I’m Still Here (2002) – Tom Waits

I’m Still Here lasts just under 2 minutes, but it expresses more than most songs can in 5 minutes. It’s such a poignant exploration of enduring love and the passage of time. There are few other songs where I’ve heard Tom’s voice sound so tender and immersed in a song. He has this ability to capture complex emotions with simplicity and depth. When he sings the last line ‘I’m Still Here‘, it sends chills down my spine. The whole song is charming, sad and beautiful at the same time.

When Tom repeats the line – ‘You haven’t looked at me that way in years,’ it shows the emotional distance that has grown between him and his partner. Phrases like ‘Your watch has stopped and the pond is clear’ evokes a sense of stillness and stagnation, symbolizing the halted progression of their relationship. Despite these hardships Tom declares, ‘I’ll love you til all time is gone,’ revealing his steadfast commitment and belief that their love can endure.

Tom Waits is of course one of contemporary music’s most singular, incomparable figures. Very few (if any) artists have a more unique approach to creating and performing. Also, no one sounds like him, and most people who try just end up embarrassing themselves. Waits said that no artist can have just one voice, and that’s what drives him – and his peers – to continue creating….’I think there are other voices in there and I’m still looking for it.”

I’m Still Here is from Tom’s 14th studio album Alice (2002). The songs were written by Waits and his wife Kathleen Brennan for the opera Alice ten years earlier. The opera was a collaboration with Robert Wilson, with whom Waits had previously worked on The Black Rider. Alice was co-released with Blood Money, an album containing songs Waits wrote for Wilson’s musical Woyzeck. 
Waits described the songs on Alice as “adult songs for children, or children’s songs for adults“.

Alice was ranked No 2 in Metacritic’s Top 30 albums of 2002. It reached No. 30 in the US and No 20 in the UK.

You haven’t looked at me that way in years
You dreamed me up and left me here
How long was I dreaming for?
What was it you wanted me for?

You haven’t looked at me that way in years
Your watch has stopped and the pond is clear
Someone turn the lights back on
I’ll love you till all time is gone

You haven’t looked at me that way in years
But I’m still here

References:
1. Tom Waits on finding his voice: ‘I don’t really think there is anything genuinely new under the sun’ – ABC Double J
2. Alice (Tom Waits Album) – Wikipedia

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