I think i've been in love with the music of Tom Waits since I was a teenager. A friend of mine gave me the CD of Bone Machine when I was about 18 years old and I haven't stopped listening to the album since.
This morning, while driving to work, I decided to listen to it again. Dirt In The Ground played and I thought to make that my Song of the Day but when Who Are You? started playing, I was moved beyond what I had expected and listened intently and unlike the way I have before.
I'm currently reading Steven Tyler's Does The Noise In My Head Bother You and he writes about how each person should interpret music and songs their own way. So I won't discuss how I view the song or what it's about but allow me to point out some lyrics that I think are simply brilliantly written.
They're lining up
To mad dog your tilta whirl
3 shots for a dollar
Win a real live doll
What an intro!
Not many songs start with such strong lyrics but this surely is one of them! Another song that has got an incredible first line is Steely Dan's Midnight Cruiser that opens with:
Felonius my old friend
Step on in and let me shake your hand
I also love it when Who Are You? changes chords.
It's a very simple transition and probably one of the more common chord changes, but it fits the song so appropriately and the melody rises with the change intensifying the words, and the pain!
Tom Waits goes on to sing:
Do you cry. Do you pray
Do you wish them away
Do you still leave nothing
But bones in the way
Did you bury the carnival Lions and all
Excuse me while I sharpen my nails
And just who are you this time?
This is simply genius! The melody changes, the chords change, and the words hit you right in the fucking guts! And then, it all settles down, as if stating that it's all too late now and there's nothing you can do to better your situation.
Man, now that's a fucking song! It's hard enough to write a good song, but to write a painful song that other people feel, that's real talent!
Here's the lyrics in full:
"Who Are You?"
They're lining up
To mad dog your tilta whirl
3 shots for a dollar
Win a real live doll
All the lies that you tell
I believed them so well. Take them back
Take them back to your red house
For that fearful leap into the dark
I did my time
In the jail of your arms
Now Ophelia wants to know
Where she should turn
Tell me...what did you do
What did you do the last time?
Why don't you do that
Go on ahead and take this the wrong way
Time's not your friend
Do you cry. Do you pray
Do you wish them away
Do you still leave nothing
But bones in the way
Did you bury the carnival
Lions and all
Excuse me while I sharpen my nails
And just who are you this time?
You look rather tired
(Who drinks from your shoe)
Are you pretending to love
Well I hear that it pays well
How do your pistol and your Bible and your
Sleeping pills go?
Are you still jumping out of windows in expensive clothes?
Well I fell in love
With your sailor's mouth and your wounded eyes
You better get down on the floor
Don't you know this is war
Tell me who are you this time?
Tell me who are you this time?
If you click this link, you'll see that this wasn't my first Song of the Day from Bone Machine.
What are some sad songs that move you? I would love to listen and discover more music like this.
