--- title: "22 Way Quotes By Tom Waits" description: "22 Way quotes by Tom Waits. Plus more from Tom Waits and more Way sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e85/tom-waits-916_make-sense_you-just-write-and-you-don-t-try-to-make_2011860.jpg" --- > [You just write and you don't try to make sense of it. You just put it down the way you got it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/you-just-write-and-you-don-t-try-to-make-sense-of-it-you-just-put-it/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e85/tom-waits-916_make-sense_you-just-write-and-you-don-t-try-to-make_2011860.jpg) > [If you get far enough away you'll be on your way back home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/if-you-get-far-enough-away-you-ll-be-on-your-way-back-home/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b8f/tom-waits-916_away_if-you-get-far-enough-away-you-ll-be-on_2870748.jpg) > [The way you do anything is the way you do everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-way-you-do-anything-is-the-way-you-do-everything/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/tom-waits-916_funny_the-way-you-do-anything-is-the-way-you-d_1899439.jpg) > [but it's so hard to dance that way when it's cold and there's no music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/but-it-s-so-hard-to-dance-that-way-when-it-s-cold-and-there-s-no-music/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d9/tom-waits-916_cold_but-it-s-so-hard-to-dance-that-way-when_2945514.jpg) > [I just don't like the word 'fun'--it's like Volkswagen, or bell-bottoms, or patchouli-oil or bean-sprouts...it rubs me up the wrong way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-just-don-t-like-the-word-fun-it-s-like-volkswagen-or-bell-bottoms/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/tom-waits-916_beans_i-just-don-t-like-the-word-fun-it-s-like_3183391.jpg) > [I’ve always believed that the way you affect your audience is more important than how many of them are there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-ve-always-believed-that-the-way-you-affect-your-audience-is-more/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/tom-waits-916_always-believe_i-ve-always-believed-that-the-way-you-af_253507.jpg) > [Sometimes the magnetism of a song is impossible to ignore, and it demands that it be sung in a certain way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/sometimes-the-magnetism-of-a-song-is-impossible-to-ignore-and-it/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25a/tom-waits-916_certain_sometimes-the-magnetism-of-a-song-is-imp_2967272.jpg) > [You almost have to create situations in order to write about them, so I live in a constant state of self-imposed poverty.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/you-almost-have-to-create-situations-in-order-to-write-about-them-so/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/939/tom-waits-916_constant_you-almost-have-to-create-situations-in_2270251.jpg) > [Jimmy Stewart said he stopped making movies because he didn't like the way he looked on screen anymore. I'm more the guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/jimmy-stewart-said-he-stopped-making-movies-because-he-didn-t-like/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abc/tom-waits-916_guy_jimmy-stewart-said-he-stopped-making-mov_650462.jpg) > [I don't go to church on Sunday, don't get on my knees to pray, or memorize the books of the Bible, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-don-t-go-to-church-on-sunday-don-t-get-on-my-knees-to-pray-or/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70d/tom-waits-916_bible_i-don-t-go-to-church-on-sunday-don-t-get_826427.jpg) > [If you walk with Jesus, he's gonna save your soul. You gotta keep the devil way down in the hole. He's got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/if-you-walk-with-jesus-he-s-gonna-save-your-soul-you-gotta-keep-the/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/690/tom-waits-916_command_if-you-walk-with-jesus-he-s-gonna-save-y_836224.jpg) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/when-you-re-writing-you-re-conjuring-it-s-a-ritual-and-you-need-to-be/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/186/tom-waits-916_be-brave_when-you-re-writing-you-re-conjuring-it_508637.jpg) > [Every single song has its own individual character and you can't treat each song the same way, because it wants to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/every-single-song-has-its-own-individual-character-and-you-can-t/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2d/tom-waits-916_bird_every-single-song-has-its-own-individual_905843.jpg) > [When I started looking for pointed shoes, I used to go to Fairfax on Orchard Street in New York City, one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/when-i-started-looking-for-pointed-shoes-i-used-to-go-to-fairfax-on/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d9/tom-waits-916_blow_when-i-started-looking-for-pointed-shoes_512212.jpg) > [There's only one reason why you write new songs: You get sick of the old songs. It's not that I didn't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/there-s-only-one-reason-why-you-write-new-songs-you-get-sick-of-the/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/tom-waits-916_another-way_there-s-only-one-reason-why-you-write-ne_1169874.jpg) > [All records are riddles, and whatever you may want people to think it's about, it may just be throwing them off. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/all-records-are-riddles-and-whatever-you-may-want-people-to-think-it/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42b/tom-waits-916_learning_all-records-are-riddles-and-whatever-you_1729456.jpg) > [If I want to walk out in the desert and heat up a can of beans on a fire, I still can.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/if-i-want-to-walk-out-in-the-desert-and-heat-up-a-can-of-beans-on-a/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e62/tom-waits-916_age_if-i-want-to-walk-out-in-the-desert-and_2781159.jpg) > [There’s nothing more embarrassing than a person who tries to guess what the great American public would like, makes a compromise for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/there-s-nothing-more-embarrassing-than-a-person-who-tries-to-guess/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c6/tom-waits-916_audience_there-s-nothing-more-embarrassing-than-a_287670.jpg) > [Now its raining its pouring the old man is snoring now I lay me down to sleep I hear the sirens in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/now-its-raining-its-pouring-the-old-man-is-snoring-now-i-lay-me-down/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8f/tom-waits-916_chrome_now-its-raining-its-pouring-the-old-man_1154511.jpg) > [They have removed the struggle to find anything. And therefore there is no genuine sense of discovery. Struggle is the first thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/they-have-removed-the-struggle-to-find-anything-and-therefore-there/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/tom-waits-916_birth_they-have-removed-the-struggle-to-find-a_759415.jpg) > [If you can make a little painting for the ears with a few words, well, I like words; I like cutting them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/if-you-can-make-a-little-painting-for-the-ears-with-a-few-words-well/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73e/tom-waits-916_antenna_if-you-can-make-a-little-painting-for-th_1512076.jpg) > [If you are recording, you are recording. I don't believe there is such a thing as a demo or a temporary vocal.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/if-you-are-recording-you-are-recording-i-don-t-believe-there-is-such/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b43/tom-waits-916_anatomy_if-you-are-recording-you-are-recording-i_1039679.jpg) ## Other authors on Way ## More by Tom Waits > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-us-have-the-residue-of-thousands-of-songs-in-our-ears-that-if/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Bill Hicks - blowtorch, excavator, truthsayer, and brain specialist. He will correct your vision. Others will drive on the road he built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/bill-hicks-blowtorch-excavator-truthsayer-and-brain-specialist-he/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Don't plant your days they turn into weeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/don-t-plant-your-days-they-turn-into-weeds/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“T’ain’t no sin to take off your skin, and dance around in your bones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/t-ain-t-no-sin-to-take-off-your-skin-and-dance-around-in-your-bones/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“an all time favorite: "The large print giveth, the small print taketh away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/an-all-time-favorite-the-large-print-giveth-the-small-print-taketh/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'll tell you all my secrets but I lie about my past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-ll-tell-you-all-my-secrets-but-i-lie-about-my-past/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/for-a-songwriter-you-don-t-really-go-to-songwriting-school-you-learn/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'm trying to learn how to write faster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-trying-to-learn-how-to-write-faster/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The world is a hellish place, and bad writing is destroying the quality of our suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-world-is-a-hellish-place-and-bad-writing-is-destroying-the/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-always-looking-for-sounds-that-are-pleasing-at-the-time-the-sound/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I was born in the back seat of a Yellow Cab in a hospital loading zone and with the meter still running. I emerged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-was-born-in-the-back-seat-of-a-yellow-cab-in-a-hospital-loading/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/there-s-not-much-difference-between-what-i-appear-to-be-on-stage-and/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Most of the things you absorb you will ultimately secrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-the-things-you-absorb-you-will-ultimately-secrete/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The devil knows the Bible like the back of his hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-devil-knows-the-bible-like-the-back-of-his-hand/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I bark my voice out through a closed throat, pretty much. It's more, perhaps, like a dog in some ways. It does have its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-bark-my-voice-out-through-a-closed-throat-pretty-much-it-s-more/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/tom-waits/#itemlist", "name": "22 Way Quotes By Tom Waits", "numberOfItems": 22, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You just write and you don't try to make sense of it. 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}, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "but it's so hard to dance that way when it's cold and there's no music.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Waits" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/but-it-s-so-hard-to-dance-that-way-when-it-s-cold-and-there-s-no-music/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d9/tom-waits-916_cold_but-it-s-so-hard-to-dance-that-way-when_2945514.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d9/tom-waits-916_cold_but-it-s-so-hard-to-dance-that-way-when_2945514.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d9/tom-waits-916_cold_but-it-s-so-hard-to-dance-that-way-when_2945514.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“but it's so hard to dance that way when it's cold and there's no music.” — Tom Waits", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I just don't like the word 'fun'--it's like Volkswagen, or bell-bottoms, or patchouli-oil or bean-sprouts...it rubs me up the wrong way.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Waits" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-just-don-t-like-the-word-fun-it-s-like-volkswagen-or-bell-bottoms/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/tom-waits-916_beans_i-just-don-t-like-the-word-fun-it-s-like_3183391.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/tom-waits-916_beans_i-just-don-t-like-the-word-fun-it-s-like_3183391.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/tom-waits-916_beans_i-just-don-t-like-the-word-fun-it-s-like_3183391.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I just don't like the word 'fun'--it's like Volkswagen, or bell-bottoms, or patchouli-oil or…” — Tom Waits", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I’ve always believed that the way you affect your audience is more important than how many of them are there.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Waits" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-ve-always-believed-that-the-way-you-affect-your-audience-is-more/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/tom-waits-916_always-believe_i-ve-always-believed-that-the-way-you-af_253507.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/tom-waits-916_always-believe_i-ve-always-believed-that-the-way-you-af_253507.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/139/tom-waits-916_always-believe_i-ve-always-believed-that-the-way-you-af_253507.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I’ve always believed that the way you affect your audience is more important than how many of them are there.” — Tom Waits", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometimes the magnetism of a song is impossible to ignore, and it demands that it be sung in a certain way.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Waits" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/sometimes-the-magnetism-of-a-song-is-impossible-to-ignore-and-it/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25a/tom-waits-916_certain_sometimes-the-magnetism-of-a-song-is-imp_2967272.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25a/tom-waits-916_certain_sometimes-the-magnetism-of-a-song-is-imp_2967272.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25a/tom-waits-916_certain_sometimes-the-magnetism-of-a-song-is-imp_2967272.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sometimes the magnetism of a song is impossible to ignore, and it demands that it be sung in a certain way.” — Tom Waits", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You almost have to create situations in order to write about them, so I live in a constant state of self-imposed poverty. 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I'd say, 'You got any pointy shoes?' They would go way, way in the back and come back with a dusty box, blow the dust off the top, and say, 'What do you want with these things? Give me twenty bucks. Go on, get outta here!' 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I don't believe there is such a thing as a demo or a temporary vocal. The drama around even sitting in the car and singing into a tape recorder that's as big as your hand - waiting until it's very quiet, doing your thing, and then playing it back and hoping you like it - is the same basic anatomy as when you're in the recording studio, really. 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