Lyrics -

Crossroads
Flash Pan Hunter
Gospel Train
I'll Shoot The Moon
Just The Right Bullets
Lucky Day Overture
Lucky Day
November
Russian Dance
'T Ain't No Sin
That's The Way
The Black Rider
The Briar And The Rose
The Last Rose Of Summer
But He's Not Wilhelm (2004)
Chase The Clouds Away (2004)
In The Morning (2004)
News From The Duke (2004)

Crossroads

Now, George⁽²⁾ was a good straight boy to begin with

But there was bad blood in him someway

and he got into the magic bullets

that lead straight to the Devil's work

Just like marijuana leads to heroin

You think you can take them bullets and leave 'em, do you?

just save a few for your bad days, well...

Well, we all have those bad days when we can't hit for shit

And the more of them magics you use

the more bad days you have without them

So it comes down to finally

all your days being bad without the bullets

it's magics or nothing

Time to stop chippying around and kidding yourself

Kid, you're hooked, heavy as lead

And that's where old George found himself

Out there at the crossroads⁽³⁾

molding the Devil's bullets

Now a man figures it's his bullets, so it'll take what he wants

But it don't always work out that way

You see, some bullets are special for a single target

a certain stag or a certain person

And no matter where you aim, that's where the bullet'll end up

And in the moment of aiming, the gun turns into a dowser's⁽⁴⁾ wand

and points where the bullet wants to go

George Schmid was moving in a series of convulsive spasms

Like someone in an epileptic fit

With his face contorted and his eyes wild like a lassoed horse

bracing his legs, but something kept pulling him on

Now he is picking up the skulls and making the circle

I guess old George didn't rightly know what he was getting himself into

The fit was on him and it carried him right to the crossroads

Written by: William Burroughs

Published by: Jalma Music Inc./ Nova Lark Music (ASCAP), � 1990, 1993

Official release: The Black Rider, Island Records Inc., 1993

Further reading: The Black Rider Full Story

Known covers:

None

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Crossroads:

- Mark Richard (1994): "It is nearing midnight at the Sound Factory. Waits would like to add a guitar track to the song "Crossroads". He likes the feel of the hallway outside the studio so Kloster and Dawes set him up there. Waits doesn't have quite the sound he wants from the arrangement, so Dawes asks if he would like to try something called the transient distortion from an overloaded condenser microphone effect? Translated, this means Waits will play his guitar in the hallway on an old Fender amp recorded through the tiny mikes in a battered 20-year-old boom box." (Source: The Music Of Chance" Spin magazine (USA), by Mark Richard. Date: June, 1994)

- Spoken in German by Bertram in scene 7. Sung in English by Robert at the Crossroads in scene 8

⁽²⁾ George Schmid: Character from the "Black Rider "play (Thalia cast: Klaus Schreiber). Schmid appears in a story told by the old forester to main character Wilhelm. Schmid tried to mold magic bullets that hit everything. But as he is seized with fear, he gets into the devil's power and dies. "A man figures it's his bullets, so it will hit what he wants to hit. But it don't always work that way"

⁽³⁾ Crossroads

- The term turns up in blues quite a bit, especially in the songs of Robert Johnson. The crossroads were a place of mysticism, and the saying was that anybody who could play as well as Johnson must have sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads in return for talent. According to the Funk & Wagnall's Dictionary of Folklore, crossroads have had superstitious connotations in most cultures - Europe, Asian, North American Indian, etc. Murderers and suicides were buried there, and it was the rendezvous point for witches - "anything could happen there." (Source: The Folk File, Bill Markwick)

- All (except suicides) who were excluded from holy rites were piously buried at the foot of the cross erected on the public road, as the place next in sanctity to consecrated ground. Suicides were ignominiously buried on the highway, with a stake driven through their body. (Source: "The First Hypertext Edition of The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable", E. Cobham Brewer. � 1997-99 Bibliomania.com Ltd)

⁽⁴⁾ Dowser: n.: A person who uses a divining rod to search for underground water or minerals (Source: The American Heritage� Dictionary of the English Language, Houghton Mifflin - Third Edition)

Flash Pan Hunter

(The Black Rider demo version, 1990)

The flash pan hunter sways with the wind

and his rifle is the sound of the morning

Each sulfurous bullet may have its own wit

and each cartridge comes with a warning

Beware of elaborate telescopic meats

they will find its way back to the forest

Wilhelm⁽¹⁾ can't wait to be Peg Leg's⁽²⁾ crown

as the briar is strangling the rose back down

His back shall be my slender new branch

it will sway and bend in the breeze

As the Devil does his polka with a hatchet in his hand

There's a sniper in the branches of the trees

As the vulture flutters down, the snake sheds his dove

Wilhelm's cutting off his fingers so they'll fit into the glove

For Wilhelm can't wait to be Peg Leg's crown

and the briar is strangling the rose back down

The briar is strangling the rose back down

Written by: William Burroughs

Published by: Jalma Music Inc./ Nova Lark Music (ASCAP), � 1990, 1993

Unofficial release: The Black Rider, Alka-Seltzer Medien GmbH: 0-51111-12042-2, 1990-1992. March, 1990

Further reading: The Black Rider Full Story

Flash Pan Hunter

(The Black Rider studio version, 1993)

The flash pan hunter sways with the wind

and his rifle is the sound of the morning

Each sulfurous bullet must have its own wit

and each cartridge comes with a warning

Beware of elaborate telescopic meat

it will find its way back to the forest

For Wilhelm⁽¹⁾ can't wait to be Peg Leg's⁽²⁾ crown

and the briar is strangling the rose back down

His back shall be my slender new branch

it will bend it will sway in the breeze

As the Devil does his polka with a hatchet in his hand

As a sniper in the branches of the trees

As the vulture flutters down, the snake sheds his dove

Wilhelm's cutting off his fingers so they'll fit into his glove

For Wilhelm can't wait to be Peg Leg's crown

and the briar is strangling the rose back down

the briar is strangling the rose back down

Known covers:

Innocent When You Dream. Brandon Bernstein. February 26, 2010. Jazz Collective Records

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Sung in scene 6 as a duet by Robert and the Old Uncle after Wilhelm has spent his magic bullets.

⁽²⁾ Wilhelm: Main character from the play

⁽³⁾ Peg Leg: Slang expression and metaphor for the devil. Thalia cast: Dominique Horwitz

Gospel Train

Come on people, got to get on board

Train is leavin' and there's room for one more

God, don't listen to the Devil, he got ways to move you

This train don't carry no smokers

This train...

Well, come on people, cause it's startin' to rain

Get on board, it's the gospel train, yeah

Don't listen to the Devil now

People, don't listen to the Devil

Satan will fool you

Satan will fool you

I said Satan will fool you

Well, this train don't carry no smokers

This train

This train

Wooo

Wooo

Wooo!

Come on people, get on board

Train is leavin' and there's room for one more

Just trust in the Lord

Wooo

Wooo!

Written by: Tom Waits⁽¹⁾

Published by: Jalma Music Inc., � 1990, 1993

Official release: The Black Rider, Island Records Inc., 1993⁽²⁾

Further reading: The Black Rider Full Story

Known covers:

None

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Gospel Train: Song could be inspired by

- Get On Board (Spiritual/ gospel, unknown copyright): "Get on board, little children. The gospel train's a-comin'; I hear it just at hand. I hear the wheels rumblin' And rollin' through the land. Get on board little children; Get on board little children. Get on board little children; There's room for many a-more. I hear that train a-comin'; She's comin' round the curve. She's loosened all her steam and breaks And strainin' ev'ry nerve. The fare is cheap and all can go; The rich and poor are there. No second class aboard this train; No difference in the fare."

- This Train (Spiritual/ gospel, unknown copyright): "Train is bound for glory, Don't ride nothin' but the righteous and the holy, [...] This train don't carry no gamblers, No hypocrites, no midnight ramblers [...] This train don't carry no liars, No hypocrites and no high flyers, [...] This train don't carry no rustlers, [...] Sidestreet walkers, two-bit hustlers. This train don't pull no jokers, No whiskey drinkers, no cigar smokers. Because this train's a clean train, this train."(Source: Transcript by Floris Cooman, as sent to Tom Waits Library, 2005)

⁽²⁾ Gospel Train:

- Sung by Pegleg as he flies in on a chair and hands Wilhelm more bullets

- Mark Richard (1994): "At 1:00 a.m. we listen to the "Gospel Train" tape, a problematic piece for a formal orchestra. Dawes asks Waits if he wants to lay in a train whistle track, and Waits says no, that he had given the orchestra such a big talk about them being a train, and they tried so hard playing to be a train that to add a train whistle right now might make them feel impotent. But he would like for Dawes to make the cut have the feel of a Bahia slave gally leaving the Amazon loaded with molasses and sugar cane... "Right," says Dawes." (Source: "The music of chance". Spin Magazine: June 1, 1994. Mark Richard)

I'll Shoot The Moon

I'll shoot the moon right out of the sky

For you baby

I'll be the pennies on your eyes

For you baby

I want to take you out to the fair

Here is a red rose ribbon for your hair

I'll shoot the moon right out of the sky

For you baby

I'll shoot the moon for you

A vulture circles over your head

For you baby

I'll be the flowers after you're dead

For you baby

I want to build a nest in your hair

I want to kiss you and never be there

And I'll shoot the moon right out of the sky

For you baby

I'll shoot the moon for you

You know I love you, baby

So why don't you call me?

You know my number

392-7704

Call any time

I'll shoot the moon right out of the sky

For you baby

I'll shoot the moon for you

I'll shoot the moon right out of the sky

For you baby

I'll be the flowers after you're dead

For you baby

I want to build a nest in your hair

I want to kiss you and never be there

I'll shoot the moon right out of the sky

For you baby

I'll shoot the moon for you

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music Inc., � 1990, 1993

Official release: The Black Rider, Island Records Inc., 1993

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

Further reading: The Black Rider Full Story

Known covers:

From Memorial Crossing, Pinkie MacLure. June, 2000. Ghost Train/ Liqo30cdl (UK)

Bukowski Waits For You. Michael Kiessling. June 14, 2004. Buschfunk (Germany)

Exotic Bird. Jessie Kilguss. August 2, 2007. Self-released

Hairy Cornflake. Clinker. February 15, 2008. Self-released

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Sung in scene 9 by K�tchen as she sits on the bed.

- Mark Richard (1994): "A telephone rings in a nearby office just as Waits finishes dubbing the vocal for "I'll Shoot the Moon", singing through cupped hands. Dawes cringes when the phone rings again, it's audible in the mix. "Leave it in, leave it in," says Waits. "The songs says 'Call me!'" (Source: The Music Of Chance" Spin magazine (USA), by Mark Richard. Date: June, 1994)

Just The Right Bullets

There is a light in the forest

There's a face in the tree

I'll pull you out of the chorus

And the first one's always free

You can never go a-hunting

With just a flintlock⁽²⁾ and a hound

You won't go home with a bunting⁽³⁾

If you blow a hundred rounds

It takes much more than wild courage

Or you'll hit the tattered clouds⁽⁴⁾

You must have just the right bullets

And the first one's always free⁽⁵⁾

You must be careful in the forest

Broken glass and rusty nails

If you're to bring back something for us

I have bullets for sale

Two, three, four

Why be a fool when you can chase away

Your blind and your gloom⁽⁶⁾

I have blessed each one of these bullets

And they shine just like a spoon

To have sixty silver wishes⁽⁷⁾

Is a small price to pay

They'll be your private little fishes

And they'll never swim away

I just want you to be happy

That's my only little wish

I'll fix your wagon and your musket

And the spoon will have its dish

And I shudder at the thought

Of your poor empty hunter's pouch

So I'll keep the wind from your barrel

And bless the roof of your house

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music Inc., � 1990, 1993

Official release: The Black Rider, Island Records Inc., 1993

Further reading: The Black Rider Full Story

Known covers:

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

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Just The Right Bullets: Sung by Pegleg in scene 4 as he offers Wilhelm the magic bullets

⁽²⁾ Flintlock n.: A hand firearm fitted with a flintlock (A lock for a gun or pistol, having a flint fixed in the hammer, which on striking the steel ignites the priming); esp., the old-fashioned musket of European and other armies. (Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, � 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.)

⁽³⁾ Bunting: Any of various birds of the family Fringillidae, having short, cone-shaped bills and brownish or grayish plumage (Source: The American Heritage� Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright � 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company)

⁽⁴⁾ Tattered clouds:

- Marianne Faithfull (2004): "The Black Rider is the last thing Burroughs wrote certainly the last thing he wrote after The Western Lands, the novel about Egypt, which I love. I know Burroughs's work very well, and he threw a lot from it into The Black Rider: there is a lot of The Last Words of Dutch Schultz, and some of The Black Rider's imagery is from Naked Lunch. Tattered clouds is one of his images, and there are a lot of tattered clouds in The Black Rider." (Source: "The Devil? That Was His Own Dark Side", interview with Marianne Faithfull, by Tim Cumming. The Guardian (London). May 12, 2004. Copyright @ 2004 Guardian Newspapers Limited).

- Tom Waits (2006): "He (William Burroughs) wrote most of his words at his place in Lawrence (Kansas), and he'd send piles of material. Our dramaturge (would) edit and paste and cut and find the right spot for everything. Burroughs was just coughing up all this stuff, not writing in any linear way. Sometimes I would take something he wrote and turn it into a lyric. Sometimes we'd collaborate, like in "Just the Right Bullet." "To hit the tattered clouds you have to have the right bullets" - that's all Burroughs. "The first bullet is free" - that's me." (Source: "Theater: Strange 'Magic'". The Orange County Register (USA), by Paul Hodgins. April 26, 2006)

- Also mentioned in The Last Rose Of Summer (1993): "I love the way the tattered clouds, blow wind across the sky."

⁽⁵⁾ And the first one's always free: might be referring to being tempted to use heroin. Also: "I have bullets for sale" and "And the spoon will have its dish".

- Robert Palmer (1993): "Mr. Waits grew up reading Jack Kerouac and the other Beat writers, including Mr. Burroughs, the Beat godfather, but they hadn't met until they sat down in the novelist's home in Lawrence, Kan., to begin work on "The Black Rider." Mr. Burroughs still sounds enthusiastic about the collaboration. "When Tom was here in Lawrence," he said recently by telephone, "and we were sketching out the basic structure of 'The Black Rider,' he had some very good ideas. I had the idea of comparing the magic bullet in the original German story to heroin. Once you use one, you'll use another. Tom said, 'Yeah, and the first one's always free,' and of course that went right in." (Source: "Tom Waits, All-Purpose Troubadour" The New York Times (USA) by Robert Palmer. Date: Limbo/ San Francisco, November 14, 1993)

⁽⁶⁾ Your blind and your gloom

- Tom Waits (1993): "These are our champagne glasses from the night we got married. She's carrying me in hers because mine broke and fell over. So the bride is carrying the groom. And I broke a piece out of hers. She didn't want me to get 'em. She thought we'd be wasting our money, to get a bride and groom champagne thing. It was the night we got married, she said, "What, are you nuts, you're gonna spend that kind of money?" We were gonna spend like $30. JJ: Where were you? TW: In Watts, in L.A., about 1am. She said don't do it, and I did. JJ: Did it say "groom" in black, or in white? TW: "Groom", just like this in white. You know, bride, groom. Kathleen calls it "blind gloom." (Source: "Straight No Chaser" Jim Jarmusch. October 1993)

⁽⁷⁾ Silver wishes/ silver bullets: "Americans frequently use it to refer to some simple and seemingly magical solution to a complicated problem. In that sense, it seems to be a conflation of, or perhaps a confusion between, an older sense of silver bullet and the very similar magic bullet. We have to look into European folklore to find out where silver bullet comes from. There are lots of stories in which they are the only way to kill some supernatural enemy. Werewolves were believed to have been given the power to change form by the Devil in return for acting as his servants. Nothing ordinary could kill one - only a silver bullet would do it. Basically, what a stake through the heart was to a vampire, a silver bullet was to a werewolf. Later, the same idea was applied to other supernatural entities. Some of the legends say that a hare, who was either a witch in disguise or the familiar of a witch, could only be killed in this way. Others refer to any man who had sold himself to the Devil, or sometimes to the Devil himself, who could be scared off by such means. Another legend says that a silver bullet would never miss its target. Obviously, these legends couldn't appear before guns were invented, but the first examples are actually rather late even so: the first I know of is dated about 1700 and the stories didn't become common until the early nineteenth century. The legends are common to many European countries, but the figurative sense is characteristically American. Magic bullet is rather more recent. It's a direct translation of the German word Zauberkugel, which is said to have been created by the medical scientist Dr Paul Ehrlich in reference to his search, much opposed by the medical establishment of the time, for a cure for syphilis. The term is recorded in English from about 1938 to mean some drug, usually as yet undiscovered, that will be the perfect cure for a specific disease. It suddenly became common in American newspapers in 1940, presumably as the result of a film of that year, Dr Ehrlich's Magic Bullet, which had Edward G Robinson in the title role. It's notable that silver bullet also became more widely known in the US as the result of a famous series, the Lone Ranger Show (on radio from 1933 and later on television). The Lone Ranger typically arrived out of nowhere to perform miraculous feats and would leave a silver bullet as a mark that he had been there. It looks very much as though these media influences caused the traditional supernatural sense of silver bullet to shift towards that of the upstart magic bullet. You can see the sense evolving in this quotation from a Pennsylvania paper, the Bedford Gazette, of 19 September 1951: 'There are those who warn against viewing the atom as a magic weapon,- he continued. - I agree. This is not a silver bullet which can deliver itself or otherwise work military miracles." The earliest example I can find in a clearly figurative sense is in the Chronicle Telegram of Elyria, Ohio, for 18 March 1971: "Drug abuse, as virtually other major problem, is ... not given to simplistic silver bullet solutions." (Source: World Wide Words is copyright � Michael Quinion, 1996-2004)

Lucky Day Overture

Ladies and gentlemen Harry's Harbor Bizarre⁽²⁾ is proud to present

Under the Big Top⁽³⁾ tonight

Human Oddities!

That's right, you'll see the Three Headed Baby

You'll see Hitler's⁽⁴⁾ brain

See Lea Graff, the German midget who sat in J.P. Morgan's⁽⁵⁾ lap

You'll see Priscilla Bajano⁽⁶⁾, the monkey woman

Jo Jo⁽⁷⁾, the dog faced boy

Jim Milton Malone, the human skeleton⁽⁸⁾

That's right, ladies and gentlemen

See Grace McDaniels⁽⁹⁾, the mule faced woman

And she's the homeliest woman in the world

Under the Big Top tonight

Never before seen

And if you have a heart condition, please be warned

Don't forget to visit our snack bar at Charleston Grotto

All sales are final, void where prohibited by law

You'll see Sealo⁽¹⁰⁾ the seal boy who has flippers for arms

You'll see Johnny Eck⁽¹¹⁾, the man born without a body

He walks on his hands

He has his own orchestra and is an excellent pianist

See Gerd Bessler⁽¹²⁾, the human pincushion

And don't forget, it's Ladies' Night here at Harry's Harbor Bizarre

You'll see Ko Ko⁽¹³⁾ the bird girl

Mortando⁽¹⁴⁾, the human fountain

Step a little closer, ladies and gentlemen, and don't be shy

Dig deep in your pockets

You'll see Radion⁽¹⁵⁾, the human torso⁽¹⁶⁾

Deep from the jungles of Africa

Ladies and gentlemen Harry's Harbor Bizarre

Ladies and gentlemen Harry's Harbor Bizarre

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music Inc., � 1990, 1993

Official release: The Black Rider, Island Records Inc., 1993

Further reading: The Black Rider Full Story

Known covers:

None

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ In the original play a Tom Waits tape is played to open the show, then the Old Uncle starts singing the song.

- Mark Richard (1994): "We are listening to "Lucky Day Overture", the opening of The Black Rider. Waits is adding maniacal laughter from a Japanese movie dubbed in German he sampled from late-night Hamburg television. Waits says he has always been fascinated with human oddities, collecting books like Ripley's Believe It or Not, books of strange and incredible facts."Some people might consider it sick or demeaning, but these people had careers and were very well-respected in show business," says Waits. "Everybody I know in show business has something about them mentally, spiritually, or physically that makes them an oddity." (Source: "The music of chance". Spin Magazine: June 1, 1994. Mark Richard)

⁽²⁾ Harry's Harbor Bizarre: "Harrys Hamburger Hafen Basar" formerly known as "Harry's Hafen Basar": An existing shop and meeting point in the Hamburg harbour area (Balduinstra�e 18, nowadays Erichstrasse 56). This is a 5-minute walk from the St. Pauli district (Reeperbahn).

- Further reading (in German): Harry's Harbour Basar

- Tom Waits (1993): "It's a crude little junk shop. Sailors from all over the world, when they land in Hamburg, that's where they sell their $2 guitars, stuffed snakes, zebra jackets. It's a real swampy place. You can buy insects from everywhere, under glass, in little boxes; elephant beetles the size of a child's shoe. It's all mildewed in there, full of weird musical instruments, half-decomposed baby giraffes stuffed with straw. They even had a shrunken head you could look at for, like, two marks. They advertise the shrunken head in the window; that's what brings 'em in. Harry's rarely there; if he is, all the prices are doubled." (Source: "Tom Waits, All-Purpose Troubadour" The New York Times (USA) by Robert Palmer. Date: Limbo/ San Francisco, November 14, 1993)

⁽³⁾ Big top n.: Specif., the main tent of a circus; generally, the circus, circusses, or circus life (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner)

⁽⁴⁾Hitler: Adolf Hitler. Born: Braunau, Austria, 1889 - Died: Berlin, Germany, 1945. According to the official statements Hitler committed suicide on April 30 1945, after which his body was burned. Rumours are still circulating speaking of a conspiracy and a possible disappearance of the remains

⁽⁵⁾ J.P. Morgan: Nowadays J.P. Morgan is a huge American bank holding company with headquarters in New York City. It's named after American financier, J. Pierpont Morgan, who until his death in 1913 was managing partner of the firm. J. Pierpont Morgan inherited his father's business in 1890 and consolidated the firm's European and American interests. Under Pierpont's guidance, the firm was instrumental in financing many of the enterprises -- railroads, steel, mining, and utilities. In the years around the turn of the century, he was the "mightiest personal force in American business life." It could very well be true, that some midget sat on J.P. Morgans lap. Round the turn of the centuries "freaks" or so-called "Human oddities" travelled European courts and visited people of high standing (f.i.: P.T. Barnum and Thomas Thumb)

⁽⁶⁾ Priscilla Bajano: Known as "The Monkey Woman". Spelled "Percilla Bejano". Percilla "The Monkey Girl" Bejano died on February 5, 2001. She was 89 years old. "Percilla and her late husband Emmitt "The Alligator Skin Man" Bejano were billed as the "World's Strangest Married Couple" on sideshow midways around the world. After her retirement, Percilla became very protective of her privacy. She often stated that since she had spent so much of her life being stared at, she was going to shave her beard and live a quiet life. "Show's over," was her exact quote. But since she began working on carnival midways when she was three years old, Percilla had one million and a half stories about her time on the road. She knew, or worked with, almost anyone you could imagine and loved to tell stories about her time on the road. But I will always remember Percilla dancing. That was her all-time favorite. In her backyard to the radio, or at the IISA club in Gibsonton, she always wanted to dance." (Source: "Final Curtain" ON THE SAWDUST TRAIL, Shocked and Amazed. June 2001 by Kathleen Kotcher)

⁽⁷⁾ Jo Jo: The 16-year-old Russian Fedor Jeftichew was contracted in 1884 by P.T. Barnum and quickly renamed Jo-Jo the dog-faced-boy. According to Barnum's flyers he was found in the woods of Kostrama (Central Russia), where he and his father lived in a cave. In reality JoJo had been travelling through Russia for years, showing himself to paying audiences. To further enhance his doglike appearance he was told to growl and bark at the audience

⁽⁸⁾ Human skeleton: An act where the the performer was extremely emaciated from a disease or muscular disorder in which they could not gain weight.One example was "The Shadow Man",whose height was 5'7", weighing only 71 lbs.(Worked with Ringling Circus when well enough) (Source: Carny Lingo, Joe Bates). This title was usually given to Peter Robinson. Robinson starred in Tod Browning's "Freaks" (1932)

⁽⁹⁾ Grace Mc Daniels

- Starred in Tod Browning's "Freaks", 1932.

- "Grace McDaniels was born to normal parents on a farm near Numa, Iowa in 1888, and joined F.W. Miller's freak show in 1935 after winning an "ugly woman" contest. She suffered from a genetic condition known as Sturge-Weber syndrome, which causes a large, purple birthmark on the head and face that thickens and distorts the flesh. Her condition was degenerative, her face becoming more and more misshapen with age until she she could barely speak. When she first entered showbusiness Grace disliked being called a freak and particularly objected to the "World's Ugliest Woman" title. She covered her birthmark with makeup when she wasn't onstage and covered her ears so she wouldn't hear the talker's lecture when she was. But she remained with the freak show because the pay was excellent, and in time grew to enjoy the attention she received, though she still objected to the word "ugly" and chose to be called the Mule-Faced Woman instead. Those who knew Grace say she was a wonderful friend, a loving mother toward her son, and an all-around loveable person. Dolly Reagan, the Ossified Lady, remaked that "Grace was the kindliest person in the world." Though Grace enjoyed performing, she preferred being a homemaker and loved to cook, clean and sew. Contrary to popular belief, Grace was never married (the rumor of her marriage can be traced back to Harry Lewiston's book, Freak Show Man). Rather, she was taken advantage of by an intoxicated carnival worker, and her son, Elmer, resulted from this union. Elmer inherited his father's vile temperament and passion for drink and was abusive of his poor mother, whose act he managed, stealing money from her and generally being so disagreeable that showmen refused to hire Grace just so they wouldn't have to deal with Elmer. Both Grace and Elmer passed away in 1958, though there is some confusion over which died first." (Source: "Phreequeshow", Elizabeth Anderson, 2006)

- Text with left picture: "Grace McDaniels, the so-called mule-faced woman, in 1947. While she is perhaps the homeliest woman in the world she is happily married and the mother of a fine son."

⁽¹⁰⁾ Sealo

- Starred in Tod Browning's "Freaks".

- Seal Boy: Human oddity afflicted with phocomelia, or foreshortened 'seal,' limbs, usually with hands and feet attached directly to the torso without arms or legs (Source: Carny Lingo, Joe Bates).

- Stanislaus "Stanley" Berent was born to a Polish Catholic family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on November 24, 1899. The exact cause of his peculiar deformity remains unknown, as phocomelia (literally "seal arms") is usually linked to exposure to thalidomide, which did not appear on the market until half a century after Berent was born. Sealo is said to have been discovered on a streetcorner selling newspapers, thus beginning an illustrious 35-year career. Sealo would appear with every major sideshow in the United States. He spent the longest time with Pete Cortes, who shared Sealo's passion for playing cards and was said to spend hours backstage playing rummy with him. He was beloved by his colleagues, who remember him as a smiling and congenial man. Sealo appears to have had some orthopedic problems in addition to having deformed arms. He had a hard time getting on and off the stage and would therefore spend hours at a time onstage, selling pitch cards. He also preferred to sleep in hotels, instead of on the fairgrounds, and took a taxi to and from work every day. His act consisted of everyday tasks such as sawing a board, shaving, and autographing his publicity photo. When he was unable to reach something with his hands - such as the zipper on his pants - he used a stick with a hook attached.Perhaps the most memorable moment in Sealo's long career came in 1972, when a group of freaks with Ward Hall's show came under attack from politically correct reformers who cited a 1921 Florida law that banned the exhibition of the handicapped. Sealo, along with Pete Terhurne and others, sued the state to have the law overturned. A few years later, in 1976, Sealo retired to the International Independent Showmen's Association retirement center in Gibsonton. When his health began to decline, he returned to his native Pittsburgh and checked in to the local Catholic hospital. He died in 1980 and is buried in a Catholic cemetary. (Source: "Phreequeshow", Elizabeth Anderson, 2006)

⁽¹¹⁾ Johnny Eck: Johnny Eck was born John Echkardt (twenty minutes after his twin brother Robert) August 27, 1911, Baltimore, Maryland. The boys entered the sideshow circuit at the age of 12, where John was billed as "Johnny Eck, The Half-boy." Johnny went on to play a role in Tod Browning's "Freaks" before returning with his brother to Baltimore, where he became a screen painter. The only time Johnny and Rob were ever apart from each other was the time Johnny spent in Hollywood filming "Freaks". He climbed the stairs to the top of the Washington Monument, on his hands in 1938. In the late 1930's he was displayed in several Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditoriums, where he was billed as "The Most Remarkable Man Alive!". Height 1' 6". Johnny died January 5, 1991, at the age of 79, in the house where he was born. Personal quote: "I met hundreds and thousands of people, and none finer than the midgets and the Siamese twins and the caterpillar man and the bearded woman and the human seal with the little flippers for hands. I never asked them any embarrassing questions and they never asked me, and God, it was a great adventure."

Tom Waits (1999): "... The Ringling Brothers at one point were exhibiting Einstein's eyes, Napoleon's penis and Galileo's finger bones, all on the same bill. Different tents. 'Course I missed that. You ever hear of Johnny Eck? He was a Ringling act. The Man Born Without a Body. Johnny Eck had his own orchestra and was an excellent pianist and he'd stand on his hands and wear a tuxedo." (Source: "Gone North, Tom Waits, upcountry " L.A. Weekly: Robert Lloyd. April 23-29, 1999)

⁽¹²⁾ Gerd Bessler: Musican and sound technician. The recordings for the Black Rider were made in his "Music Factory" in Hamburg. He took care of recording and sound and was one of the driving forces behind the production. Played violin on the song "Crossroads".

- Human pincusion: An act in which the performer sticks sharp objects such as pins, needles,meat-skewers,etc, into their flesh (also known as "Fakirs"...from the Indian term...or "Pain-proof men") (Source: Carny Lingo, Joe Bates)

⁽¹³⁾ Ko Ko: "Minnie Woolsey, born in Georgia in 1880, was afflicted with a unique form of "bird-headed" dwarfism or nanocephaly. In addition to her unusual facial features, she was blind, mentally handicapped, toothless, and had only fine wisps of hair on her odd-shaped head. The story goes that she was rescued from a dismal life in a Georgia insane asylum by an enterprising showman, and began her showbiz career as "Minnie Ha-Ha", a play on North Carolina's Minnihaha Falls. "Minnie Ha-Ha" dressed in a phony American Indian costume and spoke jibberish to sideshow audiences. By the time Minnie landed a role in Freaks in 1932, the sideshow world already had a "Koo Koo, the Bird Girl" - Betty Green - but this didn't stop Minnie's managers from dressing her in a feathery costume, too. Though she has no lines in Freaks, she made a lasting impression on moviegoers when she shimmied on the table during the wedding feast of Cleopatra the aerialist and Hans the dwarf. Thus it was Minnie who was best remembered as "Koo Koo", not Betty Green, although the two are frequently confused. Later, Minnie worked at Coney Island as "Koo Koo, the Blind Girl from Mars", where she confounded spectators by failing to respond to visual stimuli. Her blindness is just one of a host of symptoms that characterize some types of primordial dwarfism. It's unknown exactly how long Minnie was with the circus or when she died, but some accounts claim she was still living (and was nearly run over by a car) in 1960, making her at least 80 years old." (Source: "Phreequeshow", Elizabeth Anderson, 2006)

⁽¹⁴⁾ Mortando: Should be spelled Mortado. "Mortado the crucified man". He had holes in his hands and feet, and also appeared as "The Human Fountain," with water shooting out of him. In the holes he concealed capsules of "blood" that spouted forth when spikes were pounded through them. Later, utilizing a specially designed chair with plumbing fixtures, he became Coney Island's "Mortado the Human Fountain" (Source: Barta 1996)

⁽¹⁵⁾ Radion: Should be spelled Randian (the Caterpillar Man). "Prince Randian, a Hindu, was said to possess a quiet sense of humour and was able to speak Hindu, English, German and French. His personal philosophy was that no physical handicap need matter if the mind is dominant. He was able to write, paint, shave and roll his own cigarettes using only his mouth, the latter feat is demonstrated in the film Freaks. Prince Randian's only dialogue in the film is almost indecipherable, but he apparently remarks to one of the Rollo brothers, "Can you do anything with your eyebrows?" During the carnival's off-season, Prince Randian resided in Patterson, New Jersey with his devoted wife and several children. His last public appearance was an evening show at Sam Wagner's 14th. Street Museum on December 19th. 1934. He collapsed and died shortly after at the age of 63."

⁽¹⁶⁾ Human torso: Human oddity born without arms or legs.There were many of these 'human oddities", but perhaps the most famous was Prince Randian, a star attraction at Coney Island & also starred in the movie "Freaks".He was introduced as the 'human caterpillar who crawls on his belly like a reptile'. Randian could roll a cigarette and light it just using his lips (Source: Carny Lingo, Joe Bates)

Lucky Day

The prettiest girl in all the world

Is in a little Spanish town

But I left her for a Bonnie lass⁽²⁾

And I told her I'd see her around

But that Bonnie lass and her heart of glass

Could not hold a candle to bummin' around⁽³⁾

So don't cry for me, cause I'm goin' away

and I'll be back some lucky day

Well, tell the boys back home

that I'm doin' just fine

I've left all my troubles and woe

So sing about me, for I can't come home

I've many, many many more miles to go

Why, there's Miss Kelsey

She taught dance in our school

And old Johnny O'Toole

I'll still beat you at pool

So don't cry for me, for I'm goin' away

and I'll be back some lucky day

Well, when I was a boy, my daddy sat me on his knee

And he told me, he told me many things

And he said son, there's a lot of things in this world

That you're gonna have no use for

And when you get blue⁽⁴⁾ and you've lost all your dreams

There's nothin' like a campfire and a can of beans

Why, there's Miss Kelsey

She taught dance in our school

And old Johnny O'Toole

I'll still beat you at pool

So don't cry for me, for I'm goin' away

and I'll be back some lucky day

Known covers:

Long Honeymoon. Mary Coughlan. June 12, 2001. Evangeline

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Sung by Wilhelm in scene 11 as he goes mad after having shot K�tchen.

⁽²⁾ Lass(ie) n.: A girl or young woman (who is unmarried); A sweetheart (Source: The American Heritage� Dictionary of the English Language, Houghton Mifflin - Third Edition)

⁽³⁾ Bum around: To loaf; to wander idly; to do nothing (Source: Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner)

⁽⁴⁾ Blue: adj. 1. [late 18C-19C] confused, terrified, disappointed. 2. [late 18C+] miserable, depressed (Source: Cassel's Dictionary of Slang. Jonathon Green 1998. Cassel & Co., 2000)

November

No shadows, no stars

There's no moon and no cars

November

Only believes in a pile of dead leaves

And a moon that's the color of bone

No prayers for November to linger longer

Stick your spoon in the wall⁽²⁾

And we'll slaughter them all

November has tied me to an old dead tree

Get word to April to rescue me

November's cold chain made of wet boots and rain

And shiny black ravens on chimney smoke lanes

November seems odd

You're my firing squad

November

With my hair slicked back with carrion shellac⁽³⁾

And the blood from a pheasant and the bone from a hare

Tied to the branches of a roebuck stag

Left to wave in the timber like a buck shot⁽⁴⁾ flag

Go away, you rainsnout

Go away, blow your brains out

November

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music Inc., � 1990-1993-1998

Official release: "The Black Rider", Island Records Inc., 1993 &

"Beautiful Maladies", Island Records Inc., 1998

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

Further reading: The Black Rider Full Story

Known covers:

None

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Sung by Robert in scene 2 (flashback scene with the roebuck stag)

⁽²⁾ Stick your spoon in the wall: Stick one's spoon in the wall: phr. [19C] to die (Source: "Cassell's Dictionary Of Slang". Jonathon Green. Cassel & Co., 1998. ISBN: 0-304-35167-9)

⁽³⁾ Carrion shellac: Many American "Indians" in the Northwest used bear fat to make their hair look slick. In the 50's, American teenagers used Wildroot Cream Oil and other brands to do the same thing. Shellac is a gluey paint - type stuff you put on wood to treat it and make it look shiny. You can do the same with your hair. And if you make it from carrion, you will carry with you the aroma of rotting meat that vultures might fight you for ;-) (Submitted by Gary Duncan. Raindogs Listserv discussionlist. September, 2000)

⁽⁴⁾ Buck shot flag

- Flag shot with a shot gun; tattered (Submitted by El RayoX. Raindogs Listserv discussionlist. September, 2000)

- Buckshot n. 1. 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)

Russian Dance

Davai yestshio! Davai yestshio!

Odeen, dva, tree, cheteeri⁽¹⁾

Written by: Tom Waits �1993 Jalma Music, Inc.

Published by: no lyrics published

Official release: The Black Rider, Island Records Inc., 1993

Further reading: The Black Rider Full Story

Known covers:

None

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Davai yestshio [Come on, once again].

- Odeen, dva, tree, cheteeri [One, two, three, four]. (Transcribed by Alexai in Moscow/ Ulf Berggren, Tom Waits eGroups discussionlist, 2000).

'T Ain't No Sin

When you hear sweet syncopation, and the music softly moans

't ain't no sin to take off your skin, and dance around in your bones

When it gets too hot for comfort, and you can't get an ice cream cone

't ain't no sin to take off your skin, and dance around in your bones

Just like those bamboo babies, down in the South Sea tropic zone

't ain't no sin to take off your skin, and dance around in your bones

When you hear sweet syncopation, and the music softly moans

't ain't no sin to take off your skin, and dance around in your bones

When it gets too hot for comfort, and you can't get an ice cream cone

't ain't no sin to take off your skin, and dance around in your bones

Just like those bamboo babies, down in the South Sea tropic zone

't ain't no sin to take off your skin, and dance around in your bones

Words by Edgar Leslie

Music by Walter Donaldson

Published by: Edgar Leslie, Lawrence Wright Music Co. Ltd/ EMI Music Publishing Ltd., � 1992⁽¹⁾

Official release: The Black Rider, Island Records Inc., 1993

Further reading: The Black Rider Full Story

Known covers:

N/A

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Original Burroughs tape played in scene 9.

- Tom Waits (2000): ... That's an old song from the Twenties. "T'ain't no sin to take off your skin and dance around in your bones." That was his reference point for the whole play. He was looking rather skeletal himself and singing that tune was a Halloween moment. So we just integrated it, wove that into the score. (Source: "Another Night at the Opera for Waits". Andrew Dansby. November 4, 2000. � 2001, RollingStone.com)

^- Copyright: There's some confusion over the copyright. The American version of the CD has this copyright: "�1992 Edgar Leslie and Walter Donaldson", but the European version only says "�1992 Edgar Leslie". This could mean that they later realized they'd changed the tune around so much that Donaldson's music is no longer there. It really doesn't sound like an old show tune. (That 1992 copyright is renewed, by the way. They both did most of their work in the 20's and 30's.) Walter Donaldson is best known for 'Makin' Whopee!', 'My Baby Just Cares for Me', and 'Yes Sir, That's My Baby'. Lyricist Edgar Leslie's biggest moment seems to be 'Moon Over Miami', a No. 1 hit in 1935 for Eddy Duchin and his Orchestra. (Submitted by Ulf Berggren. Tom Waits eGroups discussionlist, 2000)

- Original lyrics: "(verse): Dancing may do this and that, and help you take off lots of fat. But I'm no friend of dancing when it's hot. So if you are a dancing fool, who loves to dance but can't keep cool, Bear in mind the idea that I've got. (chorus): When it gets too hot for comfort, and you can't get ice cream cones, Tain't no sin to take off your skin and dance around in your bones. When the lazy syncopation of the music softly moans, Tain't no sin to take off your skin and dance around in your bones. The polar bears aren't green up in Greenland, they've got the right idea. They think it's great to refrigerate while we all cremate down here. Just be like those Bamboo Babies, in the South Sea tropic zones, Tain't no sin to take off your skin and dance around in your bones.(verse): Dancing may do this and that, and help you take off excess fat. But I'm no friend of dancing when it's hot. No I'm not. So if you are a dancing fool, who loves to dance but can't keep cool, Bear in mind this idea that I've got. (chorus): When you're calling up your sweetie in those hot house telephones, Tain't no sin to take off your skin and dance around in your bones. When you're on a crowded dance floor, near those red hot saxophones, Tain't no sin to take off your skin and dance around in your bones. Just take a look at the girls while they're dancing. Notice the way that they're dressed. They wear silken clothes without any hose and nobody knows the rest. If a gal wears X-ray dresses, and shows everything she owns, Tain't no sin to take off your skin. Tain't no sin to take off your skin and dance around in your bones."

That's The Way

That's the way the stomach rumbles⁽²⁾

That's the way the bee bumbles

That's the way the needle pricks

That's the way the glue sticks

That's the way the potato mashes

That's the way the pan flashes

That's the way the market crashes

That's the way the whip lashes

That's the way the teeth gnashes

That's the way the gravy stains

That's the way the moon wanes⁽³⁾

Known covers:

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

Bukowski Waits For You. Michael Kiessling. June 14, 2004. Buschfunk (Germany)

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Original Burroughs take played in scene 3 prior to K�tchen/ Wilhelm love duet

⁽²⁾ That's the way the stomach rumbles

- Tom Waits (2004): "Burroughs is kind of like a demonic Mark Twain. He's like the real dark heart of America. Comes from the Burroughs Adding Machine family, you know, and he threw off all the shackles of his inheritance and struck out on his own. Like they say, when you're in hell, keep going. So at times he was much more in the realm of Philip K. Dick in science fiction. Anyway, very inspiring. And I was very romantic about all the Beats when I was first coming on the scene myself. And that voice. My favorite thing is [quoting from "That's the Way," which Burroughs performs on the CD] "That's the way the cookie crumbles, that's the way the stomach rumbles, that's the way the needle pricks, that's the way the glue sticks--" That stuff really killed me." (Source: "One Wild Ride" San Francisco Magazine by Pamela Feinsilber. September, 2004)

⁽³⁾ That's the way the moon wanes

- Wane: intr.v. waned, wan�ing, wanes. To decrease gradually in size, amount, intensity, or degree; decline. To exhibit a decreasing illuminated area from full moon to new moon (Source: The American Heritage� Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright � 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company)

- Also mentioned in Drunk On The Moon, 1974: "Hearts flutter and race, the moon's on the wane"

The Black Rider

Come on along with the Black Rider

We'll have a gay old time⁽²⁾

Lay down in the web of the black spider

I'll drink your blood like wine

So come on in

It ain't no sin

Take off your skin

And dance around in your bones⁽³⁾

So come on along with the Black Rider

We'll have a gay old time

Step right up...

Hey, hold on there, little sailor!

Have your tickets ready!

Under 12 are for free

You just come on along

Anchors away with the Black Rider

I'll drink your blood like wine

I'll drop you off in Harlem with the Black Rider

Out where the bullets shine

And when you're done

You cock your gun⁽⁴⁾

The blood will run

Like ribbons through your hair

Just come on along with the Black Rider

We'll have a gay old time

Line forms to the left

Have your tickets ready

See the dog face boy⁽⁵⁾

Hello, sailor!

Well, just come on along with the Black Rider

I've got just the thing for thee

Come on along with the Black Rider

I want your company

Well, I think I'll have the veal

A lovely meal

That's how I feel

Oh, may I use your skull for a bowl

Just come on along with the Black Rider

We'll have a gay old

We'll have a gay old

We'll have a gay old

We'll have a gay old

We'll have a gay old time

Step right up, have your tickets ready (Ha ha ha ha)

Step right up, have your tickets ready (Ha ha)

Thank you, thank you

Thank you, thank you

You're too kind

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music Inc., � 1990-1993-1998

Official release: "The Black Rider", Island Records Inc., 1993 &

"Beautiful Maladies", Island Records Inc., 1998

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

Further reading: The Black Rider Full Story

Known covers:

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

Black Letter Days and Devil's Workshop. Frank Black & The Catholics. August, 2002. spinART Records/ Cooking Vinyl

Live Sessions. Frank Black. August 20, 2007. iTunes EP

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Sung by Pegleg as cast is introduced in the prologue. Backing vocals by full cast (theme played in scene 10 as Wilhelm is at the Crossroads).

⁽²⁾ We'll have a gay old time: this might be taken from the famous television cartoon series "The Flintstones" (William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, 1960-1966). The theme song's lyrics were written by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera, with music by Hoyt Curtin: "Flintstones, meet the Flintstones They're the modern stone-age family From the town of Bedrock They're a page right out of history Let's ride with the family down the street Through the courtesy of Fred's two feet When you're with the Flintstones Have a yabba-dabba-doo time A dabba-doo time You'll have a gay old time."

⁽³⁾ And dance around in your bones: notice this quoting from "T'ain't No Sin"

⁽⁴⁾ Cock a gun: To set the hammer of (a firearm) in a position ready for firing (Source: The American Heritage� Dictionary of the English Language, Houghton Mifflin - Third Edition)

⁽⁵⁾ Dog Face(d) Boy: That would be Jo Jo from "Lucky Day Overture". Human oddity. The 16-year-old Russian Fedor Jeftichew was contracted in 1884 by P.T. Barnum and quickly renamed Jo-Jo the dog-faced-boy. According to Barnum's flyers he was found in the woods of Kostrama (Central Russia), where he and his father lived in a cave. In reality JoJo had been travelling through Russia for years, showing himself to paying audiences. To further enhance his doglike appearance he was told to growl and bark at the audience

The Briar And The Rose

(Black Rider demo version, 1990)⁽¹⁾

Oh blood and bone, and clocks and trains

My coat will keep you from the rain

Alas our love is all in vain

The briar and the rose

I will not wait, I cannot thread

The tenor of the things you said⁽²⁾

My love is true and we must wed

The briar and the rose

I don't know how, I don't know why

I never meant to make you cry

My love is blind and so I chose

The briar and the rose

Out in the meadow, ablaze with green

Our love was meant to be

Oh tell me have you ever seen

A briar without the rose

Our love will tear us both apart

I'll never change my father’s heart

And I will cry and you must go

The briar and the rose

And when I'm buried in my grave

And November's wind will blow

Your tears will fall

To make them grow

The briar and the rose

And when I'm buried in my grave

November's wind will blow

And your tears will fall

To make them grow

The briar and the rose

Your tears will fall

To make them grow

The briar and the rose

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music Inc., � 1990

Unofficial release: The Black Rider, Alka-Seltzer Medien GmbH: 0-51111-12042-2, 1990-1992. March, 1990

Demo recording. Recorded by Gerd Bessler in Hamburg, Germany 1990

(Thanks to Ben Rinehart for help with transcript)

Further reading: The Black Rider Full Story

The Briar And The Rose

(Black Rider studio version, 1993)

I fell asleep down by the stream

And there I had the strangest dream

And down by Brennan's Glenn there grows

A briar and a rose

There's a tree in the forest

But I don't know where

I built a nest out of your hair

And climbing up into the air

A briar and a rose

I don't know how long it has been

But I was born in Brennan's Glenn

And near the end of spring there grows

A briar and a rose

I picked the rose one early morn'

I pricked my finger on a thorn

They'd grown so close

Their winding wove

The briar around the rose

I tried to tear them both apart

I felt a bullet in my heart

And all dressed up in spring's new clothes

The briar and the rose

And when I'm buried in my grave

Tell me so I will know

Your tears will fall

To make love grow

The briar and the rose

And when I'm buried in my grave

Tell me so I will know

Your tears will fall

To make them grow

The briar and the rose

Your tears will fall

To make them grow

The briar and the rose

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music Inc., � 1990, 1993

Official release: The Black Rider, Island Records Inc., 1993

(Transcribed by Ulf Berggren. Raindogs Listserv discussionlist. November, 1999)

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

Further reading: The Black Rider Full Story.

Known covers:

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

Third Weeks a'lightnin. Tory Voodoo/ Tammerlin. December, 1996. Binky Records 1006CD

Loosen Up. Niamh Parsons. July 1, 1997. Green Linnet (Ireland).

Her Infinite Variety. Various Artists. January 13, 1998. Green Linnet (performed by Loose Connections)

North Amerikay. Dale Russ & Finn Mac Ginty. August 24, 1999. Aniar Records

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

Strangest Dream. Popcorn Behavior (Assembly). December, 2000. The Orchard

Dolly Bird. Liane Carroll. February 5, 2001. Ronnie Scott's Jazz House

Sowing Seeds. The Granary Girls. March, 2001. Self-released

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

Violet Sarah And Muckle John. Cloudstreet. 2002. Self-released

Ladies View. Ladies of Longford. 2002. Self-released (Ireland)

Made In Cape Breton. The Cottars. April 29, 2002. Rego Irish

After Albany. Acabella. 2003. Self-released

Milestone. Dave Donohoe. February 2, 2003. Self-released

Tramps and Hawkers. The Muses. 2004. Self-released

Bukowski Waits For You. Michael Kiessling. June 14, 2004. Buschfunk (Germany)

North Atlantic Drift. Tena Palmer. March, 2005. Self-released

Sincerely. Harry O'Donoghue. May 28, 2005. Columbine Blue Music

Standard Issue. Liane Carroll. September 18, 2005. Splash Point Records

Live at Fylde. Niamh Parsons and Graham Dunne. November, 2005. Self-released

Atlantic Standards. Various artists. May 30, 2006 (performed by The Cottars)

Fair Play To You. Bow Triplets. September 8, 2006. Self-released (Switzerland)

Tributes. The Alexander Brothers. November 6, 2006. Scotdisc

Just Before Sunrise. Nathan Gunn. August 7, 2007. Sony Classical/ BMG

Songs From The Glen. Bob O'Donnell. August 23, 2007. AngelSong Music

Northern Tide. Grace Notes. January 14, 2008. Fellside Recordings

Twentig. Knightsong. September 18, 2009. Self-released

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ The Briar And The Rose:

- Sung as a love duet in scene 3 by K�tchen and Wilhelm.

- Might be referring to the German brothers Grimm fairytale "Dornröschen" (Kinder und Hausmärchen, 1812-1815), which translates as "Briar Rose".

⁽²⁾ The tenor of the things you said: phrase as previously used in Empty Pockets (One From The Heart, 1981): "The shadows fall, I cannot thread the tenor of the things you've said."

The Last Rose Of Summer

I love the way the tattered clouds⁽²⁾

blow wind across the sky

The summer goes and leaves me

with a tear in my eye

I'm taking out my winter clothes

my garden knows what is wrong

The petals of my favorite rose

been in the shadows dark and long

Though every year it's very clear

I should be carrying on

But I can be found in the garden, singing this song

when the last rose of summer is gone

the last rose of summer is gone

Known covers:

Treasure. Holly Cole Trio. October, 1998. EMI

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Sung by Pegleg in scene 12 as he disappears in the Black Box.

⁽²⁾ Tattered clouds:

- Marianne Faithfull (2004): "The Black Rider is the last thing Burroughs wrote certainly the last thing he wrote after The Western Lands, the novel about Egypt, which I love. I know Burroughs's work very well, and he threw a lot from it into The Black Rider: there is a lot of The Last Words of Dutch Schultz, and some of The Black Rider's imagery is from Naked Lunch. Tattered clouds is one of his images, and there are a lot of tattered clouds in The Black Rider."(Source: "The Devil? That Was His Own Dark Side", interview with Marianne Faithfull, by Tim Cumming. The Guardian (London). May 12, 2004. Copyright @ 2004 Guardian Newspapers Limited.).

- Also mentioned in Just The Right Bullets (1993): "It takes much more than wild courage, Or you'll hit the tattered clouds."

But He's Not Wilhelm (2004)

I am growing old

who she loves is not the answer.

Don't try to change my mind

she will marry who I want her to.

Can't you see she's not a child

she's a woman after all.

You cannot change what's in her heart

when she loves Wilhelm.

I will protect you, my love

with a sword of ice brook temper.

I will bring you the moon

and I always will be true.

I would go anywhere with you

but my father won't approve.

For you see, you're not a huntsman

my dear Wilhelm.

There is more to life

than to fill your heart with dreams.

You don't build your house

from the willow by the stream.

But what is life without the willow

she must listen to her heart.

When her head is on her pillow

she loves Wilhelm.

Open up your heart

please remember we were young once

and we felt like they do.

Have you forgotten all you know.

I have chosen someone for her

and I know his aim is true

and she will grow to love him.

But he's not Wilhelm!

Written by: Tom Waits

Original Musical Arrangement by Greg Cohen and Tom Waits

Lyrics as published in "The Black Rider" program book. Barbican Theatre. London/ UK, 2004

No official release.

Further reading: The Black Rider Full Story

Known covers:

None

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Sung by K�tchen, Wilhelm, Bertram and his wife Anne.

Chase The Clouds Away (2004)

Chase The Clouds Away

(Black Rider theatre version, 1990)

The blood upon the bridal wreath

The bridal wreath, the bridal wreath

The devil shows his shiny teeth

His shiny teeth, his shiny teeth

Oh, shiny teeth

Now take a seat there by the door

He'll leave you on the killing floor

He's gone and set the clouds on fire

They're burning there forever more

The wind has blown the clouds away

The clouds away, the clouds away

It soon will be our wedding day

Our wedding day, our wedding day

The sun will shine

The sun will shine, the birds will sing

I'll give my love a wedding ring

The briar and the rose shall be

Entwined, my love, forever more

Oh, knock on the hickory of a peg-leg man

A peg-leg man, a peg-leg man

I'll wait beneath a blood-red moon

A blood-red moon, a blood-red moon

'Neath a blood-red moon

I'd rather die than part from you

I have a lovely wish for you

I'll wait here by the shady bush

You'll be mine forever more

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music Inc., � 1990

Unofficial release: The Black Rider, Alka-Seltzer Medien GmbH: 0-51111-12042-2, 1990-1992. March, 1990⁽¹⁾

Further reading: The Black Rider Full Story

Chase The Clouds Away

(Black Rider theatre version, 2004)

Mit Blut f�rbt sich der Jungfernkranz

der Jungfernkranz

der Jungfernkranz

Der Teufel spielt euch auf zum Tanz

spielt auf zum Tanz

spielt auf zum Tanz

So nehmt nur Platz im weiten Rund

Er tanzt mit euch zum Totengrund

In Brand steckt er die Wolken dort

Und l�sst sie lodern immerfort

The wind has blown the clouds away

the clouds away

the clouds away

It soon will be my wedding day

my wedding day

my wedding day

The sun will shine, the birds will sing

I'll give my love a wedding-ring

The briar and the rose shall be

Entwined, my love, forever more

The wind has blown the clouds away

the clouds away

the clouds away

It soon will be our wedding day

our wedding day

our wedding day

The sun will shine, the birds will sing

I'll give my love a wedding-ring

The briar and the rose shall be

Entwined, my love, forever more

The wind has blown the clouds away

the clouds away

the clouds away

It soon will be your wedding day

your wedding day

your wedding day

The sun will shine, the birds will sing

I'll/ you'll give my/ your love a wedding-ring

The briar and the rose shall be

Entwined, my love, forever more

Oh knock on the hickory of a Pegleg man

a Pegleg man

a Pegleg man

I'll wait beneath a blood-red moon

a blood-red moon

a blood-red moon

I'd rather die than part from you

I have a lovely wish for you

I'll wait here by the shady bush

And you'll be mine forever more

Written by: Tom Waits

Published by: Jalma Music Inc., � 1990

Lyrics as published in "The Black Rider" program book. Barbican Theatre. London/ UK, 2004⁽¹⁾

No official release.

Further reading: The Black Rider Full Story

Known covers:

None

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Duet sung by K�tchen and Wilhelm

In The Morning (2004)

In The Morning

He'll wear your heart and you will wear his ring

and you'll go rolling down a mustard hill

Play a lullaby on a fishbone harp

ride away on the gray mare's tail

In the morning

In the morning

In the morning when I/you rise

In the morning

In the morning

In the morning I/you will be my/your true love's bride

Weave a rosemary wreath in your auburn hair

and you'll be the envy of all the girls

He'll wear your heart - and you will wear his ring

and you'll go rolling down a mustard hill

Play a lullaby on a fishbone harp

ride away on the gray mare's tail

In the morning

In the morning

In the morning when I/you rise

In the morning

In the morning

In the morning I/you will be my/your true love's bride

Oh the blood of the lamb⁽²⁾ is in the well

and it runs from the crack along the wedding bell

Perhaps a wind has blown the barrel from its mark

I heard the bird but could not hit it in the dark

I have bought and sold my only love

and my rifle, it has let me down

In the morning

In the morning

In the morning when I/you rise

In the morning

In the morning

In the morning will I/she ever be his/my bride?

Known covers:

None

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ Duet sung by Bridesmaid, K�tchen and Wilhelm (and entire cast)

⁽²⁾ The blood of the lamb

- Also mentioned in "Down There By The Train" ("American Recordings", Johnny Cash, 1994/ Orphans, 2006): "There's a place I know, where the train goes slow Where the sinners can be washed in the blood of the lamb."

- "Through Moses, God told the Israelites to prepare a special meal to be eaten in haste the evening before their escape from Egypt, with a whole roasted lamb as the main dish. The blood from the lamb was to be used to mark the Israelites' houses. That night, God would send the angel of Death to kill the firstborn males of the Egyptians, but God would see the blood on the Israelites' houses, and he would command his angel to "pass over" - to kill no one there. God told Moses that the Israelites were to repeat the meal each spring on the anniversary of their departure from Egypt. The Jews keep the festival of Passover to this day." (Source: The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002)

- "And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." (Source: The Holy Bible: King James Version. 2000. The Revelation of St. John the Divine, 7)

News From The Duke (2004)

News From The Duke

I have news from the Duke

On the feast of St. George

all his guests wish to gorge on fresh meat

This rasher of wind

and the beast he has skinned

he must still try to win for the Duke

To hit is the key

a wooden bird from a tree

it is then we will know if you're true

A score of wild boar

and a partridge or four

fifteen pheasants, a goose and a hare

Ten cornish game hens

and plenty of venison

peacocks and lamb

In the morning

in the morning

in the morning when I rise

When you hear sweet syncopation⁽¹⁾

And the music softly moans

T'aint no sin to take off your skin

T'aint no sin to take off your skin

and dance around in your bones

Just like those bamboo babies

down in the South Sea tropic zone

T'aint no sin to take off your skin

and dance around in your bones

Known covers:

None

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ When you hear sweet syncopation: Verse from: T'aint No Sin: Words by Edgar Leslie. Music by Walter Donaldson. Published by: Edgar Leslie, Lawrence Wright Music Co. Ltd/ EMI Music Publishing Ltd., � 1992^. Official release: The Black Rider, Island Records Inc., 1993.

Crossroads

Flash Pan Hunter

Flash Pan Hunter

Gospel Train ​​​​​​​

I'll Shoot The Moon

Just The Right Bullets

Lucky Day Overture

Lucky Day

November

Russian Dance

'T Ain't No Sin

That's The Way

The Black Rider

The Briar And The Rose

The Briar And The Rose

The Last Rose Of Summer

But He's Not Wilhelm (2004)

Chase The Clouds Away (2004)

Chase The Clouds Away

Chase The Clouds Away

In The Morning (2004)

In The Morning

News From The Duke (2004)

News From The Duke

Gospel Train