How Tom Waits writes songs 

I think one of the most revealing things that Tom said about writing lyrics is that after years of *working* and agonizing over writing, he noticed that when children are playing and making up songs, they will just sing the first thing that comes out, whether it rhymes or not, whether it makes sense to a linear "narrative" or not; no editing, no analyzing, not only not over-thinking, but not thinking about it at all. You can really hear that in his lyrics when he transitions to his more experimental period starting with Swordfish "Trombones". You can even see it right in the album title. His song "A Little Rain" is a good example. The first stanza rhymes, A, A, B, B; and then you don't see another rhyme for the rest of the song. Although he does say "Oh, the world is round, so I'll go around" as one later line, which is wonderfully lazy and "naive", and in the last stanza he makes a stretch at "rhyming" vagabond and mom. Also the narrative meanders from passing mention of a German dwarf and a butchers son dancing in a bar, a guitarist with missing fingers, the narrator sleeping with a shovel and gloves, but ends up lamenting about a young runaway, who likely did not survive.

Your best one yet imho. Josephine is a keeper!

Cool video. Your first song does have a "Tom Waits-ie vibe". But it also reminds me of Nick Cave

G O L D I’m surprised how much of my own techniques mirror Tom Waits’ because I write nothing like him; play nothing like him; sound nothing like him and yet the fragments and the butterfly net and all that really resonate with me😜

Glad you shouted out “Real Gone”- one of my absolute favorites of his, and (I think) his most criminally underrated.

Tom waits for no one!.. You really nailed this songwriting exercise! Well done and most inspiring! 👏thank you

Tom's one of my favorites, and this video was great!

Great video! Demonstrating practicing the method was very inspiring. Thnx!

I could see Tom Waits writing a song like this. Well done!

i love tom waits so much and i got to the end and got the best surprise heheh

I really like your analysis! I can definitely hear more of the singing through a megaphone sound, or maybe just some more percussive buisness going on in the first one. I was making up my own background vocal choir parts (and strings too) while listening to the second one. Very good, both of them!

An excellent piece of work...Thank you!

Luv it!! Absolutely Brilliant!

Man I love these videos and was hoping you’d do Tom waits.

Thank you for the deep dive. Great analysis and very convincing results. Well done.

Found your RU-vid content via TikTok - very glad I did! Love the concept and great analysis!

This was an excellent experience and I especially enjoyed being present to how you personally chose to approach the task. It was like the insight Waits shared and the choices you made even allowed me to imagine how my own experience might play. Right on! ♥️💙💜

Love that song

Wow this is wonderful. You really dove deep and captured Waits’ essence with your writing. Would love to see you tackle Springsteen or Stevie Wonder next

That first one sounds more like Nick Cave than Tom Waits for my money. Either way, love the series man, so much great information and inspiration

May I suggest you check out Closer You Are: The story of Robert Pollard. He is the voice of the seminal band Guided By Voices. He is the most prolific song writer in rock n roll today. Well over 2000 songs to his name.

Thank you! I hope you'll do even more of these "singular" lyricists, you know, people who do things their own way. If you ever do a RU-vid questionnaire / or whatever that thing is called I bet we'll have some interesting suggestions 😬

Loved Josephine especially. Any pointers on how to get Waitsian (is that a term!?) chord progressions down? What kinda keys does he ride often ride in? Any scales in particular I should have down?

Those are two pretty solid songs.

Please do one video about Leo Cohen and Bob Dylan!

Just like Tom you wrote the songs using 8 bar phrasing, I’ve never heard him use anything else.

Nice job. Here's something I noticed once: Tom sings "There's a hole in the ladder and a fence you can climb. You're mad as a hatter, and thin as a dime." Now consider this: Normally there's a hole in a fence, and a ladder you climb. This could be a switcharoo.

Sometimes I come here just to listen to Josephine. Dig the lyrics.

Wow. 1st song was good. Josephine was excellent. Wow

Bruh please do Jason Molina, Damien Jurado, and Jason Lytle!

Stipe too pls ❤️

I read in a book cohen got to him first, then geffen signed him.

While those early jazzbo albums are dear to my heart. Nostalgia etc, I'm so glad that he moved away from it. (he is too. Said it was a "shtick" not his authentic voice)

Kathleen Brennan.

Nice excercise du style. Also, stop trying to kill Tom Waits. I need him for a few more years at least.

you kind of sound like nick cave!

I think you don't get Tom Waits.

When gods come to town. Just in time for Halloween....spooky goodness! A nother site that may interest you is the podcast. "The Working Songwriter".

AI couldn't write a better Tom Waits Impersonation song. Love It!