My first big gig was an opening show for Frank Zappa, and I think that was difficult. Tom Waits More Quotes by Tom Waits More Quotes From Tom Waits I'm the type of guy who'd sell you a rat's asshole for a wedding ring. Tom Waits wedding-ring guy rats 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 confused happiness knowledge I always had a great appreciation for jazz, but I'm a very pedestrian musician. I get by. I like to think that my main instrument is vocabulary. Tom Waits vocabulary appreciation thinking I don't think that you should be perfectly candid and frank about the intimate details of your personal life with the public at large. Subsequently, it creates considerable personal problems. Tom Waits intimate problem thinking Time is just memory Mixed in with Desire. Tom Waits desire memories Children make up the best songs, anyway. Better than grown-ups. Kids are always working on songs and throwing them away, like little origami things or paper airplanes. They don't care if they lose it; they'll just make another one. Tom Waits song kids children Never have your wallet with you onstage. It's bad luck. You shouldn't play the piano with money in your pocket. Play like you need the money. Tom Waits piano waiting play I'm always looking for sounds that are pleasing at the time. The sound of a helicopter is really annoying until you're drowning, and it's there to rescue you. Then it sounds like music. Tom Waits annoying sound art If people are a little nervous about approaching you at the market, it's good. I'm not Chuckles The Clown. Or Bozo. I don't cut the ribbon at the opening of markets. I don't stand next to the mayor. Hit your baseball into my yard, and you'll never see it again. Tom Waits cutting baseball people I'll tell you all my secrets but I lie about my past. Tom Waits secret lying past I’ve always been a word guy, I like weird words and I like American slang and all that and words that are no longer being used… I like to drag them out of the box and wave them around… this is an interesting one, it’s amazing how in addition to punctuation just a little pause in the wrong place can just completely transform the meaning of something. Tom Waits guy littles interesting slept all night in the cedar grove, i was born to ramble, born to rove, some men are searchin' for the holy grail, but there ain't nothin' sweeter than ridin' the rails Tom Waits holy-grail men night 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. Tom Waits saint dream memories Writing songs is like capturing birds without killing them. Sometimes you end up with nothing but a mouthful of feathers. Tom Waits writing song bird I saw a crow building a nest, I was watching him very carefully, I was kind of stalking him and he was aware of it. And you know what they do when they become aware of someone stalking them when they build a nest, which is a very vulnerable place to be? They build a decoy nest. It's just for you. Tom Waits crow nests saws I made a wish on a sliver of moonlight Tom Waits moonlight stars wish I guess I've always lived upside down when I want things I can't have. My wife actually thinks I have a syndrome called Reality Distortion Field. It's kind of like drugs, only you can't come back from it. Reality Distortion is almost a permanent condition. Things come in and they go out: Presto, chango! To a certain extent, I did that with myself. As a kid, I did want to be an old-timer, since they were the ones with the big stories and the cool clothes. I wanted to go there. Now, I guess I want to bring that with me and go back in time. Tom Waits kids reality thinking I admit that I ain't no angel, I admit that I ain't no saint - I'm selfish and I'm cruel and I'm blind. If I exorcise my devils, well my angels may leave too. When they leave they're so hard to find. Tom Waits devil selfish angel I'll take a rusty nail and scratch your initials on my arm. Tom Waits nails scratches arms It's rather mystifying when you think about writing songs - where they come from, and how they're born. Tom Waits writing song thinking
