Can I preface by saying how difficult it is to write a post here in between watching Day 4 of the Athletics in Paris. I told my good friend Sharon a few days ago that I would boycott the Olympics after the disturbing ‘woke’ opening ceremony farce and their admittance of men into women’s boxing. So I broke my stance because I have adored Athletics ever since I was a wee tacker and I won’t let them take that away from me, just yet.
Now to resume normal programming……
When someone wrote in response to one of my Tom Waits’ posts that they were largely unfamiliar with his music, I recommended they listen to at least an hour of a wide range of his music from his extensive discography like the 19 songs (including today’s track) presented here so far. If they weren’t impressed after that hour, perhaps Tom wasn’t their’s to begin with. I’m not ashamed to say I’m a latecomer to his music, because well it’s Tom… and his music can be an acquired taste, but by golly have I been making up lost time.
When I was going on a bus ride with a friend here in Bogota many years ago, we put Tom’s music on for company and after one hour or so, we got caught: hook, line and sinker. We found ourselves chuckling over the bemusing semantics and instrumentation and felt gratified that it became an antidote for the shenanigans and hassle that Bogota’s traffic congestion can induce. Tom’s music acted like a portal into Alan Watt’s mindset; along the lines of: ‘No amount of anxiety makes any difference to anything that is going to happen‘.
You might be asking what does the above rant have to do with today’s song Rain Dogs? Well, I’m going to go out on a limb here and argue if you had to compress the aforementioned ‘one hour’ exposure of Tom to just ‘one song’ which best epitomised and encapsulated his artistry then it is Rain Dogs. It doesn’t infer if one doesn’t like Rain Dogs they won’t like Tom’s music; instead I would revert to my ‘one hour’ suggestion such is his rich and voluminous music output.
Rain Dogs is the titular track of Tom Waits’ 1985 album. It is no wonder Tom Waits was such a huge admirer (see here) of the polemical and counter-establishment writer Charles Bukowski because you can almost hear the world weary and gravelly voice of Bukowski in a lot of Tom’s material especially Rain Dogs. As a listener it feels like I am retaking a journey through guttered streets and bewildered souls, since I confess on having walked, crawled and ‘There but for the grace of God go I‘ escaped from that. Waits described the term ‘rain dogs‘ as representing people who, much like dogs lost in the rain, can no longer find their way home because the scent trail has been washed away. This poignant metaphor sets the stage for the song’s exploration of alienation and displacement.
Inside a broken clock
Splashing the wine
With all the rain dogs
Taxi, we’d rather walk
Huddle a doorway with the rain dogs
For I am a rain dog too
Oh, how we danced and we swallowed the night
For it was all ripe for dreaming
Oh, how we danced away all of the lights
We’ve always been out of our minds
The rum pours strong and thin
Beat out the dustman with the rain dogs
Aboard a shipwreck train
Give my umbrella to the rain dogs
For I am a rain dog too
Oh, how we danced with the Rose of Tralee
Her long hair black as a raven
Oh, how we danced and you whispered to me
You’ll never be going back home
Oh, how we danced with the Rose of Tralee
Her long hair black as a raven
Oh, how we danced and you whispered to me
You’ll never be going back home
The song features the marimba, accordion, and other percussion elements that add a layer of theatricality and exoticism. These choices reflect Waits’ interest in blending diverse musical traditions, creating a sound that’s both familiar and otherworldly. The mid-1980s was a period when Waits was transitioning from a piano-based balladeer to a more avant-garde performer. His live performances are known for their raw energy and improvisational flair. Despite not being a commercial juggernaut (peaking at number 29 on the UK charts and number 188 in the US), Rain Dogs has garnered a dedicated following and critical acclaim and is often cited as one of Waits’ finest works, praised for its innovative sound and lyrical depth.
References:
1. Rain Dogs – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
I haven’t heard a lot of Tom Waits but I do know this song…and I like it.
I won’t watch them Matt…nothing against people who do at all…but that opening and also allowing biological men to fight women…so beating up a woman gives you a medal now…we have come a long way lol.
I don’t know how I missed this song in the first place and needed to backtrack. I was fortunate it popped up random on my list a few days ago and I wondered if I had already presented it, which I hadn’t. ‘slaps head’. Everything that excites me about Tom’s music is encapsulated in this song. I’m glad you liked it Max.
Yeh, the woke movement continues to gather momentum because the new generations (with their over sentimentality and virtue signalling) are starting to assume positions of leadership which are impacting everyday lives and in some cases endangering people. Scary, man. Western Maoism.
I need to listen to more of his catalog.
In some ways it’s going back…it depends I guess on where you live. Where I live…not many tries woke because they know better lol. It does not go over well in the south. I do hope it stays that way.
That’s certainly encouraging. There has been a mass migration to mostly Republican states I hear. I don’t think most of the Western world have that refuge
Oh, our housing prices have skyrocketed… people from California are moving to Nashville and surrounding cities. People here advertise their house in California and New York when they want to sell. I’ve talked to some and they said they moved to get away from Newsom in California.
To read it first hand for you feels surreal after hearing it from a wide variety of YT celebrities like Joe Rogan, Ben Shapiro and Peter Attia.
Yea Newsom is awful and he is basically a mini clone of Justin Trudeau.
Ouch, that doesn’t sound too good considering what has been happening to Canada under Prime Minister Woke. Haha
Pay attention to Pierre Poilievre…he is leading Trudeau by 15 points in the polls. I wish America had him…common sense and does not let reporters push him around.
I have a man crush on this guy lol
I’ll check it out when I get home mate. That’s good news about Pierre. I wish Colombia had someone like that. We are still in mid term with this socialist ex guerilla. Newer generations are captured by conscientization and woke idealogy because of indoctrination in education and/or irresponsible parenting. I don’t see change coming at all.
Middle America is the one that is standing up and not taking it. Of course we are labeled as “racists”….a word way overused now….it’s mostly in California, New York and other big cities…but most of America no….
The radical leftists are creating a post analogue pseudo reality world: a synthetic anti meta narrative junktification of everything ie post modernism. Where true communication stops and propaganda begins the moment that words are chosen to influence people rather than to accurately represent reality. For example, ‘If you don’t believe us, you must be a racist’.
Thanks for the link you sent.
btw I saw a few of Kershaw’s early innings last night against the Phillies, but I just read they lost. Cheers man.
I refuse to play their games… “my pronouns” lol…uh no. What they have done is devalued the words bigot, racists, and most other words by using them over and over….over silly stupid things.
Yea Kershaw did well through 5 innings I believe…he is building back up.
I like your description of they having ‘devalued the words…’.
Yeh he looked pretty good. A lot slower of course. I love watching him pitch.
so sorry…one more and I’ll leave you alone.