I always had a great appreciation for jazz, but I'm a very pedestrian musician. I get by. I like to think that… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
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 Copy Share Image
Most of us have the residue of thousands of songs in our ears, that if you end up songwriting, I think you're… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
You know when you throw a party, you think people will show up and no one will like each other. It's like… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
All records are riddles, and whatever you may want people to think it's about, it may just be throwing them off. And… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
In terms of black music - the only music that we can call our own, that was really born here - I… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
He likes a day in the studio to end, he says, "when my knees are all skinned up and my pants are… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
If you can make a little painting for the ears with a few words, well, I like words; I like cutting them… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
It wasn't good for my nerves, that kind of work - a fireman. I've got high blood pressure. I get upset easily.… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
It's rather mystifying when you think about writing songs - where they come from, and how they're born. — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
I think this whole division between the genres has more to do with marketing than anything else. It's terrible for the culture… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
My first big gig was an opening show for Frank Zappa, and I think that was difficult. — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
I think some bands thrive on the idea of changing instruments. When they're off their real instrument, the ability to go very… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
I think all songs should have weather in them. Names of towns and streets, and they should have a couple of sailors.… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
Most songs have meager beginnings. You wake up in the morning, you throw on your suspenders, and you subvocalize and just think.… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
You know, we just buy music now. We don't make it any more. And that goes for just about everything. I think… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
I don't think that you should be perfectly candid and frank about the intimate details of your personal life with the public… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
You cannot really be too concerned with what people think of you. You're on your own adventure of growth and discovery. So… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
I can't listen to so much music at the same time. I think you really have to have a diet. You're just… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
My wife called me a mule. She once said, "I didn't marry a man; I married a mule!" I kept thinking about… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
This is about all the bad days in the world. I used to have some little bad days, and I kept them… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
I guess I've always lived upside down when I want things I can't have. My wife actually thinks I have a syndrome… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
Most of us have the residue of thousands of songs in our ears, that if you end up songwriting, I think you're mostly smoking… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
Bill Hicks - blowtorch, excavator, truthsayer, and brain specialist. He will correct your vision. Others will drive on the road he built. — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
“an all time favorite: "The large print giveth, the small print taketh away.” — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
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… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
The world is a hellish place, and bad writing is destroying the quality of our suffering. — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
I'm always looking for sounds that are pleasing at the time. The sound of a helicopter is really annoying until you're drowning, and it's… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
I was born in the back seat of a Yellow Cab in a hospital loading zone and with the meter still running. I emerged… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
There's not much difference between what I appear to be on stage and what I am. I think people like that, that I'm not… — Tom Waits Copy Share Image
