black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

I’ll take a rusty nail and scratch your initials on my arm.

Tom Waits

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
Mostly I straddle reality and the imagination. My reality needs imagination like a bulb needs a socket. My imagination needs reality like a blind man needs a cane.
TOM WAITS

Blind Imagination Myself Need Reality Requirement
We are buried beneath the weight of information, which is being confused with knowledge; quantity is being confused with abundance and wealth with happiness. We are monkeys with money and guns.
TOM WAITS

Abundance Beneath Bury Confusion Gun Happiness Information Knowledge Money Weapon Weight
The big print giveth and the small print taketh away.
TOM WAITS

Away Big Small
New York forces you to be in endless surreal situations.
TOM WAITS

End Force Surreal Yourself
I don’t like hearing Beatles songs in commercials. It almost renders them useless. I think, ‘Oh God, another one bites the dust.’
TOM WAITS

Commercial Oneself Song
You got to tell me the brave captain Why are the wicked so strong? How do the angels get to sleep When the devil leaves the porch light on?
TOM WAITS

Brave Captain Devil Light Wicket Yourself
You can learn a lot about a woman by getting smashed with her.
TOM WAITS

Herself Learning Woman
And the earth died screaming, while I lay dreaming.
TOM WAITS

Death Earth Myself Scream
Never have your wallet with you onstage. It’s bad luck. You shouldn’t play the piano with money in your pocket. Play like you need the money.
TOM WAITS

Inspirational Money Musician Need Play Stage Wallet Yourself
I hate Disneyland. It primes our kids for Las Vegas.
TOM WAITS

Hate Myself Prime
You know, we just buy music now. We don’t make it any more. And that goes for just about everything. I think it’s so important that people develop and subscribe to and have confidence in their own ability to make music, however rough it is.
TOM WAITS

Ability Confidence Important Music Rough Thinking Yourself
I think all songs should have weather in them. Names of towns and streets, and they should have a couple of sailors. I think those are just song prerequisites.
TOM WAITS

Couple Myself Song Thinking Weather
A mental midget with the IQ of a fence post.
TOM WAITS

Dumb Intelligence Mental
I’ll tell you all my secrets but I lie about my past.
TOM WAITS

Lying Myself Past Secret
Songs are really just very interesting things to be doing with the air.
TOM WAITS

Air Interest Song

I’ll take a rusty nail and scratch your initials on my arm.

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I’ll take a rusty nail and scratch your initials on my arm.

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