--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's a battered old suitcase to a hotel…" description: "\"It's a battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace, and a wound that will never heal. No prima donna, the perfume is on an old shirt that is stained wit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eef/tom-waits-916_battered_it-s-a-battered-old-suitcase-to-a-hotel_2878289.jpg" --- # It's a battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace, and a… ![“It's a battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace, and a wound that will never heal. No prima donna, the perfume is on an old shirt that is stained with blood and whiskey. Goodnight to the street sweepers, the night watchmen flame keepers and goodnight, Matilda, too.” quote by Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eef/tom-waits-916_battered_it-s-a-battered-old-suitcase-to-a-hotel_2878289.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eef/tom-waits-916_battered_it-s-a-battered-old-suitcase-to-a-hotel_2878289.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eef/tom-waits-916_battered_it-s-a-battered-old-suitcase-to-a-hotel_2878289.jpg) > “It's a battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace, and a wound that will never heal. No prima donna, the perfume is on an old shirt that is stained with blood and whiskey. Goodnight to the street sweepers, the night watchmen flame keepers and goodnight, Matilda, too.” [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid, gritty portrait of life's bruised edges, mixing decay with fleeting kindness. **In simple terms:** Life's harshness meets fleeting compassion. Key Takeaway Find beauty in broken places. Themes loneliness urban decay compassion Mood melancholic reflective Type poetic musical When to use this quote - night shifts - street workers - personal reflection - artistic inspiration Key Concepts existentialism poetic realism Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor the unseen? - What comforts can you offer the marginalized? A Different Perspective May romanticize suffering, ignoring systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hotel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hotel/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Prima donnas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prima-donnas/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Sweepers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweepers/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) [Whiskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whiskey/) [Wounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wounds/) ## Related quotes > [It's a battered old suitcase and a hotel someplace and a wound that will never heal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/it-s-a-battered-old-suitcase-and-a-hotel-someplace-and-a-wound-that/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [One day, I found my dad's dressing-gown in an old suitcase, and it transported me back to when I was five and thought he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-browne/one-day-i-found-my-dad-s-dressing-gown-in-an-old-suitcase-and-it/) [Anthony Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-browne/) > [All very successful commanders are prima donnas and must be so treated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-s-patton/all-very-successful-commanders-are-prima-donnas-and-must-be-so-treated/) [George S. Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-s-patton/) > [One has always got to be terribly careful, since the theater is made up of a whole bunch of prima donnas, not to let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/one-has-always-got-to-be-terribly-careful-since-the-theater-is-made/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [In retrospect, I'm really shocked at how far I put my heart out there on the line with 'Prima Donna'. I seem to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/in-retrospect-i-m-really-shocked-at-how-far-i-put-my-heart-out-there/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [You had to be an over-the-top, demanding, dramatic figure in order to progress as a woman in Europe over the last few hundred years.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/you-had-to-be-an-over-the-top-demanding-dramatic-figure-in-order-to/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [The soufflé is considered the prima donna of the culinary world. The timbale is her more even-tempered relative. On closer acquaintance, both become quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irma-s-rombauer/the-souffl-is-considered-the-prima-donna-of-the-culinary-world-the/) [Irma S. Rombauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irma-s-rombauer/) > [Well, I'm not sure I know what you mean by a prima donna, but if something doesn't interest me or if someone bores me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-fischer/well-i-m-not-sure-i-know-what-you-mean-by-a-prima-donna-but-if/) [Bobby Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-fischer/) > [We're all eccentrics. We're nine prima donnas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-blackmun/we-re-all-eccentrics-we-re-nine-prima-donnas/) [Harry A. Blackmun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-a-blackmun/) > [I'm always aware that I risk being taken for a neurasthenic prima donna when I explain to someone who wants 'just a little' of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-godwin/i-m-always-aware-that-i-risk-being-taken-for-a-neurasthenic-prima/) [Gail Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-godwin/) > [I've been a prima-dona. I was taken care of since I was 13. That's why I am the way I am today. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-ve-been-a-prima-dona-i-was-taken-care-of-since-i-was-13-that-s-why/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [Of course there are other prima donnas around. So many of my colleagues, younger ones, are wonderful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montserrat-caballe/of-course-there-are-other-prima-donnas-around-so-many-of-my/) [Montserrat Caballe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/montserrat-caballe/) > [On his refusal to deal with Keith Primeau: We refuse to pay a prima donna, a petulant, pouting player who had 30 goals last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-karmanos-jr/on-his-refusal-to-deal-with-keith-primeau-we-refuse-to-pay-a-prima/) Peter Karmanos, Jr > [There are different rules for comic books now. You've got prima donna's that are dealing with the direct sales market, so if they say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-royer/there-are-different-rules-for-comic-books-now-you-ve-got-prima-donna/) [Mike Royer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-royer/) > [The success of our operas rests most of the time in the hands of the conductor. This person is as necessary as a tenor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-verdi/the-success-of-our-operas-rests-most-of-the-time-in-the-hands-of-the/) [Giuseppe Verdi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-verdi/) ## 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/) [Explore all 328 Tom Waits quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## More Battered quotes > [I was in a conversation and someone said: "You know, we were talking about the whole issue of transgender and how it has become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/i-was-in-a-conversation-and-someone-said-you-know-we-were-talking/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [I've reread 'The Secret Garden' every year as an adult. I have a battered copy on my bookshelf - it's really quite a mess!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-potter/i-ve-reread-the-secret-garden-every-year-as-an-adult-i-have-a/) [Ellen Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-potter/) > [Every man beholds his human condition with a degree of melancholy. As a ship aground is battered by the waves, so man, imprisonedin mortal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-man-beholds-his-human-condition-with-a-degree-of-melancholy-as/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-am-not-unmindful-that-some-of-you-have-come-here-out-of-great/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There's no battered woman alive who didn't know in advance that the man was bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/there-s-no-battered-woman-alive-who-didn-t-know-in-advance-that-the/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [“Oh course he had come for her, her cranky white knight with his battered but not broken K9 partner in tow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ruggle/oh-course-he-had-come-for-her-her-cranky-white-knight-with-his/) Katie Ruggle > [I found myself being more and more involved with people who were rejected by society - with drug addicts, alcoholism, battered this, battered that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-diana/i-found-myself-being-more-and-more-involved-with-people-who-were/) [Princess Diana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-diana/) > [Historical memory is a potent weapon in fighting against the desert of organized forgetting and implies a rethinking of the role that artists, intellectuals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/historical-memory-is-a-potent-weapon-in-fighting-against-the-desert/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [“We live in a world in which women are battered and are unable to flee from the men who beat them, although their door…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natascha-kampusch/we-live-in-a-world-in-which-women-are-battered-and-are-unable-to-flee/) [Natascha Kampusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natascha-kampusch/) > [It is not the walls that make the city, but the people who live within them. The walls of London may be battered, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-vi/it-is-not-the-walls-that-make-the-city-but-the-people-who-live-within/) George VI > [I was born, I think, with the desire to make beautiful books — brave books that would preserve the glories of the Dream untarnished,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-branch-cabell/i-was-born-i-think-with-the-desire-to-make-beautiful-books-brave/) [James Branch Cabell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-branch-cabell/) > [Have you ever sent a loved son on vacation, and had him returned to you in a pine box, so horribly battered and water-logged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mamie-till/have-you-ever-sent-a-loved-son-on-vacation-and-had-him-returned-to/) [Mamie Till](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mamie-till/) > [Being bullied by a serial bully is equivalent to being stalked or being battered by a partner or being abused as a child and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-field/being-bullied-by-a-serial-bully-is-equivalent-to-being-stalked-or/) [Tim Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-field/) > [The Buddha described his teaching as "going against the stream." The unflinching light of mindful awareness reveals the extent to which we are tossed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/the-buddha-described-his-teaching-as-going-against-the-stream-the/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [Keep unscathed the good name; keep out of peril the honor without which even your battered old soldier who is hobbling into his grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/keep-unscathed-the-good-name-keep-out-of-peril-the-honor-without/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) Browse all 101 Battered quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's a battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace, and a wound that will never heal. No prima donna, the perfume is on an old shirt that is stained with blood and whiskey. 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