If you’re familiar with Tom Waits you already know… but if not, the man is a wizard of words.
This song is about various shaky situations and the chorus contemplates how each story is going to end -- one where a man whose wife leaves him, another about a girl sinking like a hammer into a lake, and another about a killer, coming through the rye.
Nov 8, 2024
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Holding out all my fears and faults
Those that conquer me
Started the second pack
'Fore the first one's finishing
I like to bridge the gap between
A break and long-lost lovers
Only to get me, by until I decide
I've had enough
Most of the time, I can feel them on me
The eyes from the stranger's window
It's dark, and it's lonely, but it's nothin' to me
At least somebody's home
Decades are wasting on your name
You'll grasp the concept of life
When you give up the point of trying
If you don't do the things that you do
They'll just happen to you
Pulling out all my weight
And do my part and you'll say
Oh, I'm so glad you're here with us today
You probably thought you would be gone
And until there's another way
I just have to face that there's no real place
To go and I could really be alone
I'd promise you now that if I had known
I wouldn't be standing here
There's memories to be made
And water that's to wade
I used it all up, drying tears
Of course, I don't regret
The moments where I wept
And yearned for what I've got now
It's only time, it won't age like wine
But it's mine and I'll take the blow
Dec 15, 2024
I really admire how he kept trying new things, routinely switching up his stylistic approach to explore the same set of themes, always sticking to his guns.
Here are some of his lyrics that have been on my mind lately:
✥ From 'Pleasures of the Harbor'
For love was but a smile
Teasing all the while
Now dancing down the drain
✥ From 'The Party'
The wallflower is waiting, she hides behind composure
She'd love to dance and prays that no one asks her
Then she steals a glance at lovers while her fingers tease her hair
And she marvels at the confidence of those who hide their fears
Then her eyes are closed as she rides away with a foreign legionnaire
And my shoulders had to shrug
As I crawl beneath the rug
And re-tune my piano
✥ From 'When I'm Gone'
And I won't breathe the bracing air when I'm gone
And I can't even worry 'bout my cares when I'm gone
Won't be asked to do my share when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
✥ From 'There But For Fortune'
Show me a prison, show me a jail
Show me a prisoner whose face has gone pale
And I'll show you a young man with so many reasons why
And there but for fortune, may go you or I
Also 'Jim Dean of Indiana' is great example of how lyrics are animated by melody, phrasing and pacing. None of the lyrics of 'Jim Dean' particularly stand out when written down, but when heard the emotional build-up is so intense and heart-breaking. Every quiet blunt little line builds on the one that came before, culminating in the final gut-punch:
"That is where I placed a flower
For Jim Dean of Indiana"
It's the only time anything in the song is said in first person, let alone implies that the story has anything other than a distant omniscient point of view. It's just so sad!!
Anyways, give him a listen and lmk if you have any insight into the lyrical pit of despair that is 'When In Rome' lol
(Phil could get extremely pessimistic, would often write from the worst person in any scenario's perspective to really make you look at it straight in the face [eg: 'Outside Of A Small Circle Of Friends'*] and really loved writing about sailors. It can be a lot sometimes!)
_____________________________________
* "Maybe we should raise our voices, ask somebody why
But demonstrations are a drag, besides, we're much too high"
is another great line lol, get organized or get WRECKED
Jan 31, 2025
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it literally depends on what state my life & mental health would be at the time
**asleep by the smiths:
i’ve had enough. i’m fucking done. i’m depressed, everything that could possibly go wrong has gone wrong
i’m low energy, i‘m exhausted, i feel worthless. i feel betrayed by, not only some peers but, myself as well and probably even by God so i am accepting defeat
“sing me to sleep
im tired and i want to go to bed
don’t try to wake me in the morning cus i will be glad to go
don’t feel bad for me
i want you to know
deep in the cell of my heart i will feel so glad to go
there is another world
there is a better world”
😮💨 bars
**little wing by jimi hendricks:
i was in a good state of mind, content with life, grateful for whatever came my way
just in a good place overall with friends & family.
maybe i have a lover
maybe i don’t
either way im chillin
i left the world happy, hopeful, & at peace so im accepting the end
with that being said, i’ll either come back as a guardian angel or it’ll be my gaurdian angel speaking to me as i die/ transcend
“‘it’s alright’ she says ‘it’s alright’
take anything you want from me
fly on little wing”
😮💨 HEAT
May 17, 2024
Top Recs from @bilalbikile
One of my short stories from a collection I recently wrote just got accepted to a really cool journal at Illinois State University!
First time seeing that green “Accepted” label on Submittable :)
I’m ecstatic 😁😁 linked the story to this recc if anyone wants to read it before it comes out!!
3d ago
Been off this app lately cuz ive been busy opening an art gallery in my hometown (San Diego) called Deixis Gallery! Been such a wonderful experience so far. It’s so beautiful to see how community comes together to help with every step along the way. Friends came by and helped paint, do construction, a friend of mine built us some benches from scratch, and a bunch of amazing artists participated in the inaugural exhibition. So hyped, truly recommend. And shout out to allstnyc for the encouragement back when I first posted an ask about opening a gallery! 🤞🏿🤞🏿🤞🏿also if you find yourself in San Diego, make sure to stop by! @deixisgallery
Jan 6, 2025
👥
I got an IG follow and message last night from a girl I knew in MIDDLE school (12+ yrs ago).
I haven’t talked to or seen her since then, but she’d often pop up in my mind, the last time being just a few days ago. All I remember is that I used to enjoy talking to her.
the first thing she said in her message was that for some reason, she’d think about me often, and also, for no particular reason… we barely knew each other back then
So, we decided we’re gonna hang out soon - don’t know why, but it just feels right. 🔮
Feb 22, 2025