black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

I like turning on two radios at once. I like hearing things wrong. I get a lot of ideas by mishearing things.

Tom Waits

For a songwriter, you don’t really go to songwriting school; you learn by listening to tunes. And you try to understand them and take them apart and see what they’re made of, and wonder if you can make one, too.
TOM WAITS

Learning Listening Oneself Song Wonder Writing
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
The blues is like a planet. It’s an enormous topic. You can’t ignore the impact that it has had and continues to have on the whole musical culture. It’s a tree that everyone is swinging from. Without it, I don’t know where I would be. It’s indelible and indispensable.
TOM WAITS

Culture Known Music Myself Planet Topic
I made a wish on a sliver of moonlight A sly grin and a bowl full of stars.
TOM WAITS

Bowl Moon Myself Stars
You can drive out nature with a pitch fork But it always comes roaring back again.
TOM WAITS

Drive Nature Roar Yourself
I don’t think that you should be perfectly candid and frank about the intimate details of your personal life with the public at large. Subsequently, it creates considerable personal problems.
TOM WAITS

Detail Intimate Myself Perfection Problem Thinking
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
I’ve been riding on the crest of a slump lately.
TOM WAITS

Late Myself Ride
Did the devil make the world while God was sleeping?
TOM WAITS

Devil God Sleep World
Break windows, smoke cigars, and stay up late. Tell ’em to do that, they’ll find a little pot of gold.
TOM WAITS

Break Finding Stay Window
Living with kids is like living with a bunch of drunks. You know you really have to be on your toes all the time. Things are falling over and breaking and spilling. If you live on the second story, you really have to keep the windows shut all the time.
TOM WAITS

Break Children Fall Live Time Window Yourself
The Universe is making music all the time.
TOM WAITS

Music Time Universe
If you get far enough away you’ll be on your way back home.
TOM WAITS

Enough Far Home Yourself
There’s nothing that makes me laugh more than being in the situation where you’re not supposed to laugh. Funerals. People crying. Breaking down. Telling you their life. I’m the worst. I’m the worst at that.
TOM WAITS

Break Cry Hard Time Laughter Life People Situation Worst Yourself
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
On my gravestone, I want it to say, “I told you I was sick.”
TOM WAITS

Funny Grave Myself Sick

I like turning on two radios at once. I like hearing things wrong. I get a lot of ideas by mishearing things.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

I like turning on two radios at once. I like hearing things wrong. I get a lot of ideas by mishearing things.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Tom Waits Quotes