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Writing songs is like capturing birds without killing them. Sometimes you end up with nothing but a mouthful of feathers.

Tom Waits

We are all just monkeys with money and guns.
TOM WAITS

Monkey Reality Weapon
The earth is not my home, I’m just passing by.
TOM WAITS

Earth Home Myself Philosophy Travel Wisdom
I don’t go to church on Sunday, don’t get on my knees to pray, or memorize the books of the Bible, I got my own special way
TOM WAITS

Myself Prayer Religious
I always liked the idea that America is a big facade. We are all insects crawling across on the shiny hood of a Cadillac. We’re all looking at the wrapping. But we won’t tear the wrapping to see what lies beneath.
TOM WAITS

Ideas Insect Lying Myself See
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 innocent when you dream.
TOM WAITS

Dreams Innocence Yourself
I dunno when I started writing really. I was, like, filling out applications and stuff real early. Last name first, first name last, sex. ‘occasionally’ , stuff like that. Then I was writing letters, filling out forms, writing on bathroom walls.
TOM WAITS

Application Fill Myself Sex Start Writing
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
I like Thelonious Monk, he’s so gnarled, he’s like a piece of machinery that’s pulled up the bolts on the floor and gone off on its own.
TOM WAITS

Floor Machine Myself Pieces
I do some acting. And there’s a difference between “I do some acting” and “I’m an actor.”
TOM WAITS

Act Actor Difference Myself
We are buried beneath the weight of information, which is being confused with knowledge; quantity is being confused with abundance and wealth with happiness.
TOM WAITS

Abundance Bury Happiness Information Quantity Wealth Weight
Most people don’t care if you’re telling them the truth or if you’re telling them a lie, as long as they’re entertained by it.
TOM WAITS

Care Entertainment Lying People Truth Yourself
I have an audio stigmatism whereby I hear things wrong – I have audio illusions.
TOM WAITS

Audio Illusion Myself Sick Wrong
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
On my gravestone, I want it to say, “I told you I was sick.”
TOM WAITS

Funny Grave Myself Sick
I don’t have a drinking problem ‘Cept when I can’t get a drink.
TOM WAITS

Drink Myself Problem
I like beautiful melodies telling me terrible things.
TOM WAITS

Beautiful Melody Myself Terrible
The world is a hellish place, and bad writing is destroying the quality of our suffering.
TOM WAITS

Bad Destroy Hell Ourselves Place Suffering World Writing
All the donuts have names that sound like prostitutes
TOM WAITS

Donut Name Prostitute Sound
Not the kind of wheel you fall asleep at.
TOM WAITS

Fall Kind Yourself
I’m just trying to make a buck like everyone else.
TOM WAITS

Money Myself
The big print giveth and the small print taketh away.
TOM WAITS

Away Big Small
Champagne for my real friends and real pain for my sham friends.
TOM WAITS

Friendship Pain Reality
And the earth died screaming, while I lay dreaming.
TOM WAITS

Death Earth Myself Scream
If you get far enough away you’ll be on your way back home.
TOM WAITS

Enough Far Home Yourself
I’ve seen it all through the yellow windows of the evening train.
TOM WAITS

Evening Myself Train
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

Writing songs is like capturing birds without killing them. Sometimes you end up with nothing but a mouthful of feathers.

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Writing songs is like capturing birds without killing them. Sometimes you end up with nothing but a mouthful of feathers.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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