Tom Waits Impresses Children

Last week I read an interview with one of my heroes Tom Waits. Because he's a bit of a hero to me, I naturally enjoyed reading his utterances.

The full interview is published by the Guardian's Film and Music section here; it is quite entertaining.

One of the things I took away from it was Waits saying "...making it in music – really making it in music – is if you're an old man going by a schoolyard and you hear children singing your songs, playing jump-rope, or on the swings. That's the ultimate. You're in the culture...", which I found just a tad amusing. The day I hear a kiddie skipping in the playground to Hoist That Rag I'd probably eat my entire hat collection.

See what you think:



In case you fancy following the words as you try to skip in time:

Well I learned the trade

From Piggy Knowles'

Sing Sing Tommy Shay Boys

God used me as hammer boys

To beat his weary drum today

Hoist that rag

The sun is up the world is flat

Damn good address for a rat

The smell of blood

The Drone of flies

You know what to do if

The baby cries

Hoist that rag

Well we stick our fingers in

The ground, heave and

Turn the world around

Smoke is blacking out the sun

At night I pray and clean my gun

The cracked bell rings as

The ghost bird sings and the gods

Go beggin here

So just open fire

As you hit the shore

All is fair in love

And war

Hoist that rag

(Music & Lyrics Tom Waits from the Album Real Gone)