Toads, today we are spending some time with legendary singer/songwriter Tom Waits. This song is called "All The World is Green," from his record Blood Money (2002). He performed the song on Late Night With David Letterman. The video is long because Letterman's interview with him is included after the song. It's worth watching as Tom Waits is smart and entertaining, but the song is first, and it's about 3.5 minutes long.
The lyrics to "All The World Is Green" can be found here. You can listen to the studio version, reading along, if you like.
For all my love of words and music, I feel ill-equipped to describe Tom Waits for those who may be unfamiliar. One viewer commented on this performance over at YouTube: "His voice has mansions, mountains, caves, and caverns inside it." That's about right. And he is a brilliant songwriter and musician. You might also like to check out his latest CD, Bad As Me.
Here is some wit and wisdom from Tom Waits that I know all Toads will appreciate (and more can be found at his website, here):
"I love Burroughs. He's like a metal desk. He's like a still, and everything that comes out of him is already whiskey."
"My father was an exhaust manifold and my mother was a tree."
"It's interesting to write on instruments you don't understand."
"Writing songs is like capturing birds without killing them. Sometimes you end up with nothing but a mouthful of feathers."
"Poetry is a very dangerous word."
25 comments:
I love this song. I love that man. I'll have to conjure up something for you tomorrow.
Waits is one of our great road poets -- celebrating the lost soul, the great distance that can form between I and Thou in a terrain so rocky with falling motions. Great stuff. I've linked to another "green" song, a poem about a collaboration between Miles Davis and Bill Evans that shores a similar great distance in the heart. Great challenge! Brendan
yay! tom waits fans! i haven't written anything yet, either, but oh i will.
Such beautiful, beautiful words: this is poetry.
Tom Waits is one of my all-time favorites. Soulful, appropriately intense, gritty, graced. What will come of this?
Thanks for the song and the prompt.
yay! yay!
i can't wait to see what people create. don't be shy, friends! write something!
I will definitely write something for this.
At my Coal Black blog, I posted one of his songs a while back. because this is not my entry for this, I'll put the link here, if you wanna listen:
http://coalblack.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/musical-interlude-tom-waits/
okay, i am working on another piece inspired by this song, but in the meantime, this little rondelet presented itself. :)
okay, mine is up.
gawd i love being off work...time to play wif words.
lovely and inspiring words of poetry...love it!
appreciate your visit!
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I don't like using words uinique, interesting, meaningful, artistic or even special to descrine Tom Waits.
The first time I ever listened to him, I was 17 years old. I thought I was hearing someone dying, beautifully, on vinyl.
Now, since I've matured with Tom, I know he's just art, done spectacularly over and over.
He's incredible.
yes, lance, YES! now you gotta write something and link it. it's okay if it is not a poem, we are all hip over here and we can handle it. :)
Great song to draw inspiration from! Mine ended up as a sort of response to it, my first time writing Rime Couee too. Thanks for the great prompt Marion!
Not every poet can make music work this way--never seems to sacrifice anything from either medium. My style is about as far away from his as can be, but hopefully the spirit,not so much--mine's up.
I wrote something. I'm terrible at poetry. I'm more of a fiction writer. I typed something semi-fictional.Hope that's ok. I think the world of Tom Waits.
of course, Lance! how wonderful, all the different writing this artist has inspired. there are several i'd like to hear performed :)
Great prompt, Marian! I hope you don't have trouble commenting... please let me know if you do.
The relation between the prompt and the piece is probably unclear. Just take my word for it that one exists.
Fantasy! Parody! Reverie! Whoo-eee!
Rare, my Marian, that I squash my narratives down into poems. But for you, I try.
The spirit (& spirits) of Tom Waits has and always will be
wild, clever, brave, exploratory,
lush & resonant,
and quicksilver to the
heart & brain/
thanx for yr clip & spotlight
i like that little poem, namelessneed.
how much fun the tom waits fans are! yay!
next time, i promise you a woman artist :)
there's no way i could pass this by. tom waits... this is now the fourth piece of writing that's been either directly or indirectly related to that man.
sorry.. that was the fourth piece of writing of *mine* ... i'm sure there are four trillion pieces inspired by him out there in the world. looking forward to reading these!
Its been a while since I've churned out some poetry, but for you, Marian, I'll give it ago.
Well, later after the kids are in bed and I've had my once upon a time fix.
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