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I was always laughing in church.

Tom Waits

The ocean doesn’t want me today, But I’ll come back tomorrow to play. The riptide is waging And the life guard’s away But the ocean doesn’t want me today.
TOM WAITS

Guard Life Myself Ocean Play
I’m not fighting for justice. I am not fighting for freedom. I am fighting for my life and another day in the world here.
TOM WAITS

Fight Justice Myself World
The piano has been drinking, not me.
TOM WAITS

Drink Funny Instrument Myself Piano
There’s a beauty of show business. It’s the only business you can have a career in when you’re dead.
TOM WAITS

Beautiful Business Career Death Show Yourself
If there’s one thing you can say about mankind, there’s nothing kind about man.
TOM WAITS

Cruelty Kind Man Oneself
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
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
It’s rather mystifying when you think about writing songs – where they come from, and how they’re born.
TOM WAITS

Born Mysterious Thinking Writing Yourself
You’re my North Star when I’m lost and feeling blue.
TOM WAITS

Love Relationship Romantic Star Yourself
The big print giveth and the small print taketh away.
TOM WAITS

Away Big Small
The trick is to have a career and have a family. It’s like having two dogs that hate each other and you have to take them for a walk every night.
TOM WAITS

Career Family Night Trick Yourself
All that you’ve loved is all you own.
TOM WAITS

Love One Liner Yourself
She’s got the whole dark forest living inside of her.
TOM WAITS

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

Alcohol Blood Myself
I did my time in the jail of your arms.
TOM WAITS

Arms Time Yourself
I made a wish on a sliver of moonlight A sly grin and a bowl full of stars.
TOM WAITS

Bowl Moon Myself Stars
There’s no prayer like desire.
TOM WAITS

Desire One Liner Prayer
I’ve been riding on the crest of a slump lately.
TOM WAITS

Late Myself Ride
It’s very hard to stop doing things you’re used to doing. You almost have to dismantle yourself and scatter it all around and then put a blindfold on and put it back together so that you avoid old habits.
TOM WAITS

Avoid Habit Hard Old Scatter Stop Togetherness Yourself
If you get far enough away you’ll be on your way back home.
TOM WAITS

Enough Far Home Yourself
The dog won’t bite if you beat Him with a bone.
TOM WAITS

Beat Bite Bone Dog Yourself
Most of the things you absorb you will ultimately secrete.
TOM WAITS

Absorb Willing Yourself
Slept all night in the cedar grove, I was born to ramble, born to rove, some men are searchin’ for the holy grail, but there ain’t nothin’ sweeter than ridin’ the rails.
TOM WAITS

Born Myself Night Search Sleep Sweet
I’ll take a rusty nail and scratch your initials on my arm.
TOM WAITS

Initial Myself Scratch
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
I put food on the table and roof overhead. But I’d trade it all tomorrow for the highway instead.
TOM WAITS

Food High Myself Table Trade
I’ve always believed that the way you affect your audience is more important than how many of them are there.
TOM WAITS

Affect Audience Believe Important Myself Way

I was always laughing in church.

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I was always laughing in church.

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