Shiver Me TimbersI'm leavin' my fam'ly
Leavin' all my friends
My body's at home
But my heart's in the wind
The clouds are like headlines
On a new front page sky
My tears are salt water
And the moon's full and high
And I know Martin Eden's
Gonna be proud of me
And many before me
Who've been called by the sea
To be up in the crow's nest
Singin' my say
Shiver me Timbers
'Cause I'm a-sailin' away
And the fog's liftin'
And the sand's shiftin'
I'm driftin' on out
Ol' Captain Ahab
He ain't got nothin' on me, now.
So swallow me, don't follow me
I'm trav'lin' alone
Blue water's my daughter
I'm gonna skip like a stone
So please call my missus
Tell her not to cry
'Cause my goodbye is written
By the moon in the sky
Hey and nobody knows me
I can't fathom my stayin'
Shiver me timbers
'Cause I'm a-sailin' away
And the fog's liftin'
And the sand's shiftin'
I'm driftin' on out
Ol' Captain Ahab
He ain't got nothin' on me
So come and swallow me, follow me
I'm trav'lin' alone
Blue water's my daughter
I'm gonna skip like a stone
And I'm leavin' my family
Leavin' all my friends
My body's at home
But my heart's in the wind
Where the clouds are like headlines
Upon a new front page sky
And shiver me timbers
'Cause I'm a-sailin' away.
--Tom Waits
I've sung this song to my son pretty much every night since he's been born. Always seems to put him right to sleep... I wonder what effect those lyrics might have on a developing mind?
You can hear Tom sing it below in one of his earliest recordings.
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10 comments:
If you're singing it in a voice similar to Wait's, you're probably scaring the hell out of him. :-)
Ah, those toesies in the first pic are totally virgin and devoid of all urchins...what a difference a day makes.
Nico will be no worse for the wear in hearing his daddy singing to him.
Scarlett Johansson has a album of Waits covers. No reason Sissyfish shouldn't too.
Fortunately no caught my face plant out of the boat on camera.
I've always loved that track.
Don't know if you know or care, but there is a killer 2.5 hour Waits concert available for free podcast via NPR's concert series on iTunes. Tom's voice is more whiskey than honey these days but it is a great listen.
Enjoy!
-Daniel
Thanks for the tip, Daniel. Yeah, my voice is certainly closer to the Early Years than the gargle-with-gravel era, if you could even make a comparison... Wouldn't want to scare the little man, like Whiff says.
I sang Beatle songs to my kids...
Generational thing I guess...
I'm a longtime Tom fan...
My mom had his albums...
But, the fab 4 were the only lyrics I knew by heart.
Don't stop singing.
Aug. 15th at the Clinton St. Theater might be the closest thing to catching Tom in the early yrs. A vintage concert on the big screen from 1977. Probably past the little ones bed time but maybe you could sneak away. Check their website under "late night unrealesed music series" for the beta and never stop singin'
Looks like you had a good time! Hopefully that surf buzz is still lingering.
Chum
If you've never seen this clip...it's a classic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_0E7x3Nqys
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