Some of the greatest poetry of the last 60 years has been written as song lyrics and Tuesday is the day I focus on those lyrics and the artists who write them.

Tom Waits is a polarizing artist. Unless you’ve never heard his recordings, you either love or hate him. I fall on the “love him” side and believe he is a songwriting genius. If you are unfamiliar with his work, you have to know that his vocal style after his first few albums evolved into an extremely raspy, smoker’s growl. For some, that is the wall over which they can not climb. Personally, I find his songs to be even more evocative after this sonic change occurred. The grit of his characters as they struggle through sadness, desperation, and loss is about as moving as song lyrics can be. Waits’ other major evolution occurred in the 1980s with the incorporation of more rhythmic variation and NY downtown jazz inspired instrumentation, and for many this is the period that produced his most memorable work. I can’t say I disagree, but if I’m focusing on the lyrics then it doesn’t matter which period one prefers. Throughout all of his career, his lyrics are masterful.

I have selected his songs “Shiver Me Timbers” (1974), “Tom Traubert’s Blues (Four Sheets To The Wind In Copenhagen)” (1976), “Time” (1985), and “Way Down In The Hole” (1987) to best showcase his lyrics.

Shiver Me Timbers

I’m leavin’ my family
And leavin’ all my friends
My body’s at home
But my heart’s in the wind
Where the clouds are like headlines
On a new front page sky
My tears are salt water
And the moon’s full and high

I know Martin Eden’s
Gonna be proud of me
And many before me
Who’ve been called by the sea
To be up in the crow’s nest
Singin’ my say
Shiver me timbers
‘Cause I’m a-sailin’ away

And the fog’s liftin’
And the sand’s shiftin’
And I’m driftin’ on out
Ol’ Captain Ahab
He ain’t got nothin’ on me now
So swallow me, don’t follow me
I’m travelin’ alone
Blue water’s my daughter
And I’m gonna skip like a stone

So please call my missus
Gotta tell her not to cry
‘Cause my goodbye is written
By the moon in the sky
And nobody knows me
I can’t fathom my stayin’
Shiver me timbers
‘Cause I’m a-sailin’ away

And the fog’s liftin’
And the sand’s shiftin’
And I’m driftin’ on out
Ol’ Captain Ahab
He ain’t got nothin’ on me
So come on and swallow me, don’t follow me
I’m travelin’ alone
Blue water’s my daughter
I’m gonna skip like a stone

And I’m leavin’ my family
Leavin’ all my friends
My body’s at home
But my heart’s in the wind
Where the clouds are like headlines
Upon a new front page sky
Shiver me timbers
‘Cause I’m a-sailin’ away

Tom Traubert’s Blues (Four Sheets To The Wind In Copenhagen)

Wasted and wounded, it ain’t what the moon did
I’ve got what I paid for now
See ya tomorrow, hey Frank, can I borrow
A couple of bucks from you?
To go Waltzing Mathilda, Waltzing Mathilda
You’ll go Waltzing Mathilda with me

I’m an innocent victim of a blinded alley
And I’m tired of all these soldiers here
No one speaks English, and every thing’s broken
And my Stacys are soaking wet
To go Waltzing Mathilda, Waltzing Mathilda
You’ll go Waltzing Mathilda with me

Now the dogs are barking and the taxi cab’s parking
A lot they can do for me
I begged you to stab me, you tore my shirt open
And I’m down on my knees tonight
Old bush mill’s I staggered, you buried the dagger in
Your silhouette window light
To go Waltzing Mathilda, Waltzing Mathilda
You’ll go Waltzing Mathilda with me

Now I lost my Saint Christopher now that I’ve kissed her
And the one-armed bandit knows
And maverick Chinamen in the cold-blooded signs
And the girls down by the strip-tease shows go
Waltzing Mathilda, Waltzing Mathilda
You’ll go Waltzing Mathilda with me

No, I don’t want your sympathy, the fugitives say
That the streets aren’t for dreaming now
Manslaughter dragnets and the ghosts that sell memories
They want a piece of the action anyhow go
Waltzing Mathilda, Waltzing Mathilda
You’ll go Waltzing Mathilda with me

And you can ask any sailor, and the keys from the jailer
And the old men in wheelchairs know
That Mathilda’s the defendant, she killed about a hundred
And she follows wherever you may go
Waltzing Mathilda, Waltzing Mathilda
You’ll go Waltzing Mathilda with me

And it’s a battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace
And a wound that will never heal
No Prima Donna, the perfume is on
An old shirt that is stained with blood and whiskey
And goodnight to the street sweepers
The night watchman flame keepers and goodnight to Mathilda too

Time

The smart money’s on Harlow
The moon is in the street
And the shadow boys are breaking all the laws
And you’re east of East St. Louis
And the wind is making speeches
And the rain sounds like a round of applause
Napoleon is weeping in the Carnival saloon
His invisible fiance is in the mirror
And the band is going home
It’s raining hammers
It’s raining nails
It’s true there’s nothing left for him down here

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 they all pretend they’re orphans
And their memory’s like a train
You can see it getting 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 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
She pulls a razor from her boot
And a thousand pigeons fall around her feet
So put a candle in the window 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 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

Way Down In The Hole

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 gotta 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

• Lyrical Tuesday