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New York forces you to be in endless surreal situations.

Tom Waits

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
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

Brave Conjuring Invitation Room Writing Yourself
I like vocal word stuff. But I don’t always write with an instrument, I usually write a capella. It’s more like drawing in the air with your fingers. It’s closest to the choreography of a bee. You’re freer.
TOM WAITS

Fingers Freedom Instrument Myself Vocal Word
Don’t plant your days they turn into weeds.
TOM WAITS

Day Plant Yourself
You learn as much from your kids as they learn from you.
TOM WAITS

Children Learning Yourself
The piano has been drinking, not me.
TOM WAITS

Drink Funny Instrument Myself Piano
Don’t look back, because someone might be gaining on you.
TOM WAITS

Back Sight Yourself
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
Oh, I’m not a percussionist, I just like to hit things.
TOM WAITS

Funny Instrument Musician Myself
I’ll take a rusty nail and scratch your initials on my arm.
TOM WAITS

Initial Myself Scratch
I’m just trying to make a buck like everyone else.
TOM WAITS

Money Myself
Their memory’s like a train: you can see it getting smaller as it pulls away And the things you can’t remember Tell the things you can’t forget that History puts a saint in every dream.
TOM WAITS

Dreams Memories Remember Train Yourself
We have a deficit of wonder right now.
TOM WAITS

Imagination Right Wonder
You’re innocent when you dream.
TOM WAITS

Dreams Innocence Yourself
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
The Universe is making music all the time.
TOM WAITS

Music Time Universe
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
The big print giveth and the small print taketh away.
TOM WAITS

Away Big Small
The dog won’t bite if you beat Him with a bone.
TOM WAITS

Beat Bite Bone Dog Yourself
I’m the type of guy who’d sell you a rat’s asshole for a wedding ring.
TOM WAITS

Guy Ring Sell Type
New York forces you to be in endless surreal situations.
TOM WAITS

End Force Surreal Yourself
But it’s so hard to dance that way when it’s cold and there’s no music.
TOM WAITS

Cold Dance Hard Music Way
When I was younger, I wanted to be older. Now I am older, I am not quite so sure.
TOM WAITS

Age Myself Old Quite Young
Children make up the best songs, anyway. Better than grown-ups. Kids are always working on songs and throwing them away, like little origami things or paper airplanes. They don’t care if they lose it; they’ll just make another one.
TOM WAITS

Best Better Care Children Growth Oneself
I’ll tell you all my secrets but I lie about my past.
TOM WAITS

Lying Myself Past Secret
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
Most of the people I admire, they usually smell funny and don’t get out much. It’s true. Most of them are either dead or not feeling well.
TOM WAITS

Admire Death Feeling People

New York forces you to be in endless surreal situations.

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New York forces you to be in endless surreal situations.

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