My baby's comin' home today

Will you sell me one of those if I shave my head?

Get me out of town, is what Fireball said

Never trust a man in a blue trench coat⁽³⁾

Never drive a car when you're dead⁽⁴⁾

Saturday's a festival

Oh now, Saturday's a gem

Follow me to Beulah's⁽⁵⁾ on Dry Creek Road

I got to wear the hat that my baby done sewed, whoo!

Will you sell me one of those if I shave my head?

Get me out of town, is what Fireball said

Never trust a man in a blue trench coat

Never drive a car when you're dead

Saturday's a festival, Friday's a gem

Dye your hair yellow, baby

And follow me to Beulah's

I just got to wear the hat that my baby done, pop!

Will you sell me one of those if I shave my head?

Get me out of town, is what Fireball said

Never trust a man in a blue trench coat

Never drive a car when you're dead

Saturday's a festival, Friday's a gem

Dye your hair yellow, baby

Follow me to Beulah's

I just got to wear the hat that my baby done

Will you sell me one of those if I shave my head?

Get me out of town, is what Fireball said

Never trust a man in a blue trench coat

Never drive a car when you're dead

Saturday's a festival

Now Friday's just a gem, sweetheart!

Follow me to Beulah's on Dry Creek Road

I got to wear the hat that my baby done

Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba....

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music, Admin. by Ackee Music, Inc. (ASCAP), � 1986-1987-1988

Official release: "Big Time", � Island Visual Arts Inc. (P) Island Records Inc., 1988

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)

Further reading: Frank's Wild Years the play

Telephone Call From Istanbul

(Big Time live movie version, 1988)

Well, I was all night long on the broken glass

Livin' in a medicine chest

Mediteromanian hotel back

Sprawled across a roll top desk

My pet old monkey rode the blade on an overhead fan

They paint the donkey blue if you pay⁽²⁾

I got a telephone call from Istanbul

My baby's comin' home today

Will you sell me one of those if I shave my head?

Get me out of town, is what Fireball said

Never trust a man in a blue trench coat⁽³⁾

Never drive a car when you're dead⁽⁴⁾

Saturday's a festival, Friday's a gem

Dye my hair yellow

Oh, Chantilly lace and a pretty face⁽⁶⁾

Will you sell me one of those if I shave my head?

Get me out of town, is what Fireball said

Never trust a man in a blue trench coat

Never drive a car when you're dead

Saturday's a festival, Friday's such a gem

I got to dye my hair yellow, baby

Oh, Chantilly lace and a pretty face

You know what I like!

Will you sell me one of those if I shave my head?

Get me out of town, is what Fireball said

Never trust a man in a blue trench coat

Never drive a car when you're dead

Saturday's a festival, Friday's a gem

Dye my hair yellow and raise my hem

Follow me to Beulah's⁽⁴⁾ on Dry Creek Road

I got to wear the hat that my baby done sewed

Will you sell me one of those if I shave my head?

Get me out of town, is what Fireball said

Never trust a man in a blue trench coat

Never drive a car when you're dead

Saturday's a festival, Friday's a gem

Oh, Chantilly lace and a pretty face

And a pony tail hangin' down

You know what I like!

Ba-ba-ba...

Known covers:

This All Is The Rock 'n' Roll. Brigada S. 1992. Self-released

Songs Of Tom Waits. Dolphin Blue. 1995. Self-released demo (Germany)

Phondue. Bourbon Street Jazz Band. 1995. Zebralution

Belle Chase Hotel. Fossanova. August 23, 2000. Emi

Your Favorite Band Live. Red Elvises. September 12, 2000. Shoobah-Doobah

Bukowski Waits For Us - Vol. 1. Michael Kiessling. September 25, 2000. Buschfunk (Germany)

The Jive Kings With Measha Br�ggergosman. Jive Kings. October, 2000. Tidemark 02 50879, Canada

The Carnival Saloon Live. The Carnival Saloon. October, 2001. Self-released (Ireland)

Kazik Staszewski "Piosenki Toma Waitsa". Kazik Staszewski. March, 2003. VIP Production / Luna Music: LUNCD 093-2 (in Polish)

Changes. Alicia Wiley. October 11, 2007. Sakhara Records

Dolphin Blue Live. Dolphin Blue. December, 2007. Rising Sun Productions (German CDR)

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Telephone Call From Istanbul

- Tom Waits (1987): "Started as a title, then became just a junkyard for uh . . . one banjo and drums there. Got a little eastern slant on it. I don't know, beyond that. Frank is just started to plummet here; things are starting to fracture a bit." (Source: "From the set of Ironweed, Tom Waits talks with Rip Rense". New York Post: Rip Rense. Early 1987)

-Bill Forman (1987): "Waits' unconventional approach to recording doesn't end with his choice of instruments. "Telephone Call from Istanbul" goes rollicking along with banjo, guitar, bass, drums and the faint ghost of Waits improvising away on that cheesy Farfisa. When the track is nearly over, the Farfisa kicks in full strength, catapulting the listener into some hellish Turkish rollerskating rink. "I usually don't like to isolate the instruments," says Waits, explaining the appearance of the ghost early in the track. "On that song, I pulled out the Farfisa and then just put it in very hot at the end, just so it sounded kind of Cuban or something."(Source: "Better Waits Than Ever" Music & Sound Output (Canada/ USA), by Bill Forman. Vol. 7, No. 11. October, 1987)

⁽²⁾ Paint the town (blue), paint oneself (blue)

- To go on a wild spree in a town or city; to celebrate wildly (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner).

- Notice the same phrase being used in Depot, Depot, 1974: "And outside the midnight wind is blowing Sixth Avenue, I'm gonna paint myself blue, At the depot."

⁽³⁾ Never trust a man in a blue trench coat:

- Q: Your line "Never trust a man in a blue trench coat," would that be a reference to Leonard Cohen and his "Famous Blue Raincoat?" TW: "No. It's just words, y'know? No deeper meaning there." (Source: "Sonicnet Full Chat Transcript" Sonicnet chat, hosted by Michael Goldberg & Gil Kaufman. Date: April, 1999)

⁽⁴⁾ Dead: adj. [19C] very drunk. [abbr. dead drunk] (Source: Cassel's Dictionary of Slang. Jonathon Green 1998. Cassel & Co., 2000)

⁽⁵⁾ Beula(h) (land):

- Bible (Isa. lxii. 4). The land of Israel in the Old Testament 2a. The land of peace described in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress (Source: The American Heritage� Dictionary of the English Language, Houghton Mifflin - Third Edition)

- In Pilgrim's Progress it is that land of heavenly joy where the pilgrims tarry till they are summoned to enter the celestial City; the Paradise before the resurrection. (Source: "The First Hypertext Edition of The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable", E. Cobham Brewer. � 1997-99 Bibliomania.com Ltd).

- Also mentioned in "Take Care Of All Of My Children" (I'll be goin' up to Beulah land), "Take It With Me" (We fell asleep on Beaula's porch)

⁽⁶⁾ Oh, Chantilly lace and a pretty face: Quoting: Chantilly Lace. Words and music by J. P. Richardson, �1958. Originally performed by the Big Bopper (J. P. Richardson) in 1958. Recorded in 1972 by Jerry Lee Lewis. Chantilly Lace: "Hello, Baby! Yeah, this is the Big Bopper speaking! Oh, you sweet thing! Do I what? Will I what? Oh baby, you know what I like! Chantilly lace and a pretty face, and a ponytail hangin' down A wiggle in her walk and a giggle in her talk Make the world go 'round There ain't nothing in the world like a big-eyed girl To make me act so funny, spend my doggone money I feel real loose, like a long necked goose, like a - Wow baby, that's what I like! Huh? Will I what? Do I what? Will I what? Can't never tell, baby Ha-ha-ha-ha, I might But honey, you know what I like Chantilly lace and a pretty face, and a ponytail a-hangin' down A wiggle in her walk and a giggle in her talk, Lord! They're gonna make the world go 'round There ain't nothing in the world like a big-eyed girl To make me act so funny, spend my doggone money I feel real loose, like a long necked goose, like a - Wow baby, that's what I like! Huh? Ha-ha-ha Huh? What's that? Pick you up at eight? And don't be late? You gotta be jokin', woman I thought you might pick ME up at eight and don't be late It don't make no difference, baby, you know what I really like! Chantilly lace and a pretty face, and a ponytail hangin' down A wiggle in her walk and a giggle in her talk, Lord! They're gonna make the world go 'round There ain't nothing in the world like a big-eyed girl To make me act so funny, spend my doggone money I feel real loose, like a long necked goose, like a - Wow baby, that's what I like! Wooo! Ha-ha-ha Honey, you're tearin' me up on this telephone I swear I don't know what I'm gonna do with you You yap and yap and yap and yap and yap But when you break it all down, you know what I like Chantilly lace and a pretty face, and a ponytail hangin' down A wiggle in her walk and a giggle in her talk They're gonna make the world go 'round."

Time

(Rain Dogs studio version, 1985)

The smart money's⁽²⁾ on Harlow, and the moon is in the street

And the shadow boys are breakin' all the laws

And you're east of East St. Louis⁽³⁾, and the wind is making speeches

And the rain sounds like a round of applause

And Napoleon⁽⁴⁾ is weepin' in a carnival saloon

His invisible fiancee's in the mirror

And the band is goin' home, it's rainin' hammers, it's rainin' nails

And it's true, there's nothin' 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 gettin' 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 Matilda⁽⁵⁾ 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⁽⁶⁾, she pulls a razor from her boot

And a thousand pigeons fall around her feet

So put a candle in the window⁽⁷⁾ 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⁽⁶⁾ off till 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

Time

(Big Time live version, 1988)

The smart money's⁽²⁾ on Harlow, and the moon is in the street

And the shadow boys are breakin' all the laws

Oh, and it's east of East St. Louis⁽³⁾, and the wind is making speeches

And the rain sounds like a round of applause

And Napoleon⁽⁴⁾ is weepin' in a carnival saloon

His invisible fianc�e is in the mirror

And the band is goin' home, it's rainin' hammers, it's rainin' nails

It's true, there's nothin' left for him down here

And it's time, time, time

And it is time, and it's time

And it's 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 them gettin' smaller as they pull away

Oh, and the things you can't remember tell the things you can't forget

That history puts a saint in every dream

Oh, she said she'd stick around 'til the bandages came off

But these mama's boys just don't know when to quit

And Matilda⁽⁵⁾ asks the sailors, 'Are those dreams or are those prayers?'

Close your eyes, son, and this won't hurt a bit

And it's time, time, time

And it is time, time, time

And it's time, time that you love

And it's time, time, time

Oh, and things are pretty lousy for the calendar girls

The boys just dive right off the cars and splash into the street

Oh, and when she's on a roll⁽⁶⁾, she pulls a razor from her boot

And a thousand pigeons fall around her feet

So put a candle in the window⁽⁷⁾ and a kiss upon my lips

As the dish outside the window fills with rain

Oh, and just like a stranger with the weeds in your heart

Pay the fiddler⁽⁸⁾ off till I come back again

And it's time, time, time

And it is time, time, time

And it's time, time, time that you love

And it's time, time, time

Known covers:

T-Bone Burnett. T-Bone Burnett, 1986/ 1994. DOT Records (MCA) MCAD-31296/ 5809. Universal Special Products (1994)

Navidades Furiosas. Various artists. 1993. La Fábrica Magnética, Spain. (performed by: El Inquilino Comunista)

Roll Tide Roll. Jan Johansen. October, 1997. Lionheart Records (Sweden)

Canto Per Te. Andrea Mingardi. February 2, 1999. Sony/ Columbia, COL 489585-2 (in Italian)

Bukowski Waits For Us - Vol. 1. Michael Kiessling. September 25, 2000. Buschfunk (Germany)

Vieux Carre. Torn Curtain. March, 2001. Self-released

Strange Little Girls. Tori Amos. September 18, 2001. WEA/ Atlantic

The Carnival Saloon Live. The Carnival Saloon. October, 2001. Self-released (Ireland)

Fram Till Nu. Jan Johansen. December, 2001. IND/ Sweden (same version as on Roll Tide Roll, 1997)

Unplugged. Anne Bärenz & Frank Wolff. 2003. Büchergilde (Germany)

Mens Te Koop. Kees Meerman. 2003. Self-released

The Music Never Ends. Johanna Olsson. March 23, 2004. Self-released (Sweden)

And How. Xanda Howe. June, 2004. Songphonic Records (bonus track)

"23". Golly. July, 2004. Media - Arte (Knopf Germany)

Your Town. 5 Mile Chase. October, 2005. Self-released

The Silverhearts Play Raindogs. The Silverhearts. October 5, 2005. Banbury Park Records

Gabelfrühstück. NOX (Gerd Köster & Dirk Raulf). May 11, 2006. Poise (Germany)

Leonard Cohen Auf Swedisch II (bonus track "Tid" in Swedish). Jan Erik Lundqvist. May 26, 2006. Meyer Records (Germany)

Bye-Bye. Anne Bärenz. October, 2006. Stalburg Theater (Germany)

Bangin' On The Table With An Old Tin Cup. Pascal Fricke. April 12, 2007. Self-released (Germany)

American Storyteller Vol 2 & 3. Chris Chandler And Davd Roe. September 4, 2007. Self-released

Domestic Songs. Solveig Slettahjell. September 28, 2007. Act (Edel)

In Love + Light. Heidi Talbot. February 25, 2008. Self-released

Just Doin´Time. Breeze the Creaze/ Golly. January 7, 2008. Knopfstudio (Germany)

Overcast - The Music Of Ed Partyka. The Sunday Night Orchestra. May 30, 2008. Mons Records, Germany

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Time

- Tom Waits (commenting on the song "Time", 1985): "Time: Time is a precious commodity..." (Source: "Rain Dogs Island Promo Tape" (taped comments on songs as sent to radio stations). Date: late 1985)

⁽²⁾ Smart money

- Money bet or invested by those in the know, or by influential or wealthy people who are supposedly in a position to know that their bet or investment will be profitable (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner)

- Money paid by a person to obtain exemption from some disagreeable office or duty; in law it means a heavy fine; and in recompense it means money given to soldiers or sailors for injuries received in the service. It either makes the person "smart," i.e. suffer, or else the person who receives it is paid for smarting. (Source: "The First Hypertext Edition of The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable", E. Cobham Brewer. � 1997-99 Bibliomania.com Ltd)

⁽³⁾ St. Louis

- Also mentioned in: I Beg Your Pardon, 1982: "Please don't go back to St. Louis, can't you tell that I'm sincere.", Train Song, 1987: "Well I broke down in East St. Louis, on the Kansas City Line." Hold On, 1999: "Well, God bless your crooked heart, St. Louis got the best of me.".

- Notice that East St. Louis is a notably rough and tough black side of town, very distinct from plain St. Louis. Being East of East St. Louis might be a Waitsian metaphor for being in the worst part possible of any town.

- Jonathan Valania (1999): Getting back to the names of places, St. Louis seems to pop up a lot, in "Hold on" from the new record and "Time" from Rain Dogs and you've mentioned it a lot in interviews. Ever live there? TW: "No, never lived there. It's a good name to stick in a song. Every song needs to be anatomically correct: You need weather, you need the name of the town, something to eat - every song needs certain ingredients to be balanced. You're writing a song and you need a town, and you look out the window and you see "St. Louis Cardinals" on some kid's T-shirt. And you say, "Oh, we'll use that." (Source: "The Man Who Howled Wolf ". Magnet: Jonathan Valania. June/ July, 1999)

⁽⁴⁾ Napoleon

- On "The heart of Saturday night" Napoleon is credited for the cover illustration. According to Cal Schenkel Napoleon is the guy on the floor in front of the diner on the cover of "Nighthawks at the diner".

- Also mentioned in Diamonds And Gold (Rain Dogs, 1985): "Small time Napoleon's shattered his knees, But he stays in the saddle for Rose."

⁽⁵⁾ Matilda: Might be Waits is refering to Matilda from Tom Traubert's Blues, 1976: "Waltzing Matilda, you'll go waltzing Matilda with me." The rhytmn and feeling of both songs are certainly alike

⁽⁶⁾ Roll

- v.t.:To rob a drunk or sleeping person, usu. a drunk. To rob any person, as by a hold-up, or esp. to rob a prostitute's customer when he is sleeping or has left his clothing unwatched (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner)

- On a roll: phr. [1970s+] (orig. US gambling) on a winning streak, enjoying a period of success, whether lit. or fig.

- Roll: n. [1970s+] a spell of good fortune, a winning streak, whether lit. or fig. [roll, the roll of a dice] (Source: "Cassell's Dictionary Of Slang". Jonathon Green. Cassel & Co., 1998. ISBN: 0-304-35167-9).

- Also mentioned in Depot, Depot, 1974: "I'm on a roll, just like a pool ball, baby, Empty Pockets/ Purple Avenue, 1981: "What happened to my roll, September fell right through the hole."

⁽⁶⁾ Put a candle in the window: Many cultures around the world practice the "candle in the window" tradition. In colonial America a "candle in the window" was used to honor dignitaries, announce births and just plain celebrate(Source: Libbey Hodges, Oliver and Mary Miley Theobold. Williamsburg Christmas. New York. Harry N. Abrams Inc. 1999). In today's America it is a tradition practiced throughout the year as a gesture of welcome and a promise of warm hospitality to guests (thanks to Celso Lazaretti for pointing out this reference).

⁽⁷⁾ Fiddler/ piper, pay the: Who's to pay the fiddler/ piper? The phrase comes from the tradition about the Pied Piper of Hameln, who agreed to cure the town of rats and mice; when he had done so, the people of Hameln refused to pay him, whereupon he piped again, and led all the children to Koppelberg Hill, which closed over them. From the corresponding French phrase, "payer les violons," it would seem to mean who is to pay the fiddler or piper if we have a dance [on the green] (Source: "The First Hypertext Edition of The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable", E. Cobham Brewer. � 1997-99 Bibliomania.com Ltd)

Train Song

(Frank's Wild Years studio version, 1987)

Well, I broke down in East St. Louis⁽²⁾, on the Kansas City line

Drunk up all of my money, that I borrowed every time

And I fell down at the Derby, the night's as black as a crow

It was a train that took me away from here, but a train can't bring me home

What made my dreams so hollow, was standin' at the depot

With a steeple full of swallows, that could never ring a bell⁽³⁾

And I've come ten thousand miles away, with not one thing to show

It was a train that took me away from here, but a train can't bring me home

Well, I remember when I left, without botherin' to pack

Don't you know I up and left, with just the clothes I had on my back

Now I'm so sorry for what I've done, and I'm out here on my own

It was a train that took me away from here, but a train can't bring me home

It was a train that took me away from here, but a train can't bring me home

Train Song

(Big Time live version, 1988)

Well, I broke down in East St. Louis⁽²⁾, on the Kansas City line

And I drunk up all of my money, that I borrowed every time

And I fell down at the Derby, now the night's as black as a crow

Must've been a train that took me away from here

But a train can't bring me home

What made my dreams so hollow, I was standin' at the depot

With a steeple full of swallows, that could never ring a bell⁽³⁾

Oh, I've come ten thousand miles away, and I ain't got one thing to show

Must've been a train took me away from here

But a train can't bring me home

Well, I remember when I left, without botherin' to pack

You know I up and left, with nothin' but the clothes I had on my back

Now I'm so sorry for what I've done, and I'm out here on my own

Must've been a train that took me away from here

But a train can't bring me home

It must've been a train that took me away from here

But a train can't bring me, can't bring me home

Known covers:

Temptation. Holly Cole, 1995. Blue Note Records/ Capital (Japan/ USA)

Eyes And Ears. Bim Skala Bim. January, 1995. Bib Records

It Happened One Night. Holly Cole. June, 1995. Blue Note Records (Japan: 1995, USA/ EMD: 1996)

Nomad. Polarity Percussion Ensemble with John Kenny & David Moss. 1997. Self-released

Promised Land. The Holmes Brothers. January, 1997. Rounder Records

Collection. Holly Cole Trio. September, 1998. EMI (Australia)

Righteous: The Essential Collection. Holmes Brothers. July 16, 2002. Rounder/ Pgd (same version as on "Promised Land", 1997)

Bukowski Waits For Us - Vol. 1. Michael Kiessling. September 25, 2000. Buschfunk (Germany)

The Best Of Holly Cole. Holly Cole. November, 2000. Blue Note Records

The Carnival Saloon Live. The Carnival Saloon. October, 2001. Self-released (Ireland)

Train Songs. Spring String Quartet. 2002. CCn'C Records

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Train Song:

- Tom Waits (1987): "Kind of a gospel number. Frank is on the bench, really on his knees and can't go any further. At the end of his rope on a park bench with an advertisement that says "Palladin Funeral Home." (Source: "From the set of Ironweed, Tom Waits talks with Rip Rense". New York Post: Rip Rense. Early 1987)

- Tom Waits (1987): "Well, that's where it starts. When you're young you think everything is possible and that you're in the sun and all that. I always liked that Bob Dylan song, "I was young when I left home and I rambled around and I never wrote a letter to my home, to my home. Never wrote a letter to my home." You don't always know where you're going till you get there. That's the thing about train travel, at least when you say goodbye they get gradually smaller. Airplanes, people go through a door and they're gone. Very strange. They say now that jet lag is really your spirit catching up to your body." (Source: "Tom Waits is flying upside down (on purpose)". Musician (a Billboard publication) Mark Rowland October, 1987)

- Live intro as heard on Big Time: This is really the intro to 'Johnsburg, Illinois' but it's been edited in as an intro to 'Train Song' instead. You can hear the edit at 1.20]: "All right. Actually I get asked... Well... look, I think the question I get asked the most is... I mean, it happens a lot. Enough that I would remark on it. A lot of people come up to me and they say, 'Tom, is it possible for a woman to get pregnant without intercourse?' And my answer is always the same. I say, 'Well, listen. We're gonna have to go all the way back to the Civil War.' Apparently, a stray bullet actually pierced the testicle of a Union soldier, and then lodged itself in the ovaries of an eighteen year old girl, who was All right. Actually I get asked... Well... look, I think the question I get asked the most is... I mean, it happens a lot. Enough that I would remark on it. A lot of people come up to me and they say, 'Tom, is it possible for a woman to get pregnant without intercourse?' And my answer is always the same. I say, 'Well, listen. We're gonna have to go all the way back to the Civil War.' Apparently, a stray bullet actually pierced the testicle of a Union soldier, and then lodged itself in the ovaries of an eighteen year old girl, who was actually a hundred feet from him at the time. Well, the baby was fine. She was very happy, guilt free and... Of course, the soldier was a little pissed off. When you think about it, it's actually a FORM of intercourse, but... not for everyone. Those who love action maybe." actually a hundred feet from him at the time. Well, the baby was fine. She was very happy, guilt free and... Of course, the soldier was a little pissed off. When you think about it, it's actually a FORM of intercourse, but... not for everyone. Those who love action maybe." (Transcribed by Ulf Berggren. Tom Waits eGroups discussionlist, 2000)

⁽²⁾ St. Louis

- Also mentioned in: I Beg Your Pardon, 1982: "Please don't go back to St. Louis, can't you tell that I'm sincere.", Time, 1985: "And you're East of East Saint Louis and the wind is making speeches.", Hold On, 1999: "Well, God bless your crooked heart, St. Louis got the best of me."

- Jonathan Valania (1999): Getting back to the names of places, St. Louis seems to pop up a lot, in "Hold on" from the new record and "Time" from Rain Dogs and you've mentioned it a lot in interviews. Ever live there? TW: "No, never lived there. It's a good name to stick in a song. Every song needs to be anatomically correct: You need weather, you need the name of the town, something to eat - every song needs certain ingredients to be balanced. You're writing a song and you need a town, and you look out the window and you see "St. Louis Cardinals" on some kid's T-shirt. And you say, "Oh, we'll use that." (Source: "The Man Who Howled Wolf ". Magnet: Jonathan Valania. June/ July, 1999)

⁽³⁾ Ring the bell: To succeed; to meet with approval or make a hit with someone (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner)

Underground

(Swordfishtrombones studio version, 1983)

Rattle big black bones in the danger zone

There's a rumblin' groan down below

There's a big dark town, it's a place I've found

There's a world going on underground

They're alive, they're awake

While the rest of the world is asleep

Below the mine shaft roads, it will all unfold

There's a world going on underground

All the roots hang down, swing from town to town

They are marching around down under your boots

All the trucks unload beyond the gopher holes

There's a world going on underground

Underground

(Big Time live version, 1988)

Rattle big black bones in the danger zone

There's a rumblin' groan down below

Below the mine shaft roads, it will all unfold

There's a world going on underground

Underground

They're alive, they're awake

While the rest of the world is asleep

Below the mine shaft roads, it will all unfold

There's a world going on underground

Underground

Underground

All the roots hang down, swing from town to town

They are marching around down under your boots

Below the gopher holes, where they all unfold

There's a world going on underground

Underground

Underground

Known covers:

Spiewomalowanie. Mariusz Lubomski. 1994. Self-released

Secret World. Astrid Seriese. October, 1994 (re-released in 2003). Brigadoon

Gerd K�ster und... Gerd K�ster. March 22, 1999. Chlodwig (Pavement Records)

Lubomski W Trojce. Mariusz Lubomski. July 18, 2000. EMI Records

The Carnival Saloon Live. The Carnival Saloon. October, 2001. Self-released (Ireland)

Kazik Staszewski "Piosenki Toma Waitsa". Kazik Staszewski. March, 2003. VIP Production/ Luna Music: LUNCD 093-2 (in Polish)

Lullabies for the Discerning Baby. Ansty Cowfold. August 29, 2005. Wonky Atlas

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Underground

- Tom Waits (1983): "It was originally an opportunity for me to chronical the behavior of a mutant dwarf community and give it a feeling of a Russian march. People banging on steam pipes, thousand boots coming down on a wood floor at the same time. That chorus of men singing, kind of a 'Dr.Zhivago'-feel to it. It was the way I originally perceived it. I abbreviated some of the scope and wanted bass marimba to give it kind of an exotic feel. So, you get the note and you get that kind of a tall wood clang with the attack. That's Victor Feldman on bass marimba, Larry Taylor on acoustic bass, Randy Aldcroft on baritone horn, Stephen Hodges on drums and Fred Tackett on electric guitar. I had some assistance from a gentleman by the name of Francis Thumm, who worked on the arrangements of some of these songs with me. Who plays gramolodium with the Harry Partch Ensemble headed up by Daniel Mitchell. So he worked closely on most of these songs. But I originally saw this... the theme for some late night activity in the steam tunnels beneath New York City. Where allegedly there are entire communities of ladies and gentleman living under difficult circumstances beneath the subways. When I was a kid I used to stare in the gopherholes for hours and hours sometimes. I tried to think my way down through the gopherhole and imagine this kind of a 'journey to the center of the earth'- kind of thing" (Source: "Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones". Island Promo interview, 1983)

- Tom Waits (1983): "Much more percussion than I'm used to in the past, I was trying to get it to imitate things that I'm already used to hearing rather than just being separate so it's more like an organized automobile accident and it has some shape to it but it also relates to the real event itself, some of the stuff on Shore Leave is like sound effects, the low trombone is like a bus going by and I got a little more adventurous, I'm still a little timid about it but melody is what really hits me first, melody is the first thing that seduces me. Underground had some - I thought it felt like a Russian march, the music to accompany the activities of a mutant dwarf community in the steam tunnels - that kind of a feel is what I was after" (Source: Unidentified Swordfishtrombones Interview (interviewer's tape). Date: 1983/ 1984)

- Tom Waits (1983): "Underground'' is the score for a mutant dwarf community" (Source: "The Beat Goes On" Rock Bill magazine (USA). October 1983, by Kid Millions)

- Stephen Hodges (2007): "I broke every stick in my bag trying to do 'Underground'. Finally I just went and found these parade drumsticks that were like big old logs, and I shoved cymbal felts on top of them so they were like a big felt mallet" (Source: Stephen Hodges interview November 20, 2007 as quoted in “Lowside Of The Road: A Life Of Tom Waits" by Barney Hoskyns. Faber/ Broadway, 2009)

Way Down In The Hole

(Frank's Wild Years studio version, 1987)

When you walk through the garden, you gotta watch your back

Well, I beg your pardon, walk the straight and narrow track

If you walk with Jesus, he's gonna save your soul

You gotta keep the Devil way down in the hole

He's got the fire and the fury at his command

Well, you don't have to worry if you hold on to Jesus' hand

We'll all be safe from Satan when the thunder rolls

We just got to keep the Devil way down in the hole

All the angels sing about Jesus' mighty sword

And they'll shield you with their wings, and keep you close to the Lord

Don't pay heed to temptation, for his hands are so cold

You gotta help me keep the Devil way down in the hole

Down in the hole

Down in the hole

Down in the hole

Down in the hole

Down in the hole

Down in the hole

You gotta help me keep the Devil down in the hole

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music (ASCAP), � 1986-1987-1998

Official release: "Frank's Wild Years", Island Records Inc., 1987 &

"Beautiful Maladies", Island Records Inc., 1998

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)

Further reading: Frank's Wild Years the play

Way Down In The Hole

(Big Time live version, 1988)

Well, I feel as though we should move right into the religious material

When you walk through the garden, you gotta watch your back

Well, I beg your pardon, walk the straight and narrow track

When you walk with Jesus, he's gonna save your soul

You got to keep the Devil, well you gotta keep him down in the hole

He's got the fire, people he's got the fury at his command

Oh, you don't have to worry, hold on to, hold on to Jesus' hand

We'll all be safe from Satan, when the thunder, when the thunder starts to

roll

We got to keep the Devil, keep him on down, down in the hole

That red horned lousy low-life underneath our boots

Praise the Lord!

I don't know what it is, two dollar?

That demon meister, three dollar?

That Prince Devil

Just see if you can come up with a figure that matches your faith

You say how much has Jesus done for you

And we got to go in with our hydraulic system and blast him out!

People, can I get an amen!

All the angels, they start to sing all about Jesus' mighty sword

And they'll shield you with their wings, people they'll keep you close to

the Lord

Now don't pay heed to temptation, for his hands are so cold

You gotta keep the Devil, keep him on down in the hole

Down in the hole

Down in the hole

Down in the hole

Well people, I got to speak about something

Can I get an amen!

Can I get a Hallelujah!

Praise the Lord!

Have mercy

The Lord is a very, very busy man

I do what I can

But Jesus is always going for the big picture

But he's always there to help us out of the little jams too⁽²⁾

Down in the hole

Down in the hole

Down in the hole

Keep him down in the hole

We got to keep the Devil down in the hole

We got to keep the Devil, keep him on down in the hole

Down

Down, down, down, mighty Devil

I send you down below my boots

Down, down

Filling my life with anger and strife

Go down, mighty Devil

Find a place to live

Down, down, down

Known covers:

Howlin' Mercy. John Campbell. 1993. Elektra

Heavy Metal Horns. Heavy Metal Horns. 1994. Self-released

Risque. Térez Montcalm. 1994. BMG Music Canada Ltd

Songs Of Tom Waits. Dolphin Blue. 1995. Self-released demo (Germany)

Gamblin' Days Are Over. Compulsive Gamblers. August, 1995. Sympathy for the Record Industry, SFTRI 372

R�d Pust - Sven Henriksen synger Tom Waits, Sven Henriksen. 1996. Sonet (in Norwegian: "En strevsom mann")

Into Temptation - Astrid Seriese sings Waits, Weill & more. Astrid Seriese. October, 1996 (September, 2003). Brigadoon

Bukowski Waits For Us - Vol. 1. Michael Kiessling. September 25, 2000. Buschfunk (Germany)

Being Tom Waits. Billy`s Band. 2001. Self-released demo album (Russia)

Spirit Of The Century. Blind Boys Of Alabama. April 24, 2001. EMD/ Real World Records

Hooray For The Moon. Jon Dee Graham. January, 2002. New West Records

Ain't Your Train. The Tremors Bluesband. 2003. Self-released (live)

Kazik Staszewski "Piosenki Toma Waitsa". Kazik Staszewski. March, 2003. VIP Production / Luna Music: LUNCD 093-2 (in Polish)

Pornoshow - Laura Fedele Interpreta Tom Waits. Laura Fedele. May, 2003.Auditorium, AUD 00902 (in Italian)

Live & Deadly: Memphis-Chicago. The Compulsive Gamblers. April 15, 2003. Sympathy for the Record Industry

Chateau Haag - Good News. Lisa Haag. November, 2004. Self-released (Austria)

Roll The Dice. Big Town Playboys. November 8, 2004. Mi5 Recordings (UK)

Levi. Phil Cunneff. 2005. Fells Point Jazz

Bump. BlueTouch. September 2005. Self-released

Enter The Mule. Blue Mule. October 22, 2005. Flat Five Press and Recording

Don't Act Right. Boss Diablo. May 19, 2006. Moondog Records

South Of Hell, France. Rev. Tom Frost. July 21, 2006. Closed For Private Party Records

The Look South. Sam Rosen. October 4, 2006. Class Act Records

Washington Square Serenade. Steve Earle. September 25, 2007. New West Records

The Wire: And All the Pieces Matter (soundtrack). Various artists. January 8, 2008. Nonesuch (three versions performed by: Blind Boys of Alabama, Neville Brothers and DoMaJe)

Live At Seaside Tavern. The Blues Busters. October 30, 2008. Self-released

No Provision. Spirit & Blues. January 16, 2009. Gracetone

American Landscape. The Nighthawks. February 3, 2009. Powerhouse Records

Candy Store. Kristine Jackson. February 20, 2010. Self-released

Looking Glass. Zoe Gilby. September 7, 2010. JazzAction

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Tom Waits (1987): "That's Ralph Carney on three horns simultaneously. We wrote that one real fast; it was practically written in the studio. Checkerboard Lounge gospel. Here, Frank has thrown in with a berserk evangelist. RR: That's redundant. WAITS: And for free, he pretends to be blind. One of those tent show things."(Source: "From the set of Ironweed, Tom Waits talks with Rip Rense" . New York Post: Rip Rense. Early 1987)

⁽²⁾ But he's always there to help us out of the little jams too: This is the clou of a story that's been deleted from the original version (Warfield Theatre. November 5, 1987).

- Original story: "Well people, I got to speak about something! Can I get an amen! Can I get a halleluiah! Praise the lord! Have mercy... People, when I was on my way to this speech tonight, we pulled down in Dallas/ Texas. The lord loooves Dallas/ Texas. Well people, I mean to tell you the lord was working his wonders with his paint brush. All the many hues of his pallet. The almond, the many violets and the vermilion. And I was seated in Clipper Class. People I love Clipper Class! But I was seated next to and elderly Indian gentleman who was having some trouble with the tiny foil top that locks in the freshness on his strawberry preserves container. A problem we've all experienced from time to time... People I want you to know that he busted that top, till I thought he would die. And you know what I did!? You know what I did!? Well I tell you what I did! People I snatched the container from his hand, I tore open the foil top and I spread his preserves out on his toast for him! (applause)."

Yesterday Is Here

(Frank's Wild Years studio version, 1987)

If you want money in your pocket and a top hat on your head

a hot meal on your table and a blanket on your bed

Well, today is grey skies⁽²⁾ tomorrow is tears

You'll have to wait 'til yesterday is here

I'm going to New York City

and I'm leaving on a train

and if you want to stay behind and wait 'til I come back again

Well, today is grey skies tomorrow is tears

You'll have to wait 'til yesterday is here

If you want to go where the rainbows end

you'll have to say goodbye

All our dreams come true baby up ahead

and it's out where your memories lie

Well, the road is out before me and the moon is shining bright

What I want you to remember as I disappear tonight

Well, today is grey skies tomorrow is tears

You'll have to wait 'til yesterday is here

Well, today is grey skies tomorrow's tears

You'll have to wait 'til yesterday is here

You'll have to wait 'til yesterday is here

You'll have to wait 'til yesterday is here

Written by: Tom Waits and Kathleen Waits-Brennan

Published by: Jalma Music (ASCAP), � 1986-1987

Official release: Frank's Wild Years, Island Records Inc., 1987

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)

Further reading: Frank's Wild Years the play

Yesterday Is Here

(Big Time live version, 1988)

Thank you ma'm!

If you want money in your pocket, you want a top hat on your head

a hot meal on your table and a blanket on your bed

Well, today is grey skies tomorrow is tears

You'll have to wait 'til yesterday is here

I'm a going to New York City

I'll be leaving on a train

and if you wanna stay behind 'til I come back again

Well, today is grey skies tomorrow is tears

You'll have to wait 'til yesterday is here

Now, if you want to go where the rainbows end

you will have to say goodbye

All our dreams come true baby up ahead

and it's out where your memories lie

And the road is out before me and the moon is shining bright

What I want you to remember as I disappear tonight

That today is grey skies tomorrow is tears

You'll have to wait 'til yesterday is here

And today is grey skies tomorrow's tears

You'll have to wait 'til yesterday is here

You will have to wait 'til yesterday is here

You will have to wait 'til yesterday is here

You will have to wait 'til yesterday is here

Written by: Tom Waits and Kathleen Waits-Brennan

Published by: Jalma Music, Admin. by Ackee Music, Inc. (ASCAP), � 1986-1987-1988

Official release: "Big Time", � Island Visual Arts Inc. (P) Island Records Inc., 1988

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)

Further reading: Frank's Wild Years the play. Further reading: Big Time full story

Known covers:

Bümpliz Casablanca. Züri West. May 13, 1989. BlackCat/ Switserland (In Swiss: “Bis I Zrügg Bi”)

Cool in July. Bertus Borgers & The Groove. 1992. Universe-Virgin (CDSP 95729)

Good News. Bertus Borgers & The Groove. 1992. Universe-Virgin (CD-single 165 558)

Wintertour. Züri West. November 21, 1992 Label: Weltrekords/ Switserland (live version in Swiss: “Bis I Zrügg Bi”)

Jack Candy. The Walkabouts. 1993. CD-single, SubPop Germany, SPCD 81/251

New West Hotel. The Walkabouts. 1993. SubPop Germany, SP 81/252

Pinups. Human Drama. May 18, 1993. Triple X

Eclipse. Astrid Seriese. July, 1993. Bridgadoon

Bury The Bottle With Me. Jever Mountain Boys. 1994. Blue Million Miles

Dear Sir. Cat Power (Chan Marshall). 1995. Plain (re released in 2001)

Sad Eyes. Vera Coomans & Philip Hoessen. 1996. Dureco (The Netherlands)

Into Temptation - Astrid Seriese sings Waits, Weill & more. Astrid Seriese. October, 1996 (September, 2003). Brigadoon

R�d Pust - Sven Henriksen synger Tom Waits, Sven Henriksen. 1996. Sonet (in Norwegian: "Der hvor regnbuen bor")

Dance With The Skeletons In Hell. Serious Solid Swineheard Is Better Than Homecooked. November 12, 1997. Day-Glo - (SPV)

Orange Juice For One. Gabriela Tanner Jazz Quintett. May 25, 2001. Jazz Elite Special

Acoustic. Calla. 2003. Self-released promo CDR (live)

Kazik Staszewski "Piosenki Toma Waitsa". Kazik Staszewski. March, 2003. VIP Production / Luna Music: LUNCD 093-2 (in Polish)

Bloomsburg to Bangladesh. Bloomsburg to Bangladesh. 2004. Blue Buddha Records (performed by Jeremy dePrisco)

The Exotic Sounds of the Alter Boys. The Alter Boys. March 8, 2005. Fractured Trans

Black Money. Cowboys On Dope. April 29, 2006. Extra Records (Germany)

Bark! The Barking Dogs. February 9, 2006. WTPL Music (France)

Comin' Home. Denvis. August 1, 2006. Rosa Records (Netherlands)

Keys to the Castle. Mare Edstrom. September 15, 2006. Spiritone Records

Live At Mississippi Studios. Amanda Richards. October 3, 2006. Self-released

The Shed. The Shed. December 1, 2007. Self-released

Falling Down (single). Scarlett Johansson. April 8, 2008. Rhino Records/ Atco (same version as on Anywhere I Lay My Head, 2008)

Anywhere I Lay My Head. Scarlett Johansson. May 20, 2008. Atco Records (bonus track)

Grapefruit Moon: Songs of Tom Waits. Southside Johnny & La Bamba's Bigband. September 19, 2008. Evangeline (Soulfood Music)

No Romeo. The Pussybats. August 12, 2008. Black Rain

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Tom Waits (1987): "Kathleen changed the melody on that. It was almost like a Ray Charles number before. All of a sudden we ended up with Morricone. Wanted to get some of that spaghetti-western feel. "Today is grey skies/ tomorrow is tears/ you'll have to wait till yesterday is here. . ." The title was given to me by Fred Gwynne. He had the title, and didn't know what to do with it. He said "it's yours; see what you can make of it." RR: Umm, was he speaking to you through the TV set? TW: No. in a dream. No, on "Cotton Club." We had a lot of time to stand around in our tuxedos. Kicked the title around for a long time. Always liked the title." (Source: "From the set of Ironweed, Tom Waits talks with Rip Rense." New York Post: Rip Rense. Early 1987)

- Stephen Fried (1987): "He claims that the title of one of the most haunting tunes on Franks Wild Years, "Yesterday Is Here" - "...today is grey skies/ tomorrow is tears/ you'll have to wait till yesterday is here" - was given to him by Fred Gwynne during a break in Cotton Club's filming." (Source: "The Da Vinci of Downtown". GQ Magazine: Stephen Fried. November, 1987)

⁽²⁾ Grey Skies: Notice this phrase being repeated in the play. Frank's Theme: "And dream away when everyone's gone, dream away your grey skies too". More Than Rain: "I have to say to you it's more than woe-be-gotten grey skies now."

Movie

16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought-Six

(Swordfishtrombones studio version, 1983)

I'm gonna whittle you into kindlin''⁽⁹⁾

Black crow, sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

Whittle you into kindlin'

Black crow, sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

I'm gonna whittle you into kindlin'

Black crow, sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

Whittle you into kindlin'

Black crow, sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

Whoa, I'm gonna whittle you into kindlin'

Black crow, sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

Whittle you into kindlin'

Black crow, sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought-Six

(Big Time live version, 1988)

Gonna whittle you into kindlin''⁽⁹⁾

Sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

Whittle you into kindlin'

Sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

Whittle you into kindlin'

Sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

Whittle you into kindlin'

Sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

I will whittle you into kindlin'

Sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

Whittle you into kindlin'

Sixteen shells from a thirty-ought six

Gonna take a

38 hours long gone train

I just

Long gone train

Just long gone train

I just long

I just long

I just long

Long

Hey-hey.

Good evening!

Notes:

⁽²⁾ Plug v.: To shoot someone, esp. to kill by shooting (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner)

⁽³⁾ Thirty Ought Six: Rifle designed in 1906 with a bullet/ barrel gauge of 30. Ought is colloquial for the number zero.

⁽⁴⁾ Marimba: A row of tuned wooden bars mounted in a box and played with mallets - similar to a xylophone or vibraphone (Source: The Folk File, Bill Markwick)

⁽⁶⁾ Pig corn: Genetically modified low-phytate corn grown for feeding pigs and chickens. Not meant for human consumption

⁽⁸⁾ Kick drum n.: The bass drum in a drum kit, operated by a foot pedal (Source: The Folk File, Bill Markwick)

⁽¹¹⁾ Buckets: car front seats

⁽¹²⁾ Washburn: Brand of a guitar maker

9th & Hennepin

Well, it's 9th and Hennepin

All the donuts have names that sound like prostitutes

And the moon's teeth marks are on the sky

Like a tarp thrown all over this

And the broken umbrellas are like dead birds

And the steam comes out of the grill

Like the whole goddam town is ready to blow

And the bricks⁽³⁾ are all scarred with jailhouse tattoos

And everyone is behaving like dogs

And the horses are coming down Violin Road

And Dutch is dead on his feet⁽⁴⁾

And all the rooms they smell like diesel

And you take on the dreams of the ones who have slept there

And I'm lost in the window

And I hide in the stairway

And I hang in the curtain

And I sleep in your hat

And no one brings anything small into a bar around here⁽⁵⁾

They all started out with bad directions

And the girl behind the counter has a tattooed tear

One for every year he's away she said

Such a crumbling beauty

Ah, there's nothing wrong with her a hundred dollars won't fix

She has that razor sadness that only gets worse

With the clang and the thunder of the Southern Pacific going by

And the clock ticks out like a dripping faucet

Till you're full of rag water and bitters and blue ruin⁽⁶⁾

And you spill out over the side to anyone who'll listen

And I've seen it all

I've seen it all through the yellow windows of the evening train

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music (ASCAP), � 1985

Official release: Rain Dogs, Island Records Inc., 1985

Also included in Big Time movie (1988). Further reading: Big Time full story

Known covers:

The Silverhearts Play Raindogs. The Silverhearts. October 5, 2005. Banbury Park Records

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ 9th and Hennepin: Hennepin Avenue and 9th Street Minneapolis, Minnesota

- Tom Waits (1985): "New York is really stimulating. You can get a taxi and just have him drive and start writing down words you see, information that is in your normal view: dry cleaners, custom tailors, alterations, electrical installations, Dunlop safety center, lease, broker, sale...just start making a list of words that you see. And then you just kind of give yourself an assignment. You say, "Im going to write a song and I'm going to use all these words in that song." That's one way. Or you can get in character, like in acting, and let the character speak. The song "9th and Hennepin" came out like that. GB. Where's Hennepin? TW. Minneapolis. But most of the imagery is from New York. It's just that I was on 9th and Hennepin years ago in the middle of a pimp war, and 9th and Hennepin always stuck in my mind. "There's trouble at 9th and Hennepin." To this day I'm sure there continues to be trouble at 9th and Hennepin. At this donut shop. They were playing "Our Day Will Come" by Dinah Washington when these three 12-year-old pimps came in in chincilla coats armed with knives and, uh, forks and spoons and ladles and they started throwing them out in the streets. Which was answered by live ammunition over their heads into our booth. And I knew "Our Day Was Here." I remember the names of all the donuts: cherry twist, lime rickey. But mostly I was thinking of the guy going back to Philadelphia from Manhattan on the Metroliner with the New York Times, looking out the window in New York as he pulls out of the station, imagining all the terrible things he doesn't have to be a part of." (Source: "Tom Waits for no man". Spin Magazine: Glenn O'Brien. November 1985)

- Tom Waits (1987): "I haven't been around 9th and Hennepin in a while, and I only know these things from my own experience. Though I think there must be a place where it all connects. I like where Bukowski says "I'm not quoting exactly"... "It's not the big things that drive men mad. It's the little things. The shoelace that breaks when there's no time left." It makes it very difficult for me to drive, you know. 'Cause I'm always looking around. It makes for a very dangerous ride with the family." (Source: "Tom Waits is flying upside down (on purpose)". Musician (a Billboard publication) Mark Rowland October, 1987)

- Tom Waits (1993): "An all night donut shop at Ninth and Hennepin in Minneapolis. Chuck Weiss and I are having coffee at the counter, late, caught in the middle of a pimp war between two 13-year-old kids. One outside on the street, firing live ammunition, the other running into the cafe, diving behind the counter, unarmed, and screaming, "Leon you're a dead man!" A toothpick dispenser hurls toward the street, the beater of a blender, a spatula, and a handful of forks. Bullets hit the stove, a framed dollar bill, a china dog. Chuck and I drop to the floor while the jukebox pounds out "Our Day Will Come" by Dinah Washington. Each bullet changes the selection on the Wurlitzer to a different song, each more poignant than the one before." ("Tom Foolery - Swapping stories with inimitable Tom Waits". Buzz Magazine: May, 1993)

- Jon Bream (1999): "Then there was the time Waits was in a late-night cafe in Minneapolis and "I got in the middle of a pimp war. There was like this 11-year-old pimp defending himself with a handful of silverware against live ammunition, which was rather dramatic. He would reach into the drawer and grab a handful of forks and hurl them out into the street and then he'd duck behind the counter, and then you'd hear like an automatic weapon, and the mirror inside would crack and hit the ground. None of us were armed. And on the jukebox they were playing 'Our Day Will Come.' " (Source: "Beatnik Bard Waits Uses Twin Cities As Source For Songs, Stories" Star Tribune (Minneapolis/ USA), by Jon Bream. Date: New York. August 27, 1999)

- Tom Waits (introducing "Ninth & Hennepin", 1999): "This is about a scary corner... It's a place called "Ninth & Hennepin". The ironic thing about this is, that it's no longer scary. That's how long I've been around. It went from scary... to kinda fun! And it really kinda upset me. Eh, you know, now they've got the unisex hair parlor there and eh,... you know the yogurt ehm... the eh... the funny shoes with eh... you know. But in the old days, it was no place you wanted to be. It was a little donut shop, a 12-year old pimp came in one night. I was in the middle of a war. Another guy firing live ammunition outside. All he had was knives and forks and spoons. And he incorporated the donut shop as his... barricade. And I just happened be... well having a donut. I haven't had my donut since... . (laughter). Cause I know where donuts lead! On the jukebox it was playing "Our Day Will Come". It was too perfect. Well it's "Ninth & Hennepin". (Source: SxSW festival. Paramount Theater, Austin. March 20, 1999)

⁽³⁾ Bricks

- n.: The pavement or sidewalk; the street

- The world outside prison walls. Prison use (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner).

- Also mentioned in "Little Boy Blue" (Don't sit home and cry on the Fourth of July, Around now you're hittin' the bricks)

⁽⁴⁾ Dead on one's feet: phr. [late 19C+] utterly drained, exhausted (Source: "Cassell's Dictionary Of Slang". Jonathon Green. Cassel & Co., 1998. ISBN: 0-304-35167-9)

⁽⁵⁾ Nobody ever brings anything small into a bar: "I happened to be watching the 1950 movie "Harvey" yesterday. There's one good scene well into the film where Jimmy Stewart explains what he does all day (that is, go to bars with his invisible rabbit friend to wet their whistles and talk to strangers). In this scene, Stewart says: "Nobody ever brings anything small into a bar." (Submitted by Matt Garretson. Raindogs Listserv discussionlist. April, 1997)

⁽⁶⁾ Blue ruin/ rag water

- Blue ruin: Utter ruin; also, gin (Eng. slang) - Carlyle (Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, � 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.). Gin. Called blue from its tint, and ruin from its effects. (Source: "The First Hypertext Edition of The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable", E. Cobham Brewer. � 1997-99 Bibliomania.com Ltd). Inferiour liquor, esp. gin (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner)

- Rag water: Gin, or any other common dram: these liquors seldom failing to reduce those that drink them to rags (Source: “Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue”, Francis Grose 1811). Whisky. (Thieves’ jargon.) (Source: “Dictionary of Phrase and Fable”. E. Cobham Brewer, 1898).

Big Black Mariah

(Raindogs studio version, 1985)

Here come the Big Black Mariah

Here come the Big Black Mariah

Here come the Big Black Mariah

I see the Big Black Ford

Well, he's all boxed up⁽⁶⁾ on a red bell dame

Hunted Black Johnny with a blind man's cane

A yellow bullet with a rag⁽⁷⁾ out in the wind

An old blind tiger⁽⁸⁾ got an old bell Jim

Here come the Big, yeah, Black Mariah

Here come the Big, yeah, Black Mariah

Here come the Big Black Mariah

Here come the Big Black Ford

Here come the Big, yeah, Black Mariah

Here come the Big, yeah, Black Mariah

Here come the Big Black Mariah

I see that Big Black Ford

Cut through the cane break...

Oh yeah

Oh yeah

Well, he's all boxed up on a red bell dame

Fat Blue Charlie with a blind man's cane

A hundred yellow bullets, shook a rag out in the wind

An old black tiger on a pair of blue wings⁽¹²⁾

Here come the Big, yeah, Black Mariah

Here come the Big, yeah, Black Mariah

Here come the Big, yeah, Black Mariah

Here come the Big, yeah, Black Ford

Big Black Mariah

(Big Time live version, 1988)

Here come the Big Black Mariah, here come the Big Black Mariah baby

Here come the Big Black Mariah, here come the big black Ford

Well I'm all boxed up⁽⁶⁾ on a red belle dame

Flat Blue Johnny with a blind man's cane

A yellow bullet with a rag⁽⁷⁾ out in the wind

That old blind tiger⁽⁸⁾, an old bell

Here come the Big Black Mariah, here come the Big Black Mariah

Here come the Big Black Mariah baby, here come the big black Ford, yeah

Now we're all boxed up on a red belle dame

Flat Blue Johnny with a blind man's cane

A yellow bullet with a rag out in the wind

That old blind tiger, an old bell

Here come the Big Black Mariah, here come the Big Black Mariah baby

Here come the Big Black Mariah, here come the big black Ford

Oh yeah, Big Black Mariah, here come the Big Black Mariah

Here come the Big Black Mariah

Here come the Big Black Mariah

Here come the Big Black Mariah

Here come the Big Black Mariah

Notes:

⁽²⁾ Cane break n.: A field that is not planted between two fields that are planted with sugar cane. (Source: Tom Waits Digest, Seth Nielssen)

⁽³⁾ Sill n.: The shaft or thill of a carriage (Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, � 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.)

⁽⁵⁾ Ladder: n. [16C] the gallows (Source: Cassel's Dictionary of Slang. Jonathon Green 1998. Cassel & Co., 2000)

⁽⁶⁾ Boxed up: 1. adj. [20C.] (N.Z.) imprissoned (Source: Cassel's Dictionary of Slang. Jonathon Green 1998. Cassel & Co., 2000) 2. v. enclosed or confined as if in a box/ coffin

⁽⁷⁾ Rag n.: A flag. (Source: "The First Hypertext Edition of The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable", E. Cobham Brewer. � 1997-99 Bibliomania.com Ltd)

⁽¹¹⁾ Wooden (over)coat: = wooden kimona. A coffin. Some underworld and fictional use since c1920 (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner, 1975)

⁽¹²⁾ The last verse is not included in the lyric sheet (transcription by Ulf Berggren as sent to Raindogs Listserv discussionlist, November 1, 1999).

Clap Hands

(Rain Dogs studio version, 1985)

Sane, sane, they're all insane

Fireman's blind, the conductor is lame

A Cincinnati jacket and a sad luck dame

Hangin' out the window with a bottle full of rain

Clap hands

Clap hands

Clap hands

Clap hands

Said roar, roar, the thunder and the roar

Sumbitch is never comin' back here no more

The moon in the window and a bird on the pole

We can always find a millionaire to shovel all the coal⁽²⁾

Clap hands

Clap hands

Clap hands

Clap hands

Said steam, steam, a hundred bad dreams

Goin' up to Harlem with a pistol in his jeans

A fifty dollar bill inside a Paladin's⁽³⁾ hat

And nobody's sure where Mr. Knickerbocker's⁽⁴⁾ at

Roar, roar, the thunder and the roar

Sumbitch is never comin' back here no more

Moon in the window and a bird on the pole

Always find a millionaire to shovel all the coal

Clap hands

Clap hands

Clap hands

Clap hands

I said steam, steam, with a hundred bad dreams

Goin' up to Harlem with a pistol in his jeans

A fifty dollar bill inside a Paladin's hat

And nobody's sure where Mr. Knickerbocker's at

Shine, shine, a Roosevelt dime⁽⁵⁾

All the way to Baltimore and runnin' out of time

Salvation Army seemed to wind up in the hole

They all went to Heaven in a little row boat

Clap hands

Clap hands

Clap hands

Clap hands

Oh clap hands

Oh clap hands

Oh clap hands

Clap hands

Clap Hands

(Big Time live version, 1988)

I said dream, it's a hundred bad dreams

Going up to Harlem with a pistol in my jeans

A Cincinnati jacket and a sad-luck dame

Hanging out the window with a bottle full of rain

Shine, shine, a Roosevelt dime⁽³⁾

All the way to Baltimore and running out of time

Salvation Army seemed to wind up in the hole

All went to heaven in a little row boat

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music, Admin. by Ackee Music, Inc. (ASCAP), � 1985-1988

Official release: "Big Time", � Island Visual Arts Inc. (P) Island Records Inc., 1988

Also included in Big Time movie (1988). Further reading: Big Time full story

Notes:

Cold Cold Ground

(Frank's Wild Years studio version, 1987)⁽¹⁾

Cold cold ground

Cold cold ground

Cold cold ground

The cold cold ground

The cold cold ground

The cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

The cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

The cold cold ground

The cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

Take a weathervane rooster, throw rocks at his head

Stop talking to the neighbors until we all go dead

Beware of my temper and the dog that I've found

Break all the windows in the cold cold ground

Cold Cold Ground

(Big Time live version, 1988)⁽¹⁾

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

In the cold cold ground

Notes:

⁽³⁾ Side-kick, sidekick n.: A partner; a close friend or comrade; a pal; a buddy (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner)

⁽⁴⁾ Breedlove: A name of a family from the book "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison

Gun Street Girl

(Rain Dogs studio version, 1985)

[One two three]

I said, John, John, he's long gone

Gone to Indiana, ain't never comin' home

I said, John, John, he's long gone

Gone to Indiana, ain't never comin' home

Bangin' on a table with an old tin cup

I sing, I'll never kiss a Gun Street girl again

I'll never kiss a Gun Street girl again

I'll never kiss a Gun Street girl again

I said, John, John, he's long gone

Gone to Indiana, ain't never comin' home

I said, John, John, he's long gone

Gone to Indiana, ain't never comin' home

Gun Street Girl

(Big Time live version, 1988)

John, John, he's long gone

Well he's gone to Indiana, he ain't never coming home

John, John, he's long gone

Well he's gone to Indiana, he ain't never coming home

John, John, is long gone

Why he's gone to Indiana, he ain't never coming home

John, John, is long gone

Why he's gone to Indiana, he ain't never coming home

John, John, he's long gone

Why he's gone to Indiana, he ain't never coming home

John, John, he's long gone

Why he's gone to Indiana, he ain't never coming home

John, John

John, John

My papa was a rollin' stone

My papa was a rollin' stone

Wherever he hung he said was his home

When he died all he left us was alone

John, John

John, John

John, John

Notes:

⁽⁴⁾ Birmingham: Also mentioned in Swordfishtrombones, 1983: "Some say they saw him down in Birmingham, sleeping in a boxcar going by."

⁽⁵⁾ Liquored up: adj. [1920s+] (US) drunk (Source: "Cassell's Dictionary Of Slang". Jonathon Green. Cassel & Co., 1998. ISBN: 0-304-35167-9)

⁽⁶⁾ Corn n.: Liquor, esp. corn whisky, home made or illegally sold (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner)

⁽¹²⁾ Erie, on the: Sitting by the Erie: Not taking chances; hiding. Underworld use (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner)

⁽¹³⁾ During the 1999 Mule Variations tour Waits often combined this song with "Ain't goin' down to the well

Frank's Wild Years

Frank⁽²⁾ settled down in the Valley⁽³⁾

and he hung his wild years on a nail that he drove through his wife's forehead

He sold used office furniture out there on San Fernando Road

and assumed a 30,000 dollar loan at fifteen and a quarter percent

put a down payment on a little two bedroom place

His wife was a spent piece of used jet trash

Made good Bloody Mary's

Kept her mouth shut most of the time

Had a little Chihuahua named Carlos⁽⁴⁾

that had some kind of skin disease

and was totally blind

They had a thoroughly modern kitchen

Self-cleaning oven, the whole bit

Frank drove a little sedan

They were so happy

One night Frank was on his way home from work

He stopped at the liquor store

Picked up a couple of Mickey's Big Mouths⁽⁵⁾

Drank 'em in the car, and with a Shell station

he got a gallon of gas in a can

Drove home, doused everything in the house

Torched it

Parked across the street laughing

Watching it burn

All Halloween orange and chimney red

Then Frank put on a top forty station

Got on the Hollywood Freeway

and headed North⁽⁶⁾

Never could stand that dog

Known covers:

Un Giro Extra�o. La Chicana. September, 2000. Self-released ("Los a�os de joda de An�bal")

Laiv. Davide Van De Sfroos. June, 2002. (Tarantanius) Venus (in Italian)

Cancion Llorada. La Chicana. June, 2005. Galileo Music Communication (new version of "Los a�os de joda de An�bal")

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Franks Wild Years:

- Tom Waits (1983): "Charles Bukowski had a story that essentially was saying that it's the little things that drive men mad. It's not the big things. It's not World War II. It's the broken shoe lace when there is no time left that sends men completely out their minds. So this is kind of in that spirit. Little of a Ken Nordine flavour. Ronnie Barren alias Rev. Eather from New Orleans, Lousiana, on Hammond organ and Larry Taylor, originally with Canned Heat, on dog house. I think there is a little bit of Frank in everybody" (Source: "Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones". Island Promo interview, 1983)

- Tom Waits (1983): "Crumbling beauty, Frank is a little bit of that American dream gone straight to hell. Frank is more of a commentary on real estate brokers and insurance investigators and defense attorneys, That fear, that button down, 8 o'clock, the whistle blows, Bermuda shorts approach to life. I've never like chihuahuas" (Source: Unidentified Swordfishtrombones Interview (interviewer's tape). Date: 1983/ 1984)

- Tom Waits (1983): "Insurance investigator in California. Just eavesdropping. Added my own funhouse mirror" (Source: "Tom Waits For No Man". Melody Maker. Brian Case. October 29, 1983)

- Tom Waits (1983): "Frank's Wild Years" He was a real estate agent that I met. It's a salute to the kind of guy l want to grow up to be some day "Frank hung his wild years on a nail he drove through his wife's forehead." It's a cathartic dream" (Source: "The Beat Goes On" Rock Bill magazine (USA). October 1983, by Kid Millions)

- Barney Hoskyns (1985): Did his wife die in the fire? TW: "No, I didn't want to give the impression that she went up in the smoke. She was at the beauty parlour." BH: But the dog. TW: "The dog, yeah, the dog may have..." (Source: "The Marlowe Of The Ivories". New Musical Express magazine. Barney Hoskyns. May 25, 1985)

- Pete Silverton (1986): "At the end of the song Frank burns the house down with the dog inside. Does he get charged with arson?" TW: "No, he goes to Vegas, ends up dreaming his way back home." PS: "And the dog's gone?" TW: "The dog has disappeared" (Source: "Waits Happening" Beat magazine 1986, by Pete Silverton)

- Gavin Martin (1985): How did 'Frank's Wild Years' turn into a musical? TW: "The song was like a fortune cookie, after I wrote it I thought what happened to this guy. Everybody knows guys like that, people you haven't seen in a long time, what happens to these people? What happened to John Chrisswicky? Oh Jesus, John's second wife left him and he went to work in a slaughterhouse for a while. Then he was in a rendering unit, of course his dad was always in the wine business that didn't interest John, I hear he ended up as a mercenary soldier." "People go through these permutations in different stages of their life, perceived by someone else it can look strange. I imagined Frank along those lines. Y'see my folks split up when I was kid and ... hey, look, let me give you $100 and I'll lie down on the couch over there, you take notes and see if we can't get to the bottom of this" (Source: "Hard Rain". New Musical Express: Gavin Martin. October 19, 1985)

- Q (1986): Why is Franks Wild Years the song so short? TW: "Well I kind of said what I had on my mind and then decided to pack it up and go home. Some of it is inspired by Ken Nordine who's a real hero of mine. I love his thought process and his word jazz and his stories, they're like movies for the ears" (Source: "WXRT-FM Radio Interview" Date: Chicago. July 11, 1986)

- Mark Kemp (2006): "But just who was that Frank character? Was he named after Zappa? After all, the short narrative "Frank's Wild Years," from Swordfishtrombones, had been dedicated to Frankie Z. Tom Waits: "Gee, I don't know," Waits says. "My dad's name is Jesse Frank. It's just a name. It's just a guy I half made up. My dad left the family when I was young, so you know, that's pretty eventful. I may have been telling some of that story-'He got on the Hollywood Freeway and headed north/Never could stand that dog'-it was probably a reaction to that. I was rewriting the story and putting it in my own language" (Source: "Tom Waits: Weird Science". Harp magazine (USA). December 1, 2006. Telephone interview by Mark Kemp)

⁽²⁾ Frank: This fictional character gave rise to the theatre production: "Frank's Wild Years". For this production Frank was renamed Frank O'Brien, in stead of Frank Leroux. Waits' father's first name is Frank.

⁽³⁾ The Valley: San Fernando Valley Los Angeles, CA.

⁽⁴⁾ Had a little Chihuahua named Carlos: A very small dog of a breed originating in Mexico, having pointed ears and a smooth coat

⁽⁵⁾ Mickey's: American malt beer. Made by Hireman. Alcohol content: 6.0%. Its green-colored bottle and the name of "Mickey's" are popular among young people. Its big top is easy to open, and you can drink out of it as if you are drinking from a glass. Its characteristically strong flavor of malts is different from other American water-like beers.

⁽⁶⁾ Got on the Hollywood Freeway and headed North: 101 Hollywood Freeway Los Angeles, one of the busiest freeways in the US (US 101, SR 101). Generally a "freeway" is a grade separated divided highway designed for high speeds. Contrary to popular belief, a freeway is not a highway "free" from tolls. The "free" in freeway instead refers to a legislative definition passed by the California Legislature in 1939 which provided for a highway that would be free of encroaching properties and which provided for control of access. At the time this was very controversial since property owners next to the road could have no rights of direct access." Heading North on the Hollywood Freeway would mean one is driving in the direction of Bakersfield, Fresno, San Francisco

Hang On St. Christopher

Hang on St. Christopher⁽²⁾ through the smoke and the oil

Buckle down the rumble seat, let the radiator boil

Got an overhead downshift and a two dollar grill

Got an 85 cabin on an 85 hill

Hang on St. Christopher on the passenger side

Open it up, tonight the Devil can ride⁽³⁾

Hang on St. Christopher with a barrel house⁽⁴⁾ dog

Kick me up Mount Baldy⁽⁵⁾, throw me out in the fog

Tear a hole in the jack pot, drive a stake through his heart

Do a 100 on the grapevine⁽⁶⁾, do a jump on the start

Hang on St. Christopher, now don't let me go

Get me to Reno⁽⁷⁾ and bring it in low, yeah

Hang on St. Christopher with the hammer to the floor

Put a hi ball in the crank case⁽⁸⁾, nail a crow to the door

Get a bottle for the jockey⁽⁹⁾, gimme a 294

There's a 750 Norton⁽¹⁰⁾ bustin' down January's door

Hang on St. Christopher on the passenger side

Open it up, tonight the Devil can ride

Hang on St. Christopher and don't let me go

Get to me Reno, got to bring it in low

Put my baby on the flat car, got to burn down the caboose

Get 'em all jacked up⁽¹¹⁾ on whiskey, then we'll turn the mad dog loose

Hang on St. Christopher on the passenger side

Open it up, tonight the Devil can ride, yeah

Oh yeah.

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music (ASCAP), � 1986-1987-1998

Official release: "Frank's Wild Years", Island Records Inc., 1987 &

"Beautiful Maladies", Island Records Inc., 1998

Extended version and instrumental version released as 2-track 12" single

(P) & � 1987 Island Records Ltd � 1987 Jalma Music (ASCAP) Island 96750 ⁽¹⁰⁾

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)

Further reading: Frank's Wild Years the play

Also included in Big Time movie (1988). Further reading: Big Time full story

Known covers:

Freakshow. Bulletboys, 1991. Warner Bros. Records

A Spanner In The Works. Rod Stewart. June, 1995. Warner Bros. Records

Sound Of Someone Leaving. The Exiles. July 11, 2007. Non Zero Records (Australia)

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Hang On St. Christopher

- Tom Waits (1987): "Little Jamaican shoeshine music, there. Kind of a depraved Vaudeville train announcer. Ummm. . . It was really great to see Bill Schimmel, classically trained at Juilliard, on his hands and knees, playing the pedals of the B-3 organ with his fists. Working up a sweat. It was worth it just for that. Has kind of a little bit of a North African horn action going on --- that's Ralph Carney and Greg Cohen. I think it moves along rather well. Kind of mutant James Brown." (Source: "From the set of Ironweed, Tom Waits talks with Rip Rense". New York Post: Rip Rense. Early 1987)

- Tom Waits (1987): "But I just hate the way most equipment and instruments look on a stage... The wires and all that. These necessary, utility items make me feel like I'm in an emergency ward. I want to take the Leslie bass pedals and raise them up to a kitchen table so you can play them with your fists. Which is what we did in the studio on "Hang On St. Christopher." (Source: "Tom Waits Is Flying Upside Down (On Purpose)" Musician magazine (USA), by Mark Rowland. Date: Travelers Cafe/ Los Angeles. October, 1987)

⁽²⁾ Christopher, St.

- Catholic patron saint of travellers, or the religious medal dedicated to him. There are several legends about him including the one in which he was crossing a river when a child asked to be carried across. When Christopher put the child on his shoulders he found the child was unbelievably heavy. The child, according to the legend, was Christ carrying the weight of the whole world. His former holy day is July 25.The religious medal dedicated to this saint says: "Protect me" or "Protect us".

- Also mentioned in Tom Traubert's Blues: "Now I've lost my St. Christopher, now that I've kissed her."

⁽³⁾ Tonight the Devil can ride: Might refer to "Don't Let The Devil Ride", a traditional gospel also performed as blues tune. Performed by various artists (Sonny Treadway, Campbell Brothers, Oris Mays, Gospel Hummingbirds). Lyrics (Gospel Hummingbirds version): "Don't let the devil ride, Don't let the devil ride. If you let him ride, He might want to drive, Don't let the devil ride. Don't let the devil drive, Don't let the devil drive. If you let him drive, He'll throw you outside, Don't let the devil drive." (Thanks to Bart Bull, 2005 for pointing out this reference)

⁽⁴⁾ Barrel-house, barrelhouse n.: A brothel; orig. a combination cheap saloon, brothel, and rooming house (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner)

⁽⁵⁾ Mount Baldy: A snow capped peak over Pomona Valley on the eastern edge of L.A. County in California (Submitted by Cheryl Dillis. Tom Waits eGroups discussionlist. September, 2000)

⁽⁶⁾ Do a 100 on the grapevine: "The "Grapevine" is the nickname of a stretch of Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles, as it descends from the Tehachapi Mountains into the Central Valley, crossing the Tejon Pass. It's got a pretty steep grade and lots of curves, and the idea of going 100 mph on it is daunting. Waits in fact might be referring to the old Ridge Route, which traversed the Tejon Pass before the Interstate was built and likely was less robust a road" (Source: Jim O'Grady, March 2009).

⁽⁷⁾ Reno: also mentioned in: Better off without a wife, 1975: "Never been no Valentino, had a girl who lived in Reno.", Wrong side of the road, 1978: "And we'll drive all the way to Reno on the wrong side of the road."

⁽⁸⁾ Put a Highball in the crankcase n.: A term used to refer to a rich mixture of gasoline or fuel. Derived from the high alcohol content of the mixed drink or cocktail made from whiskey and ginger ale. (Source: Tom Waits Digest, Seth Nielssen)

⁽⁹⁾ Jockey

- n.: A driver. A cab, bus or truck driver (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner)

- [mid-19C-1940s] an accomplice or assistant usu. of a driver of a cab or utility vehicle (Source: "Cassell's Dictionary Of Slang". Jonathon Green. Cassel & Co., 1998. ISBN: 0-304-35167-9)

⁽¹⁰⁾ 750 Norton: Classic British 750cc motorcycle (Paul Dunstall). Norton Dominator is the fastest machine generally available anywhere in the world today (Source: Cafe-racer.com, Tim Green/ Jim White)

⁽¹¹⁾ Jacked up: adj. [1930s+] (US drugs) 1. under the influence of a drug, either narcotic or pharmaceutical, or of alcohol. 2. excited, exhilarated (Source: "Cassell's Dictionary Of Slang". Jonathon Green. Cassel & Co., 1998. ISBN: 0-304-35167-9)

⁽¹²⁾ Hang On St. Christopher remix

- Bill Forman (1987): "Like all of Waits' recording sessions, the remixing was off limits to family members, animals and the press, but Waits seems satisfied with the result, especially the train sound he added. Can't wait to see those dance floor stampedes when the track's muttered vocal, lurching beat, trash can cymbals, Hammond pedal bassline, repetitive horns and twisted modal guitar wanderings segue from the dying beats of Stacey Q." (Source: "Better Waits Than Ever" Music & Sound Output (Canada/ USA), by Bill Forman. Vol. 7, No. 11. October, 1987)

I'll Take New York

I'll tip the newsboy, I'll get a shine

I'll ride that dream to the end of the line

I'm gonna be goin' places, I'll get a ride

Take me to the Riverside

I'm gonna take you, New York, I'll make it happen

I'm on the caboose, I'm drinkin' Manhattan⁽²⁾

I'll take a splash on the big town

That's how I will arrive

Have you got two tens for a five?

You gotta roll out the carpet, strike up the band

Break out the best champagne when I land

You gotta beat the parade drum, hit all the bars

I want the moon and stars

I'm gonna take you, New York, I'll make it happen

I'm on the caboose, I'm drinkin' Manhattans

And I know someday they're going to name a street after me

Right next door to old Franklin D.⁽³⁾

I'm gonna take you, big town

Come on, New York

Come on, move over big town

I'll take New York

Come on, big town

Come on, get happy

New York

Come on

Known covers:

None

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ I'll Take New York

- Rip Rense (1987): I heard you were worried this one might scare people. TW: "Yeah. Frightened me a little bit, especially toward the end when the ground starts to move a little bit. We just rifted on that in the studio. I described the mood of it, and everyone seemed to understand it an we got it. I think it's the closest thing on the record to a nightmare. Guy standing in Times Square with tuberculosis and no money; his last post card to New York. It's deranged. I wanted it to be Frank's nightmare experience of New York." (Source: "From the set of Ironweed, Tom Waits talks with Rip Rense". New York Post: Rip Rense. Early 1987)

- Tom Waits (1987): "...But this record goes into a lot of different musical worlds. "I'll Take New York" was a nightmare Jerry Lewis going down on the Titanic." (Source: "Tom Waits is flying upside down (on purpose)". Musician, Mark Rowland October, 1987)

- Tom Waits (1987): "I'm getting to the point where I can take chances, I think. It's hard when you're a producer, and you're writing and performing. It requires, well, you have to shift a lot of gears. You need somebody you can trust standing on the outside to kind of push you into the water... Just in the sound world; creating a particular sound world or environment. Taking it song by song. Like 'I'll Take New York,' it was kind of a uh...Jerry Lewis going down on the Titanic. Little dramas. On this album I tried to take each song individually and create its own world for itself." (Source: "From The Set Of Ironweed" New York Post (USA), by Rip Rense/ Franks Wild Years tourbook, 1987. Edited version reprinted in Franks Wild Years tourbook/ press kit, 1987)

- Tom Waits (1988): "Well, it's another song about New York. Those others try to make it bigger or prettier, but in this case I was trying to make it more like something from the Jerry Lewis Telethon - something the song and the singer are cancelling out as it's happening. You're singing "I'll Take New York" and someone's stealing your billfold. It's like the guy singing in the middle of Times Square, with his pants around his knees." (Source: "A Flea In His Ear" City Limits magazine (UK), by Bill Holdship. Date: Traveler's Cafe/ Los Angeles. May 12-19 , 1988)

- Tom Waits (1988): "Yeah, that happened in Chicago when we recorded the Frank's Wild Years album. On "I'll Take New York" they approached the whole recording like a Strasberg kind of thing [laughs] I said. "let's go with Jerry Lewis on the deck of the Titanic, going down, trying to sing 'Swanee'" I sang the song right into a Harmon trumpet mute and just explained that I wanted the whole thing to gradually melt in the end." (Source: "Tom's Wild Years" Interview Magazine (USA), by Francis Thumm. October, 1988)

⁽²⁾ Manhattan

- A cocktail based on Canadian whisky (Canadian whisky, red Vermouth, Angostura).

- Also mentioned in I Never Talk To Strangers: "Bartender, I'd like a Manhattan please."

⁽³⁾ Franklin D.: Franklin Street, New York City. Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Born: Hyde Park, NY, 1882 - Died: Warm Springs, Georgia, 1945. American politician and distant cousin of Theodore Roosevelt. Was elected 32nd President of the US of A and was re-elected in 1936, 1940 and 1944

Innocent When You Dream

Innocent When You Dream (78)

The bats are in the belfry⁽²⁾

The dew is on the moor

Where are the arms that held me

And pledged her love before

And pledged her love before

It's such a sad old feeling

The hills are soft and green

It's memories that I'm stealing⁽³⁾

But you're innocent when you dream, when you dream

You're innocent when you dream, when you dream

You're innocent when you dream

I made a golden promise

That we would never part

I gave my love a locket

And then I broke her heart

And then I broke her heart

And it's such a sad old feeling

The fields are soft and green

It's memories that I'm stealing

But you're innocent when you dream, when you dream

You're innocent when you dream

Innocent when you dream

Running through the graveyard

We laughed my friends and I

We swore we'd be together

Until the day we died

Until the day we died

And it's such a sad old feeling

The fields are soft and green

It's memories that I'm stealing

But you're innocent when you dream, when you dream

You're innocent when you dream, when you dream

Written by: Tom Waits⁽¹⁾

Published by: Jalma Music (ASCAP), � 1986-1987-1998

Official release: "Frank's Wild Years", Island Records Inc., 1987 &

"Beautiful Maladies", Island Records Inc., 1998

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)

Further reading: Frank's Wild Years the play

Innocent When You Dream (Barroom)

The bats are in the belfry⁽²⁾

The dew is on the moor

Where are the arms that held me

And pledged her love before

And pledged her love before

And it's such a sad old feeling

All the fields are soft and green

And it's memories that I'm stealing⁽³⁾

But you're innocent when you dream, when you dream

You're innocent when you dream, when you dream

You're innocent when you dream

I made a golden promise

That we would never part

I gave my love a locket

And then I broke her heart

And then I broke her heart

And it's such a sad old feeling

All of the fields are soft and green

And it's memories that I'm stealing

But you're innocent when you dream, when you dream

You're innocent when you dream, when you dream

You're innocent when you dream

We're running through the graveyard

And we laughed my friends and I

We swore we'd be together

Until the day we died

Until the day we died

Written by: Tom Waits⁽¹⁾

Published by: Jalma Music (ASCAP), � 1986-1987

Official release: Frank's Wild Years, Island Records Inc., 1987

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Beautiful Maladies" (Amsco Publications, 1997)

Further reading: Frank's Wild Years the play

Also included in Big Time the movie (1988). Further reading: Big Time full story

Known covers:

Street Of Dreams. Nancy Harrow. April, 1988. Gazell Records (re-released November, 1995)

The Piano Has Been Drinking. The Piano Has been Drinking. April, 1990. Chlodwig/ BMG Germany (in German/ K�lsch)

This Town. Liberty Horses. 1992. Rough Trade Singles Club (7" single UK)

Shine. Liberty Horses. November 17, 1992. Capitol (CD single)

No Brains No Tumors. 2227. 1995. Strip Core/ Forum (Slovenia)

Innocent When You Dream. Lisa Moscatiello. 1996 (November 30, 2004). Folk Era Records

Café Knax. Susanne Grütz & Hubertus Schmidt. September 7, 1998. iMusician Digital/ Finetunes

Bukowski Waits For Us - Vol. 2. Michael Kiessling. September 25, 2000. Buschfunk (Germany)

Ballad Collection Special Edition. Lana Lane. November, 2000. Think Tank Media

Being Tom Waits. Billy`s Band. 2001. Self-released demo album (Russia)

A Little Yearning. Camille O'Sullivan. 2002/ 2003. cat-o-stripes records (duet with Jack L.)

Kazik Staszewski "Piosenki Toma Waitsa". Kazik Staszewski. March, 2003. VIP Production / Luna Music: LUNCD 093-2 (in Polish)

Crossing Jordan (NBC television series soundtrack). Various artists. April, 2003. DMZ (Columbia Records/ Sony). Performed by Jill Hennessy

Kojak Variety. Elvis Costello. August, 2004. Rhino Records (recorded in 1990)

Live At Schubas. Great Lake Swimmers. 2005. Schubas/ eMusicLive

Love Songs Revisited. Wine. April 2005. Silberblick-Musik (Germany)

Songs. Spiers & Boden. October 17, 2005. Fellside Recordings

Innocent When You Dream. Mark Erelli. December 12, 2006. Signature Sounds

Just Before Sunrise. Nathan Gunn. August 7, 2007. Sony Classical/ BMG

Two, Kathryn Williams & Neill MacColl. March 3, 2008. Caw Records

The EP. The Sants Fe All Stars. January 12, 2008. Frogville Records

Innocent When You Dream. Brandon Bernstein. February 26, 2010. Jazz Collective Records

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Innocent When You Dream

- Tom Waits (1987): "That's the song that got him [Frank] started; that he went out on the road with, and this is a reprise. The 78 quality is to give it an epilogue feel." (Source: "From the set of Ironweed, Tom Waits talks with Rip Rense" . New York Post: Rip Rense. Early 1987)

- Tom Waits (1987): "The '78 version' of that was originally recorded at home on a little cassette player ["the Tascam 244, the one with the clamshell holster"]. I sang into a seven-dollar microphone and saved the tape. Then I transferred that to 24-track and overdubbed Larry Taylor on upright, and then we mastered that. Texture is real important to me; it's like attaining grain or putting it a little out of focus. I don't like cleanliness. I like surface noise. It kind of becomes the glue of what you're doing sometimes."(Source: "Better Waits Than Ever" Music & Sound Output (Canada/ USA), by Bill Forman. Vol. 7, No. 11. October, 1987)

- Tom Waits (1988): 'Well, it's [Franks Wild Years the play] a story about a guy who went out to be an entertainer, left a small town, went to Vegas, had this song 'Innocent When You Dream'. And a year later, he had taken the same song and turned it into "You're In A Suit Of Your Dreams" to advertise suits in an all-night clothing store. And that is the type of thing that happens."(Source: "A Flea In His Ear" City Limits magazine (UK), by Bill Holdship. Date: Traveler's Cafe/ Los Angeles. May 12-19 , 1988)

⁽²⁾ Bats in the belfry/ bats on one's belfry, have:The Dictionary Of American Slang has this as "bats ON one's belfry". Other sources claim the original expression to be "bats IN the belfry". 1. Have bats on one's belfry: To be crazy, very eccentric, or odd (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner). 2. Have bats in the belfry, to phr. [late 19C+] to be eccentric, to act crazily [the image is of infestation of the brain] (Source: Cassel's Dictionary of Slang. Jonathon Green 1998. Cassel & Co., 2000)

⁽³⁾ Rip Rense (1987): I wanted to ask you about one line from "Innocent When You Dream." I think the line goes "It's memories that I'm stealing. What did you mean by that? Tom Waits: "I don't know, really. God, I don't know. . . You caught me. Let's see. ..."Running through the graveyard/ we laughed my friends and I/ we swore we'd be together/until the day we died/ it's such a sad old feeling/ the fields are soft and green/ it's memories that I'm stealing/ but you're innocent when you dream." Hmmm. It's like a kids' song, you know? I'm starting to find that songs find their own logic. And when we listen to them, we don't push them in a logical fashion. We let them go in some other place. They have their own kind of Joseph Cornell collection of images. So sometimes a lyric comes to me, I try to deliberately find things that don't particularly have a meaning at the moment. Then I write 'em down, then I think about 'em. Then I understand 'em." (Source: "From the set of Ironweed, Tom Waits talks with Rip Rense." New York Post: Rip Rense. Early 1987)

Johnsburg, Illinois

(Swordfishtrombones studio version, 1983)

She's my only true love

She's all that I think of

Look here: in my wallet that's her

She grew up on a farm there

There's a place on my arm

where I've written her name next to mine

You see: I just can't live without her

and I'm her only boy

And she grew up outside McHenry

in Johnsburg, Illinois

Johnsburg, Illinois

(Big Time live version, 1988)

She's my only true love

She's all that I think of

Look here: in my wallet that's her

She grew up on a farm there

There's a place on my arm

where I've written her name next to mine

You see: I just can't live without her

and I'm her only boy

And she grew up outside McHenry

in Johnsburg, Illinois

Notes:

More Than Rain

It's more than rain that falls on our parade tonight⁽²⁾

It's more than thunder

It's more than thunder

And it's more than a bad dream, now that I'm sober

Nothing but sad times

Nothing but sad times

None of our pockets, are lined with gold⁽³⁾

Nobody's caught the bouquet

And no dead presidents⁽⁴⁾ we can fold

Nothing is going our way

And it's more than trouble, I've got myself into

It's more than woe-begotten gray skies now⁽⁵⁾

And it's more than a bad dream, now that I'm sober

There's no more dancing

There's no more dancing

And it's more than trouble, I've got myself into

Nothing but sad times

Nothing but sad times

None of our pockets, are lined with gold

Nobody's caught the bouquet

And no dead presidents we can fold

Nothing is going our way

And it's more than goodbye, I have to say to you

It's more than woe-begotten gray skies now

And it's more than woe-begotten gray skies now

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music (ASCAP), � 1986-1987

Official release: Frank's Wild Years, Island Records Inc., 1987

Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Anthology 1983-2000" (Nuova Carisch s.r.l. Milan/ Italy, 2001)

Further reading: Frank's Wild Years the play

Also included in Big Time the movie (1988). Further reading: Big Time full story

Known covers:

Live At New York Town Hall. Elvis Costello & Brodsky Quartet. September, 1993. Warner PRO-CD-6480 (US promo, recorded: March 18, 1983)

Plugging The Gaps, Vol 2. Elvis Costello and the Brodsky Quartet, 1995. Tone Records 2CD003 (same version as on "Live At New York Town Hall", 1993)

Being Tom Waits. Billy`s Band. 2001. Self-released demo (Russia)

Black As A Raven. The Jim-Jams. 2004. Flotainment

The Juliet Letters (Expanded & Remastered). Elvis Costello & Brodsky Quartet. March 21, 2006. Rhino

Dolphin Blue Live. Dolphin Blue. December, 2007. Rising Sun Productions (German CDR)

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ More Than Rain:

^- Tom Waits (1987): "Oh, yeah, a little Edith Piaf attempt. There's prepared piano on it." RR: How was it prepared? TW: "Lightly sauteed. Francis Thumm plays the strings with a nickel. Almost like you'd play a mandolin. It's in there somewhere." (Source: "From the set of Ironweed, Tom Waits talks with Rip Rense". New York Post: Rip Rense. Early 1987)

- Big Time intro (Wiltern Theatre. November 9, 1987): "Uh this is about all the bad days in the world. I used to have some really bad days. And I kept them in a little box. And one day I threw them out into the yard. Oh, it's just a couple of innocent bad days. Well, we had a big rain... I don't know what it was growing in, but I think we used to put egg shells out there and coffeegrounds too. Don't plant your bad days! They grow into weeks, the weeks grow into months, and before you know it you got yourself a bad year. Take it from me: CHOKE those little bad days! CHOKE 'em down to nothing! There are your days, CHOKE 'em! You choke my days, I'll choke yours!... All right... It's more than rain..."

- Bill Schimmel (2007): "He plugged me into a Leslie Twin-Cat, which is not an easy thing to do. We worked half a day to get that sound, and he wouldn't stop untill we got it. We had to wire me up. I had wires between my knees. It looked like an execution." (Source: Bill Schimmel interview December 12, 2007 as quoted in “Lowside Of The Road: A Life Of Tom Waits" by Barney Hoskyns. Faber/ Broadway, 2009)

⁽²⁾ Tom Waits (1983, on the instrumental "Just Another Sucker In The Vine" from Swordfishtrombones) "Actually I originally planned to write a lyric called: "It's more than rain that falls on our parade tonight". But I thought it was more effective as an instrumental and it also sets up "Frank's Wild Years". (Source: A Conversation with Tom Waits (Swordfishtrombones) Island Records music industry white label 12" promo. Date: September, 1983)

⁽³⁾ Pockets lined with gold: original theatre version has this as: "None of our pockets are filled with gold."

⁽⁴⁾ Dead presidents

- n. [20C] (US) a $1 bill [the pictures of US presidents that are printed on the various denominations] (Source: "Cassell's Dictionary Of Slang". Jonathon Green. Cassel & Co., 1998. ISBN: 0-304-35167-9).

⁽⁵⁾ Gray skies/ Grey Skies: Notice this phrase being repeated during the play. Yesterday Is Here: "Well today is grey skies, tomorrow is tears. You'll have to wait 'til yesterday is here." Frank's Theme: "And dream away when everyone's gone, dream away your grey skies too."

Rain Dogs

(Rain Dogs studio version, 1985)

Inside a broken clock

Splashing the wine with all the rain dogs

Taxi, we'd rather walk

Huddle⁽²⁾ a doorway with the rain dogs

For I am a rain dog too

Oh, how we danced and we swallowed the night

For it was all ripe for dreaming

Oh, how we danced away all of the lights⁽³⁾

We've always been out of our minds

The rum pours strong and thin

Beat out the dustman with the rain dogs

Aboard a shipwreck train

Give my umbrella to the rain dogs

For I am a rain dog too

Oh, how we danced with the Rose of Tralee⁽⁴⁾

Her long hair black as a raven

Oh, how we danced and you whispered to me

You'll never be going back home

Oh, how we danced with the Rose of Tralee

Her long hair black as a raven

Oh, how we danced and you whispered to me

You'll never be going back home

Further reading: Raindogs full story

Rain Dogs

(Big Time live version, 1988)

Inside a broken clock, splash the wine with all the rain dogs

Taxi, taxi, taxi we'd rather walk

Huddle⁽²⁾ a doorway with the rain dogs

For I am a rain dog, too

I know how we danced and we swallowed the night

Her long hair black as a raven

I know how we danced and she whispered to me⁽³⁾

We'll never be going back home

I know how we danced and we swallowed the night

Her long hair black as a raven

I know how we danced and she whispered to me

We'll never be going back home

Oh, how we danced with the Rose of Tralee⁽⁴⁾

Her long hair black as a raven

I know how we danced and she whispered to me

We'll never be going back home

Further reading: Raindogs full story

Notes:

⁽²⁾ Huddle v.t.: To crowd (things) together to mingle confusedly; to assemble without order or system (Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, � 1996, 1998 MICRA, I)

Shore Leave

Well, with buck shot⁽²⁾ eyes and a purple heart⁽³⁾

I rolled down the national stroll⁽⁴⁾

And with a big fat paycheck strapped to my hip-sack

And a shore leave wristwatch underneath my sleeve

In a Hong Kong drizzle⁽⁵⁾ on Cuban heels⁽⁶⁾

I rowed down the gutter to the Blood Bank

And I'd left all my papers on the Ticonderoga⁽⁷⁾

And I was in bad need of a shave

I slopped at the corner on cold chow mein

And shot billiards with a midget until the rain stopped

And I bought a long sleeved shirt with horses on the front

And some gum and a lighter and a knife

And a new deck of cards with girls on the back

And I sat down and wrote a letter to my wife

And I said, baby, I'm so far away from home

And I miss my baby so

I can't make it by myself

I love you so

And I was pacing⁽⁸⁾ myself, trying to make it all last

Squeezing all the life out of a lousy two-day pass

And I had a cold one⁽⁹⁾ at the Dragon with some Filipino floor show

And I talked baseball with a lieutenant over a Singapore Sling⁽¹⁰⁾

And I wondered how the same moon outside over this Chinatown fair

Could look down on Illinois and find you there⁽¹¹⁾

I know I love you, baby

And I'm so far away from home

I'm so far away from home

Yeah, I miss my baby so

I can't make it by myself

I love you so

Shore Leave, shore leave, shore leave, shore leave, shore leave

shore Leave, shore leave, shore leave, shore leave, shore leave

shore Leave, shore leave, shore leave, shore leave, shore leave

shore Leave, shore leave

Known covers:

Wicked Grin. John Hammond. March 13, 2001. Emd/ Virgin

Under The Influence - The songs of Tom Waits. Barry Charles. 2003. Tara Hall Productions (Australia)

Blue Whisper. The Headhunters. April 3, 2007. Self-released (Italy)

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Shore Leave

- Tom Waits (1983): "It's kind of an oriental Bobby "Blue" Bland approach. Musically it's essentially very simple. It's a minor blues. I tried to add some musical sound effects with the assistance of a low trombone to five a feeling of a bus going by, and metal aunglongs the sound of tin cans in the wind, or rice on the bass drum to give a feeling of the waves hitting the shore. Just to capture the mood more than anything, of a marching marine or whatever walking down the wet street in Hong Kong and missing his wife back home. I worked in a restaurant in a sailor town for a long time. It's Porkcola/ National City. So, it was something I saw every night. It was next to a tattoo parlor and a country & western dance hall and a Mexican movie theater. So I imagined this Chinese pinwheel in a fireworks display spinning, spinning and turning and then slowing down. As it slowed down it dislodged into a windmill in Illinois. That same of... and then looked down on us. A home. Where a woman is sitting in the living room sleeping on chairs with the television on. When he's having eggs at some grumulant (?) joint, you know, thousands of miles away"(Source: "Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones". Island Promo interview, 1983)

- Tom Waits (1983): "Some of the stuff on Shore Leave is like sound effects, the low trombone is like a bus going by and I got a little more adventurous, I'm still a little timid about it but melody is what really hits me first, melody is the first thing that seduces me" (Source: Unidentified Swordfishtrombones Interview (interviewer's tape). Date: 1983/ 1984)

- Tom Waits (1983): "Shore Leave is a Chief Botswain's mate's nightmare with a bottle of 10 High and a black eye" (Source: "The Beat Goes On" Rock Bill magazine (USA). October 1983, by Kid Millions)

⁽²⁾ Buckshot: n.:

- A large lead shot for shotgun shells, used especially in hunting big game (Source: The American Heritage� Dictionary of the English Language, Houghton Mifflin - Third Edition)

- One variation of the little metal pellets that fill a shotgun shell. An individual piece of buckshot is larger and more damaging than some other types, like birdshot. Larger pellets for larger animals (Submitted by Russell Fischer. Raindogs Listserv discussionlist. September, 2000).

- Waits might be playing with the common phrase "bloodshot eyes":

- Bloodshot: blood�shot adj. Red and inflamed as a result of locally congested blood vessels: bloodshot eyes (Source: The American Heritage� Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright � 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company)

⁽³⁾ Purple heart

- n. [1960s] (drugs) 1. amphetamines 2. (rarely) barbituates. (the colour of the pills) (Source: Cassel's Dictionary of Slang. Jonathon Green 1998. Cassel & Co., 2000)

- Any barbituate or mixture of a barbituate and morphine used as a narcotic by addicts, esp. a Nembutal (trademark) capsule; a "goof ball" or "yellow jacket" Orig. W.W.II Army addict use, when the addicts would take or mix any drugs they could obtain from military medical supplies. (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner)

- American military decoration awarded to members of the armed forces of the U.S. who are wounded by an instrument of war in the hands of the enemy and posthumously to the next of kin in the name of those who are killed in action or die of wounds received in action. It is specifically a combat decoration.

⁽⁴⁾ Stroll:

- n.: A road, highway, or street. c1935 jive use; some Negro use (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner).

- Also mentioned in "Nighthawk Postcards" (With the tight knots of moviegoers and out-of-towners on the stroll...), "Drunk On The Moon" (Tight-slack clad girls on the graveyard shift, 'Neath the cement stroll, catch the midnight drift...)

⁽⁵⁾ Drizzle: A fine, gentle, misty rain (Source: The American Heritage� Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright � 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company)

⁽⁶⁾ Cuban heels: mens boot, half boot or shoe with high heels (e.g. Manhattan half boot, Wincklepicker, Chelsea boot, etc.)

Tom Waits (1999): "When I started looking for pointed shoes, I used to go to Fairfax on Orchard Street in New York City, one of those little pushcart guys. I'd say, "You got any pointy shoes?" They would go way, way in the back and come back with a dusty box, blow the dust off the top and say, "What do you want with these things? Give me 20 bucks. Go on, get outta here!" And that was the beginning. From there, I saw it grow into a burgeoning industry, a pointy industry. The ultimate was the pointy toe and Cuban heel. But I was younger then. Now, I go for comfort and roadability" (Source: "The Man Who Howled Wolf" Magnet magazine, by Jonathan Valania. Date: Astro Motel/ Mission Cafe, Santa Rosa. June-July, 1999)

⁽⁷⁾ Ticonderoga: Leadship of a U.S. navy class of cruisers (CV-14, later CVA-14 & CVS-14), active 1944-1974. In 1944 Ticonderoga transported aircraft to Hawaii, took part in underway ordnance replenishment experiments and trained her crew and air group for participation in the war against Japan. After steaming to the western Pacific in October, the carrier launched her first strikes on 5 November 1944, hitting targets ashore and afloat in the northern Philippines area. In January 1945, Ticonderoga took part in raids against Japanese assets in Indochina, China, Luzon and Formosa. Hit by two "Kamikaze" suicide planes on 21 January, she lost over 140 crewmen and had to go to the U.S. for repairs. Ticonderoga returned to the combat area in late May. For the remaining two and a half months of the Pacific War, her planes made regular attacks on the Japanese home islands. From September 1945 into January 1946, she transported veterans home across the Pacific. Ticonderoga deployed ten times to the western Pacific in 1957-69. In August 1964, during her sixth WestPac cruise, her planes participated in air strikes against North Vietnamese targets during the "Tonkin Gulf Incident" that gradually led to massive U.S. involvement in Southeast Asian combat operations. Vietnam War missions dominated Ticonderoga's next four Seventh Fleet deployments. In October 1969, she was redesignated CVS-14 and converted to an antisubmarine warfare support carrier. The ship made two more cruises to Asian waters in that capacity. In 1972, she took part in space flight recovery efforts for the Apollo 16 and 17 Moon flights. Decommissioned in September 1973, USS Ticonderoga was sold for scrapping a year later. (Source: Naval Historical Center home page, 2001-2003)

⁽⁸⁾ Pace: v. [1970s] (US black) to live a fast, exciting and varied life (Source: Cassel's Dictionary of Slang. Jonathon Green 1998. Cassel & Co., 2000)

⁽⁹⁾ Cold one: n. [1920s+] (orig. US) a bottle of beer, [orig. a conscious euph. for a cold beer, used during Prohibition (1920-33) when it was better not to mention alcohol in any form) (Source: Cassel's Dictionary of Slang. Jonathon Green 1998. Cassel & Co., 2000)

⁽¹⁰⁾ Singapore Sling: The Singapore Sling was created at Raffles Hotel in 1915 by Hainanese-Chinese bartender, Mr. Ngiam Tong Boon. Originally, the Singapore Sling was meant as a woman's drink, hence the attractive pink color. Today it is very definitely a drink enjoyed by all. "Probably no mixed drink has been as mistreated as this one". As Dale DeGroff, mixologist of Blackbird Restaurant in New York City, says, "The only thing most bartenders know about the Singapore Sling is that it's supposed to be red." This is an adaptation of the original recipe from Raffles Hotel in Singapore. Fill a shaker with ice. Add 6 tablespoons pineapple juice, 2 tablespoons gin, 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, 1 tablespoon Cherry Heering, 1 tablespoon grenadine, 1/2 tablespoon Benedictine, a dash of Triple Sec and 3 dashes of Angostura bitters. Shake for 1 minute and strain over ice into a tall glass

⁽¹¹⁾ Could look down on Illinois and find you there: Might refer to Kathleen Brennan as also mentioned in Johnsburg, Illinois, 1983: "And she grew up outside McHenry in Johnsburg, Illinois..."