Harri I think it takes guts for a reactor to react to Tom Waits, it is e en braver to react to this song. Thank you for taking on this song, this is your very best reaction.
Hey Harri! Thanks so much for the thoughtful reaction. Next to Hell Broke Luce and Hoist That Rag, Tom isn't very political in his music but when he gets angry, especially around the ideas of violence, hippocracy and inhumanity, he goes off as only an artist can. The artists define who we are as a people and civilization. The only way to move ahead is to confront the past, wrestle with it, and change our thoughts about it. Seneca, the Roman philosopher wrote "Those who learn how to die, unlearn slavery" Tom has died many times.
Thank you Adam for a great song choice and excellent comment Was married to a Jewish guy from Israel and have had the conflict close at hand for years 😪
Great song. I've been a big fan of Tom Waits ever since I saw him on an episode of Martin Mull's "Fernwood 2 Night" in the seventies. Somehow I've never heard this one, so I'm really glad you reacted to it. Very thoughtful reaction too.
The world then and the world now; the more things change the more it stays the same. So sad today in the news. Indeed Tom captured the horrors of hate and now we're seeing today, even in Ukraine, Yemen, Sudan ... innocents are caught in the cross-fire.
This also reminds me of the brilliant Bill Hicks stand up material talking in about 1992 of the "first" Persian Gulf War and our government's involvement "Well how do you know they got the weapons from us?" "Well...we looked at the receipts." Listening it for the first time 10+ years later it's amazing how it still fits exactly the same.
When will it ever end?!!! Thanks so much for this reaction. The leaders of Israel and the Hamas need to listen to it very carefully and do their damnedest to make real peace .
Yeah, as has been said in posts before, ALL of these are real incidents. Of course each of them are terrible, but as a fan of great lyricists (Tom is 1 - Costello is 2 - Check out his Tramp the Dirt Down about his feelings on Margaret Thatcher) I'm frankly amazed how he even got the right names to fit musically into this brilliant song.
Is a history lesson put to music; Elvis Presley's "In the Ghetto " is too. Then again Bards are good for that. I recommend Ren's "Money game " trilogy.
I've been a subscriber of yours for years and as a HUGE Tom Waits fan I'm annoyed it's taken me a month to find your reaction to this song. Tom NEVER did any political songs until this one - hitting of course very hard on W obviously. However the some of the many lines that haunt me from this are - HE STUDIED SO HARD AS IF HE AHD A FUTURE. In the video that they found at the home of Abdel Mahdi Shahmay He held a Kalashnikov rifle and he spoke with a voice like a boy He was an excellent student, He studied so hard, it was as if he had a future He told his mother that he had a test that day Out along the road to peace
The greatest anti-war song was written by John Denver, called ' let us begin.' John himself considered it " the best piece of work in his career." It's on you tube with an introduction by John himself. It would take a hard heart indeed not be deeply moved by it, and it's now more relevant today than ever.
You paused it (and of course eventually got back to it), but he attacks and shames both sides as instigators to the problem - there are no innocents nations in war.
I'm a huge Tom Waits fan, but, imo, he missed on this one. He shouldn't weigh into Middle East politics like this. It shows his ignorance. I'm really disappointed with this! I guess even the greats come crashing down eventually!
