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When you’re writing‚ you’re conjuring. It’s a ritual‚ and you need to be brave and respectful and sometimes get out of the way of whatever it is that you’re inviting into the room.

Tom Waits

I sold a quart of blood and bought a half a pint of scotch.
TOM WAITS

Alcohol Blood Myself
There’s always free cheddar in the mousetrap, baby.
TOM WAITS

Advice Deep Food Freedom Trap
I’m always looking for sounds that are pleasing at the time. The sound of a helicopter is really annoying until you’re drowning, and it’s there to rescue you. Then it sounds like music.
TOM WAITS

Drowning Music Rescue Sound Time Yourself
New York forces you to be in endless surreal situations.
TOM WAITS

End Force Surreal Yourself
Songs are really just very interesting things to be doing with the air.
TOM WAITS

Air Interest Song
I don’t like the stigma that comes with being called a poet. So I call what I’m doing an improvisational adventure or an inebriational travelogue.
TOM WAITS

Adventure Call Improvisation Myself Poet
Writing songs is like capturing birds without killing them. Sometimes you end up with nothing but a mouthful of feathers.
TOM WAITS

Capture End Feature Song Writing
Don’t plant your bad days. They grow into weeks. The weeks grow into months. Before you know it, you got yourself a bad year. Take it from me – choke those little bad days. Choke ’em down to nothing.
TOM WAITS

Bad Day Growth Plant Yourself
But then I’m one of those guys that is still a bit afraid of the telephone, its implications for conversation. I still wonder if the jukebox might be the death of live music.
TOM WAITS

Afraid Conversation Death Live Music Telephone
You’re innocent when you dream.
TOM WAITS

Dreams Innocence Yourself
I have an audio stigmatism whereby I hear things wrong – I have audio illusions.
TOM WAITS

Audio Illusion Myself Sick Wrong
My wife called me a mule. She once said, “I didn’t marry a man; I married a mule!” I kept thinking about it. It was in the back of my head. I think it makes a good title for an album.
TOM WAITS

Animal Goodness Man Marriage Myself Thinking Wife
If you get far enough away you’ll be on your way back home.
TOM WAITS

Enough Far Home Yourself
All the donuts have names that sound like prostitutes
TOM WAITS

Donut Name Prostitute Sound
I don’t have a drinking problem ‘Cept when I can’t get a drink.
TOM WAITS

Drink Myself Problem
I’ll take a rusty nail and scratch your initials on my arm.
TOM WAITS

Initial Myself Scratch

When you’re writing‚ you’re conjuring. It’s a ritual‚ and you need to be brave and respectful and sometimes get out of the way of whatever it is that you’re inviting into the room.

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When you’re writing‚ you’re conjuring. It’s a ritual‚ and you need to be brave and respectful and sometimes get out of the way of whatever it is that you’re inviting into the room.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Tom Waits Quotes