Tom Waits

The Man, Myth, and Legend

One of the biggest influences in my life has been Tom Waits. He is a musician, actor,
poet, and, in my opinion, philosopher who is known for his unique musical styling and quirky
attitude. From his first release, his style was very jazz and folk influenced, and then continuing
on to blues and later, in the 1980s, experimental. Though he is primarily a musician, he is
always giving his input on themes like politics, religion, and war through his music and other
means.
Tom was born in California in December of 1949. During his younger years, he was in
the U.S. Coast Guard for a short time before perusing his music career ("Coast Guard History."
USCG: Frequently Asked Questions. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.). This military service may
very well be one of the driving factors for his antiwar rhetoric. Before doing this assignment, I
was unaware that he once wore a uniform. His music was more conventional until he met his
wife, Kathleen Brennan, who introduced Waits to Captain Beefheart (Waits, Tom, and Paul
Maher. Tom Waits on Tom Waits: Interviews and Encounters. Chicago: Chicago Review, 2011.
Print.). From this point on, his music turned from his Howlin Wolf inspired blues work to a
much darker place. He experimented with spoken word in a Langston Hughes fashion with
much darker settings.
Tom seems to enjoy much simpler aspects of life. When asked what his idea of heaven
would be, he answered Me and my wife on Rte. 66 with a pot of coffee, a cheap guitar,
pawnshop tape recorder in a Motel 6, and a car that runs good parked right by the door. When
asked what is wrong with the world, he answered We are buried beneath the weight of
information, which is being confused with knowledge; quantity is being confused with
abundance and wealth with happiness. ("Tom Waits True Confessions." Tom Waits. N.p., n.d.
Web. 14 Dec. 2015.) Considering that Tom is from America and lived here most of his life, I can
assume that he was primarily speaking of the American way of life. It was not until class
discussions of the good life and simplicity that I was truly able to understand what he was
referring to as I have been guilty of buying into materialism.
During the beginning of his career, his music had a main focus on typical themes of love,
longing, and, of course, drugs and alcohol. During his musical transition, his lyrics were more
driven by darker themes and varying stories he would create. More recently, he has included
songs to protest the Iraq War. On his album Real Gone, he wrote a song entitled Day After
Tomorrow which was written from the perspective of an American soldier. The song includes
only vocals and acoustic guitar and is the last song on the album. In the song, the soldier feels
that he is not fighting for justice or peace. In my opinion, the most powerful verse of the song is
You can't deny, the other side, Don't want to die anymore then we do, What I'm trying to say
is don't they pray, To the same god that we do? And tell me how does god choose, Whose
prayers does he refuse? Who turns the wheel, Who throws the dice, On the day after
tomorrow. ("Day After Tomorrow." Tom Waits. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.)

On his following album, Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards, his song Road to
Peace is focused on the Israel-Palestine conflict. He raises questions throughout the song of
issues that pertain to the areas civilian casualties as well as U.S. aide to Israel. Towards the end
of the song, he brings up the idea of God and his hand in the conflict which is none. It is
unknown if Waits has a belief in God but whether he does or doesnt, he certainly doesnt
believe that God has any force in the conflict. ("Road to Peace." Tom Waits. N.p., n.d. Web. 14
Dec. 2015.)
During this assignment, I learned many new things about my favorite musician. I was
able to look at his career in a much different light. While the majority of his antiwar songs were
written more recently, knowing the context of each one places a giant role in understanding
each one. After I purchased Bad As Me in 2011, I heard Hell Broke Luce which was quite
apparent that it was about war. Digging a bit deeper in the song, however, I was able to find out
that it was about an Iraq War veteran named Jeffery Luce who ended his life. At the beginning
of the assignment, I thought that I had my mind made up about who Tom Waits is but this
assignment allowed me to dig a bit deeper into his life and see what gave him that influence
that lead to his musical break through that he is known for today.