“I just do what I’ve been told, you’re just the gravel on the road” might be the best anti-war lyric ever written, thanks Phoebe Bridgers for pointing me to this masterpiece. This could have been written during Vietnam or now, it’s so poignant.
As the most uf usm someone showed you the way to Tom Waits. Now do what we all did: Listen to him, appreciate him, learn from him. Such a legend and a huge inspiration. Have fun with his music.
The first time I heard this song I was driving at night and after about 20 seconds I pulled into a garage and just stared at the radio while it played. I can’t really explain why but to this day I love this song and it’s always sort of transfixed me.
it's a "I'm not fighting for justice, I am not fighting for freedom- I am just fighting for my life, and another day in the world here" kind of day today
@@hugoantsProbably because she was 18 and needed healthcare and college. The same reason everyone else joins the military. Because there’s no good jobs anymore
I got your letter today And I miss you all so much, here I can't wait to see you all And I'm counting the days, here I still believe that there's gold At the end of the world And I'll come home to Illinois On the day after tomorrow And it's so hard and it's cold here And I'm tired of taking orders And I miss old Rockford town Up by the Wisconsin border What I'll miss, you won't believe Shoveling snow and raking leaves And my plane will touch down On the day after tomorrow I close my eyes every night And I dream that I can hold you They fill us full of lies, everyone buys About what it means to be a soldier I still don't know how I'm supposed to feel About all the blood that's been spilled Will God, on His throne, get me back home On the day after tomorrow? You can't deny the other side Don't want to die any more than we do What I'm trying to say is, don't they pray To the same God that we do? Tell me, how does God choose? Whose prayers does He refuse? Who turns the wheel? Who throws the dice On the day after tomorrow? I'm not fighting for justice I am not fighting for freedom I am fighting for my life And another day in the world here I just do what I've been told You're just the gravel on the road And only the lucky ones come home On the day after tomorrow And the summer, it too will fade And with it brings the winter's frost, dear And I know we, too, are made Of all the things that we have lost here I'll be twenty-one today I've been saving all my pay And my plane will touch down (ooh, ooh) On the day after tomorrow And my plane, it will touch down (ooh, ooh) On the day after tomorrow
It reminds me of the letter I have that my great grandfather wrote to his wife from the trenches, Bluecoat. He expressed his love and asked about the son he had not met. He was killed a week later. It makes me hope the singer made it home.
discovered this song through the cover by phoebe bridgers and I had to come and show my appreciation to the original because the lyrics are just so brilliant
A song told through the perspective of a 21 year old soldier sent to fight in Iraq/Afghanistan but universal and sums up so succinctly how ridiculous and tragic war is!
@@hugoants to help the Iraqi/Afghan people who were being overtaken by terrorists. Sadly they took over Afghanistan after almost 20 years and thousands of American and Afghan soldiers and Afghan citizens died. Sad so many died and they still got overtaken by the taliban
I live in LA and I literally live his saddest songs....I've been listening to blues...Leadbelly.. Dylan.....Beck but nothing touches straight to my heart and soul than Tom. I would love to have a glass of hard Bourbon with him.
when I pass through Washington dc I always go to the Viet nam memorial whereon are the names of guys I grew up in with..it is there I can see their faces. the only other time I see them is when I listen to Tom sing this song. Thanks. ok
This will sound crazy allen thomas. I am not even an especially emotional person, but when I went to the Viet Nam Memorial, I found tears streaming down my face. It was something about the hardness and finality of those names carved in stone and the impermanence of things that people had left at the base for their loved ones.
I spent 22 years in the army and have been retired for over a year. I spent all that time looking for something the good fight I guess. I came across this song from Nick Offerman’ a book Gumption. I’m glad I did
This one belongs to me personally. Thanks, Tom, for writing this one. You understand those of us who had to go away from home to serve our country. I don't care if anyone else understands the lyrics.
I had to find out who sang this. I was watching the movie "Sweet Girl" on Netflix. Jason Mamoa plays a father crippled by grief at the loss of his wife and the mother of his daughter. I just heard these words, "How does God choose? Who turns the wheel? Who throws the dice?.... " it grabbed me by the heart and I just had to find the song. I just asked Father Google, "How does God choose?" And he lead me right to this video. I lost my husband in 1989. My mother in 1996 and my Daddy in 2005. ... this song made me miss them all. It's just that kinda song. Tom Waits is the Master of the Blues. You should check out the movie... it's really good. Thanks for sharing. ❤
He has had a prodigious career and constantly creates compelling music from a unique artist that to me creates characters in his songs displaying a full range of emotions. When somebody says I hate Tom Waits I just sigh
"Day After Tomorrow" I got your letter today And I miss you all so much, here I can't wait to see you all And I'm counting the days, dear I still believe that there's gold At the end of the world And I'll come home To Illinois On the day after tomorrow It is so hard And it's cold here And I'm tired of taking orders And I miss old Rockford town Up by the Wisconsin border But I miss you won't believe Shoveling snow and raking leaves And my plane will touch tomorrow On the day after tomorrow I close my eyes Every night And I dream that I can hold you They fill us full of lies Everyone buys About what it means to be a soldier I still don't know how I'm supposed to feel About all the blood that's been spilled Look out on the street Get me back home On the day after tomorrow You can't deny The other side Don't want to die Any more than we do What I'm trying to say, Is don't they pray To the same God that we do? Tell me, how does God choose? Whose prayers does he refuse? Who turns the wheel? And who throws the dice On the day after tomorrow? Mmmmmmm... I'm not fighting For justice I am not fighting For freedom I am fighting For my life And another day In the world here I just do what I've been told You're just the gravel on the road And the one's that are lucky One's come home On the day after tomorrow And the summer It too will fade And with it comes the winter's frost, dear And I know we too are made Of all the things that we have lost here I'll be twenty-one today I've been saving all my pay And my plane will touch down On the day after tomorrow And my plane it will touch down On the day after tomorrow
Im crying for my bf’s children who lost their mother 3 weeks ago, children at the age of 15 and 18 years old…. Too young to lose their mom, too hurt to lose their mom…
It’s intended to be from the first person perspective of a soldier writing a letter back home - presumably in the Iraq War, given when the song was released. Tom Waits isn’t a veteran, but this song is intended to be anti-war - and god is it done beautifully.
TOMORROW A beat soulful old jester Who s songs cut deep So the people can see What it's all really like To be alive And how today to forget about tomorrow Lost faith Another Locked gate A twisted Fate For tomorrows sorrows But he hints at a way To stay above the water line Just Like the line in the sand I drew in my mind For my dream to come true for tomorrow But I now see I can be free Just one more tomorrow to get there I can still fight my way back into the light Of tomorrows second sight He showed me the way Forward No more pain or horrors on the road Just the hum of the news And forgotten old blues Perfect for tomorrow So throw the dice To collect on the lies That everyone buys For a perfect tomorrow
Is it new? Der Tag nach Gestern. Gestern, das klingt neu. Die blutleere Stille im Blatt/ raum mhm hmh so sanft uns so rau sollte man wieder mit h schreiben t.
The subject matter may not be open to interpretation, but the exact viewpoint of the narrator is always questionable. RU-vid commentors aren't Tom Waits and can't tell anyone what Tom Waits meant when he wrote the song.
Isn't the point of anti-war songs like this that soldiers who are sent off to kill and be killed in some faraway land DON'T serve their country? They obey their country's rulers, but they don't serve their country. Or humanity. And you even claim to have some relation to this song that's more special than anyone else's, and you imply that people who understand the lyrics differently from you don't understand them at all? That's pretty arrogant, man.
