There used to be a comment on this video that said something like: You might think that this video is grainy, discolored, and low-quality because it was recorded on VHS off a 90's TV show and copied several times, but that's actually just what happens when you look directly at Tom Waits.
When my kids were young they went to see "Shreik 2" movie with friends. When the the piano player in the "Poison Apple" started singing the other kids were trying to figure out who was singing.My kids said "Oh, that's Tom Waits. My dad listens to him all the time. We know lots of his music" As a Dad, I was proud. I felt like I had done my job.
+E. A. Deasar Almost. Immaculate conception refers to Mary's conception and birth, entering the world without sin. So an Immaculate confection should be in her shape (or indeed, her mother's shape), not Jesus'.
Tom Waits... “My kids are starting to notice I'm a little different from the other dads. "Why don't you have a straight job like everyone else?" they asked me the other day. I told them this story: In the forest, there was a crooked tree and a straight tree. Every day, the straight tree would say to the crooked tree, "Look at me...I'm tall, and I'm straight, and I'm handsome. Look at you...you're all crooked and bent over. No one wants to look at you." And they grew up in that forest together. And then one day the loggers came, and they saw the crooked tree and the straight tree, and they said, "Just cut the straight trees and leave the rest." So the loggers turned all the straight trees into lumber and toothpicks and paper. And the crooked tree is still there, growing stronger and stranger every day.”
The is commonly credited to Tom Waits. He said it as a character in the movie Wristcutters that was written and directed by Goran Dukic. He said it, but didn't think of it.
True enough. Tom Waits always reminds me that there is a high fence somewhere in the creative universe, Almost all of us dwell on the safe and well manicured side, but a few inspired souls like Mr. Waits have the chutzpah to wander onto the other side where the weeds of imagination grow high and unruly and fetch a little wild flower of poetic joy to bring back and share with the rest of us.
I love how Tom Waits sings his songs. You don't even need to listen to the words, just his voice, and the slow slurry of notes that trickles from the instruments like a river of lyric gold. Or chocolate. It's not so much a message I get from him, but just a feeling. A hollow, longing sort of feeling. Jesus is the chocolate bar behind the counter, and you're one penny short.
Rarely do the comments match the music, or the sense you get from sitting back and letting the sound just wash over you. This however is about an eloquent and accurate description of anything I’ve heard. Well said…well said indeed.
Well church has their ritual of the collection plate and then they give you some wine or grape juice and a cracker and say that is the blood and body of Christ so buying a piece of chocolate instead doesn't seem obscure.
Well, I don't go to church on Sunday Don't get on my knees to pray Don't memorize the books of the bible I got my own special way I know Jesus loves me Maybe just a little bit more Fall down on my knees every Sunday At Zerelda Lee's candy store Well, I've got to be a chocolate Jesus Make me feel good inside Got to be a chocolate Jesus Keep me satisfied Well, I don't want no Abba Zabba Don't want no Almond Joy There ain't nothing better Suitable for this boy Well, it's the only thing that can pick me up It's better than a cup of gold See, only a chocolate Jesus Can satisfy my soul When the weather gets rough and it's whiskey in the shade It's best to wrap your savior up in cellophane He flows like the big muddy but that's okay Pour him over ice cream for a nice parfait Well, it's got to be a chocolate Jesus Good enough for me Got to be a chocolate Jesus It's good enough for me Well, it's got to be a chocolate Jesus Make me feel so good inside Got to be a chocolate Jesus Keep me satisfied
Not sure but I heard Heath Ledger used Tom Waits as an inspiration for his role as the joker. After seeing Tom Waits introduction before the song, I can definitely see it.
Don't go to church on Sunday Don't get on my knees to pray Don't memorize the books of the Bible I got my own special way But I know Jesus loves me Maybe just a little bit more I fall on my knees every Sunday At Zerelda Lee's candy store Well it's got to be a chocolate Jesus Make me feel good inside Got to be a chocolate Jesus Keep me satisfied Well I don't want no Abba Zaba Don't want no Almond Joy There ain't nothing better Suitable for this boy Well it's the only thing That can pick me up Better than a cup of gold See only a chocolate Jesus Can satisfy my soul [Solo] When the weather gets rough And it's whiskey in the shade It's best to wrap your savior Up in cellophane He flows like the big muddy But that's ok Pour him over ice cream For a nice parfait Well it's got to be a chocolate Jesus Good enough for me Got to be a chocolate Jesus Good enough for me Well it's got to be a chocolate Jesus Make me feel good inside Got to be a chocolate Jesus Keep me satisfied
He is a walking piece of art. I have goosebumps. Watching him perform makes me feel like I haven't done anything with my life, like I have so much more to see.
+Speedy Immaculate *conception* is the term for Jesus' conception, meaning he was created in Mary's womb without sex taking place, basically. So it's just a play on that term, with confection obviously referring to candy. :)
Tom Babcock. That's interesting. I grew up protestant, and I always assumed "immaculate conception" had to do with Jesus' birth. Just because it makes sense.
Such an eccentrically amazing performer! I CAN'T leave this planet without seeing him perform at least once... I never saw Bowie live and I'll be damned if I miss Tom Waits.
Perfect description, eccentric & amazing ... and a true performer too. You can see that he connects to his audience as if they are all sitting together around a camp fire.
I want to say how much I appreciate the sound quality. The mixing is amazing for a live recording. For me this is the best version of this song. I love all the instrumental parts, especially the banjo, and how Tom is singing though a bullhorn the entire time lol
it's literally the perfect mix, because mixing this in a studio wouldnt (and doesnt) do this song justice lol think a karaoke bar would let me do the bullhorn? "Sir, what's with the bullhorn?" "I'm singing Tom Waits tonight." "... carry on."
I think there is nothing average about Tom Waits. If he makes a raw and unfinished song, it is perfect. If he writes about a chocolate Jesus, it is like burning tar and yet still sweet. He changed my life in many ways, and opened my eyes to unknown kinds of beauty wherever I go.
Graxxor Anandro Vidhelssen : I use the idea of blasphemy as a rhetorical standpoint to challenge the prevailing orthodoxy not only in the fallaciousness of a belief in a higher power, but also to challenge the necessity of maintaining the ritual of the mystery that when we cannot know something that it must be the work of that alleged higher power. For such people, the uknowable frightens them, and it drives them further into the darkness, because there’s more comfort in ignorance than there is in self-discovery and reality.
Wow, I honestly was just listening to that and was thinking, "wow this sounds like Tom Waits" and now I'm here. Cool to see I'm not the only one, great music. Cheers!
Si los políticos estadounidenses escucharan a sus músicos seguramente tendríamos un mundo maravilloso!!! Q pena q el corazón de ellos solo escuchan el ruido de las monedas!! Gracias Tom Marcelo desde Argentina
I just discovered this video and started searching for some of his other vids and in my own humble opinion, I think he is a genius! His songs carry an eerie sound with deep meanings. Creative people tends to have their own footprints without them knowing.
This was the first version of the first Tom Waits song I heard, when he first opened his mouth, my face fell off. His voice sounds like cigar smoke, caked in mud, and soaked in scotch-truly one of the most unique, interesting, and genuine artists out there, even today. A fantastic example of how music should feel. Tom, you somehow managed to win music.
Early years of RU-vid. Just got a ADSL connection at home. It's summer, my parents are away, and I'm chilling, inviting friends over, drinking beer, and watching this very same video.
I’ve known Tom Waits since about 1976. Saw him in an unremembered theater in LA. Was impressed with his performance. This video just shows what I missed in not watching him grow. This performance is just amazing.
holy shit....i am coming back to all those tom waits video, kinda every year once...now, i realise.....14 years have passed...i am kinda getting old ...
17 currently. I'm completely amazed by his voice. Not a fan of his music, but completely astonished by his voice. Think I'm gonna come back to this in a few years and start to love it. I think thats a good plan.
Only one thing worse than living this long without Tom and that would be living any longer without Tom. May I suggest, start at the beginning, see how his music matures, his voice ages and his soft side becomes deliciously obvious. I am envious of you, I have heard everything he's done and I (in an odd way) wish I could listen to each and every one again for the first time.
It took me too long to get into Tom Waits. Now that my taste has developed, I have weekly Waits on Saturday Night and share it with my father to connect. Thanks Tom!
I found this gem during the pandemic; and have never gone back. I was doing a lot of Lucy and going down rabbit holes. But Tom waits was definitely one of the best.
Nemesis Potato yeah, I agree. Anyways, hobo is a word I've heard on Nickelodeon, a kind of cartoony cute expression for a homeless person. Waits has his schtick. And it can send shivers down the spine of a nun.
My goal as an artist is to paint as good , as excellent as Tom Waits can sing, write songs, perform, and …well make music. He is F R E A K I N' AWESOME-Sauce!! Super talented, so soulful, so intensely into what he's doing it consumes his every molecule, yet he still can dance away & take a funny satirical and humble look at what he is & smirk, smile, laugh. Then step back in and sing his heart out till he make you cry. I love this guy.
I once worked with a guy who told me about a previous job with someone who only listened to Tom Waits all day as if it were a bad thing. I would rather have worked with the other guy. Tom is a never ending carnival of getting your money's worth and more!
I remember him on a talk show in the 70's and they asked about his alcohol use, He said I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frotal lobotomy.
I believe the correct saying is, ‘I’d rather have a full bottle in front of me, than a full frontal lobotomy.’ An oldie but a goodie. But I also love Festers comment in the new Addams Family with Jena Ortega, ‘lobotomy’s are like tattoos, you can’t just get one !’
You sir have a misunderstanding of the term 'hallmark' it is a signature of an idea or work that lends authenticity to something, it is not the essence of something but a pointer.
Tom Waits is a treasure, and I love his iconic performance of Chocolate Jesus. He was also superlative as The Devil in The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassis. I could not imagine anyone performing that role better than he. Brilliant !
This is truth. The glitz of the catholic church met with the stylized rugged sound of tom waits... the megaphone only serves to augment and amplify his true nature. I believe he truly loved that woman.
