Remember seeing Tom Waits perform this live on the Old Grey Whistle Test - made me cry then and still does today. Sheer compassion in every line … this song is pure genius
Tom Waits is like a big ol’ steam strain, built to last, with a belly full of fire and voice of smoke and coal. A musical juggernaut. Tom’s music never stays still and it never gets old.
My three old daughter gets sad after hearing just a bunch of lines of this song. She is Italian and doesn’t understand a word of it. But she understands the feelings Tom is delivering to her. Great job, Maestro.
@@urban1413 Err, yes he did. If the lyrics didn't tell you that immediately the credits for H&V will, written for the movie 'On The Nickel' by Ralph Waite
@@urban1413 yeah. There’s an interview easily accessible in which the young Tommy explains how he came to write it. He’s done some covers, but never claimed anyone else’s work for his own.
One of my all time favorite Waits gems, there's a clip of him performing this song on his very first appearance on the David Letterman show and it always brings me to tears when he dedicates the song to all the little boys of that have run away from home. Don't we all feel lost and like we've run away from home in our lives, I know I do from time to time, and he captures it for me.
Thank you good man, for expressing something I’ve felt all my life. And thank you for connecting that with Tom Waits. I never had the suburban dream. Never had a “family home”. I’ve always felt like I was a lost boy looking for home. That’s an existential thing more than anything else for me. But you and Tom really drew the connection for me. Thank you.
@@elhorrendo7026 I'm a Waits nut, I've been thru 35 Waits "phases" is you will. I found him going to a party in College in either 88, or 89. I'll never forget it, it was a dorm apt, and in the back was a bar, all sort of whisky smoked and with a dim blue light illuminating the room dimly. The smoke wafting up in the air completed the scene. I heard Swordfishtrombone, Raindogs, and Franks Wild Years, I'd never heard anything like it before ever. To this day those three albums are the foundation of my Waits fandom, those albums were ground zero. Then I expanded to his earlier work, and I've been traveling with him ever since. I sure hope he puts out new music again, I need some of that. Love his acting too, his performance as the old gold minor in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs was total bad ass, it's on Netflix if you haven't seen it. I didn't even know he was in it and then I was like HOLY SHIT that's TOM WAITS, Fuck yeah. I think devoted Waits fans all feel the same, that he's speaking to us directly, that's quite a feat for any songwriter to achieve, but he never misses the mark. Cheers to you, and have fun storming the castle. All rights reserved, void where prohibited, batteries not included, some assembly required, add water makes its own gravy.
I moved from toronto to detroit when my mother remarrid in 66. I always felt i didnt belong in the USA. I always spent my summer vacations in Toronto. Each year I was getting farther away from feeling I belonged in Toronto either. Never shook the feeling of not belonging anywhere🙄
My all time favorite song from my all time favorite performer. I saw him at the Troubadour, a little dive bar in Hollywood back in the 1970's. Two drink minimum. We took care of that pretty quickly. Right next to the dive motel he lived in. Been a fan a long time.
*ONE* of the things I think about now when I listen to this song, is how Tom's voice goes from gravel to heaven (falsetto) WITHIN THE SAME WORD that he's singing. He does it time and time again in this song. It's beautiful. No, it's more than that.
Still releasing powerful music at age 72. A lot of people are just discovering Tom Waits after hearing his song Hell Broke Luce, the titular Jeff Luce, a veteran who tragically took his own life being the muse for the song about the horrors of war and the appalling treatment of soldiers and veterans by their own governments, in this case the UNITED STATES MILITARY. Tom Waits has the kind of true grit and raw power that puts singers and musicians, so called “artists” in their teens and twenties to shame at age 72. And he always has. He has heart, he has soul, he has style and he has a god given (presupposing the existence of a, or multiple Gods) for many arts. His music being the greatest.
He has style, but he's never been afraid of the grit and grime of the world and sees gemstones and gold where others might see a broken whiskey bottle and an overflowing ashtray and he is never anyone but himself. I’m drinking cheap and nasty spiced rum I can’t afford and anything I can find as a mixer. Here’s to Tom Waits. Raising a toast to you, old Tommy boy.
The first time I heard a Tom Waits song was at the end of the film "Smoke," a fine film starring Harvey Kettle and William Hurt. It's "Innocent When You Dream." I thought, "What the hell is this? I've never heard anything quite like it. I have to find out who this is." Glad I did.
I'm one of the little boys who became a hobo for many years. Fortunate enough to have a place to hang my hat now. Now I'm just a bum . Like he said "nothing beats bumming around"
an a American treasure. This song should be in the Smithsonian. It's compassion and relevance shows the deep introspect in Waite's heart ♥ I listen to it at least twice a year to have the very healthy tears that keep my civic mind alive. He's similar to George Carlin only in a musician's standpoint. I love Tom. Sue me.😊
Tom Waits, Hunter S Thompson and George Carlin. America’s greatest exports for their time. Each legends representing the real American true grit. They never shied away from the truth. Tom’s the only one still on this mortal coil. People like these will always be with us, the power of their roguishness and their respective arts for truth can never be extinguished. Though they would each deny such foolish suggestions, they are cultural heritage. None of them ever set out to be “celebrities” or “great men” to be revered or admired. They were themselves and nothing more. They have shown us the world we all share, but often either refuse to see or fear to explore. These men are time travellers. They defy accepted reality in their own way without having ever setting out to do so. And future writers, musicians and comedians with an eye for the real world, hidden somewhere between the gutter and the stars will look to bold explorers and lunatics such as they are and hopefully enjoy the fruits of such predecessors and learn a thing or two as a bonus.
The first time I ever heard this or even heard of Tom waits was while watching a movie of the same name which was difficult to find but I found a VHS copy in 1981 or two I forget. Has a great way of writing lyrics and composing music that fits the feel.
Can anyone tell me why he played this live with the intro as "waltzing Matilda" tune ??? He did it in Australia on the Don Lane show in 78 or 79 and also on the live Austin TX in 78 ... this is ( the intro to the live version not this one) Australia's unofficial national anthem written by banjo Patterson 130ys ago...so if anyone can make that connection please comment back...a total genius of truth and heritage 👍🍺🇦🇺
To the question of Playing the intro to Waltzing Matilda to this song… Waltzing Matilda is the melody that weaves its way through Tom Flaubert (?) Blues… I think both songs are about the same metaphoric person. Tom Flaubert Blues answers “what becomes of the little boys”
Hello, what was this reference? I am a big fan of Tom Waits and really like Neil Gaiman although I don't know all of his stuff, what's the connection between the two?
![TOM WAITS "On the Nickel" [LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN 1983]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/fi068_YlQvY/mqdefault.jpg)
![ILLSLICK - KILLSHOT REMIX [FULL VERSION]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RIK8RrqIAzE/mqdefault.jpg)
😢his songs make me cry even when I'm feelin' fine❤
Remember seeing Tom Waits perform this live on the Old Grey Whistle Test - made me cry then and still does today. Sheer compassion in every line … this song is pure genius
Tom Waits is like a big ol’ steam strain, built to last, with a belly full of fire and voice of smoke and coal. A musical juggernaut. Tom’s music never stays still and it never gets old.
Beautiful and true prose!
@@mouved1 thank you! 🙏🏻
Yep... fax
What a fantastic and spot-on way to describe Waits!
He tells my own father's story , fuckin spooky how spot on , Tom was a GREAT story teller , renosance
As great a song as has ever been written by one if the finest songwriters of all time.
My three old daughter gets sad after hearing just a bunch of lines of this song. She is Italian and doesn’t understand a word of it. But she understands the feelings Tom is delivering to her. Great job, Maestro.
That's so adorable your daughter loves Tom's music and is affected by this song. ❤
Who else could write such a thing. Infinitely beautiful.
❤️🌹❤️
Tom waits didn’t write it.
@@urban1413 Err, yes he did. If the lyrics didn't tell you that immediately the credits for H&V will, written for the movie 'On The Nickel' by Ralph Waite
I farted.
@@urban1413 yeah. There’s an interview easily accessible in which the young Tommy explains how he came to write it. He’s done some covers, but never claimed anyone else’s work for his own.
One of my all time favorite Waits gems, there's a clip of him performing this song on his very first appearance on the David Letterman show and it always brings me to tears when he dedicates the song to all the little boys of that have run away from home. Don't we all feel lost and like we've run away from home in our lives, I know I do from time to time, and he captures it for me.
Thank you good man, for expressing something I’ve felt all my life. And thank you for connecting that with Tom Waits. I never had the suburban dream. Never had a “family home”. I’ve always felt like I was a lost boy looking for home. That’s an existential thing more than anything else for me. But you and Tom really drew the connection for me. Thank you.
@@elhorrendo7026 I'm a Waits nut, I've been thru 35 Waits "phases" is you will. I found him going to a party in College in either 88, or 89. I'll never forget it, it was a dorm apt, and in the back was a bar, all sort of whisky smoked and with a dim blue light illuminating the room dimly. The smoke wafting up in the air completed the scene. I heard Swordfishtrombone, Raindogs, and Franks Wild Years, I'd never heard anything like it before ever. To this day those three albums are the foundation of my Waits fandom, those albums were ground zero. Then I expanded to his earlier work, and I've been traveling with him ever since. I sure hope he puts out new music again, I need some of that.
Love his acting too, his performance as the old gold minor in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs was total bad ass, it's on Netflix if you haven't seen it. I didn't even know he was in it and then I was like HOLY SHIT that's TOM WAITS, Fuck yeah.
I think devoted Waits fans all feel the same, that he's speaking to us directly, that's quite a feat for any songwriter to achieve, but he never misses the mark. Cheers to you, and have fun storming the castle. All rights reserved, void where prohibited, batteries not included, some assembly required, add water makes its own gravy.
I moved from toronto to detroit when my mother remarrid in 66. I always felt i didnt belong in the USA. I always spent my summer vacations in Toronto. Each year I was getting farther away from feeling I belonged in Toronto either.
Never shook the feeling of not belonging anywhere🙄
Most tragically beautiful song ever... Thank u mr waits for letting the eorld know bout us short dogs
the best "lullaby" I ever heard. All his lyrics are like to go to a place of art that is unbelievabel fantastic
My all time favorite song from my all time favorite performer. I saw him at the Troubadour, a little dive bar in Hollywood back in the 1970's. Two drink minimum. We took care of that pretty quickly. Right next to the dive motel he lived in. Been a fan a long time.
What becomes of the little boys who never say their prayers....damn hits me every time.
This fellow is one of the most unique and creative talents l've ever seen.
Pure genius, this song says more than it shows. Very deep lyrics...
*ONE* of the things I think about now when I listen to this song, is how Tom's voice goes from gravel to heaven (falsetto) WITHIN THE SAME WORD that he's singing. He does it time and time again in this song. It's beautiful. No, it's more than that.
This song could have been written for my son. It always makes me cry
It’s more than that
A couple words worth a thousand pictures.
Still releasing powerful music at age 72. A lot of people are just discovering Tom Waits after hearing his song Hell Broke Luce, the titular Jeff Luce, a veteran who tragically took his own life being the muse for the song about the horrors of war and the appalling treatment of soldiers and veterans by their own governments, in this case the UNITED STATES MILITARY. Tom Waits has the kind of true grit and raw power that puts singers and musicians, so called “artists” in their teens and twenties to shame at age 72. And he always has. He has heart, he has soul, he has style and he has a god given (presupposing the existence of a, or multiple Gods) for many arts. His music being the greatest.
Tom Waits, is a big star, on the galaxy of the stars! Love so much his songs! God bless you Tom! Big hug from Portugal!
He has style, but he's never been afraid of the grit and grime of the world and sees gemstones and gold where others might see a broken whiskey bottle and an overflowing ashtray and he is never anyone but himself.
I’m drinking cheap and nasty spiced rum I can’t afford and anything I can find as a mixer. Here’s to Tom Waits. Raising a toast to you, old Tommy boy.
The first time I heard a Tom Waits song was at the end of the film "Smoke," a fine film starring Harvey Kettle and William Hurt. It's "Innocent When You Dream." I thought, "What the hell is this? I've never heard anything quite like it. I have to find out who this is." Glad I did.
It's hard to have other people sit with me and listen to Tom Waits, because a lot of folks simply don't get Tom's genius. Oh well, their loss. 🙂
It’s Tom Traubert Blues.
Both exceptional songs- evocative lyrics even apart from the melodys and performance.
Gets me every time...
I'm one of the little boys who became a hobo for many years. Fortunate enough to have a place to hang my hat now. Now I'm just a bum . Like he said "nothing beats bumming around"
an a American treasure. This song should be in the Smithsonian. It's compassion and relevance shows the deep introspect in Waite's heart ♥ I listen to it at least twice a year to have the very healthy tears that keep my civic mind alive. He's similar to George Carlin only in a musician's standpoint. I love Tom. Sue me.😊
Tom Waits, Hunter S Thompson and George Carlin. America’s greatest exports for their time. Each legends representing the real American true grit. They never shied away from the truth. Tom’s the only one still on this mortal coil. People like these will always be with us, the power of their roguishness and their respective arts for truth can never be extinguished. Though they would each deny such foolish suggestions, they are cultural heritage. None of them ever set out to be “celebrities” or “great men” to be revered or admired. They were themselves and nothing more. They have shown us the world we all share, but often either refuse to see or fear to explore. These men are time travellers. They defy accepted reality in their own way without having ever setting out to do so. And future writers, musicians and comedians with an eye for the real world, hidden somewhere between the gutter and the stars will look to bold explorers and lunatics such as they are and hopefully enjoy the fruits of such predecessors and learn a thing or two as a bonus.
The first time I ever heard this or even heard of Tom waits was while watching a movie of the same name which was difficult to find but I found a VHS copy in 1981 or two I forget. Has a great way of writing lyrics and composing music that fits the feel.
His lyrics are intoxicating..
This song is a tearjerker for sure
I lived in the converted Golden west hotel in San Diego for a while. I know this song and this truth
Truly love this song a writer that should be complete happy 😆
This song could have been written about my son. It always makes me cry😮😮
love him for this...
What a great song tom
Can anyone tell me why he played this live with the intro as "waltzing Matilda" tune ??? He did it in Australia on the Don Lane show in 78 or 79 and also on the live Austin TX in 78 ... this is ( the intro to the live version not this one) Australia's unofficial national anthem written by banjo Patterson 130ys ago...so if anyone can make that connection please comment back...a total genius of truth and heritage 👍🍺🇦🇺
Isn’t ‘waltzing Matilda’ an old Aussie expression for the life of a wandering hobo?
Yeah man, seems kinda obvious the jolly Swagman is our hobo & the kind of hobo worthy of a few bars from Tommy boy here.
My favourite thank you Mr Tom Waits 💙
This is the most amazing song wtf!!!
On the nickel over there somehow beat every artist on every artist on earth with this one
A song which opened my mind to how lucky I've been.
Its like he wrote this for the lost boys in Peter pan, I see old teddy bears and other things reminiscent of youth when listening to this song..
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
❤❤❤❤❤❤😢.
If you've ever been homeless you know ❤ God bless Tom Waits ❤❤❤❤
O
Genius
Un gran baladista entre otras virtudes...grande Tom
Always comb your hair boys. 🥂
I work overnights in a homeless shelter and have this song in my head quite often here.
To the question of Playing the intro to Waltzing Matilda to this song…
Waltzing Matilda is the melody that weaves its way through Tom Flaubert (?) Blues… I think both songs are about the same metaphoric person. Tom Flaubert Blues answers “what becomes of the little boys”
If you dont like this song you can take a walk off a pier❤️👍🏼
LOVE
A Folk Tale for Big boys....
DJ Brown Nevada MO. I LOVE you! Not awkward at all to tell you. Miss you Give Dustin my love.
All of you must be out of your minds…this dude has a voice for death metal!
Haha. That would be a hell of a song
On a nickel over there makes me cry but in a good way stay alive on utube
Even the God we trust is on the Nickel over them
No human can do this
Anyone else notice it's actually spelled nickle rather than nickel?
Theme for The TV Movie The Atlanta Child Murders
Miss you Fergal
Now I can't unimaginable Tigger singing this with piglet.
Both drunk af crying over Poohs overdosed body
Grown up song .one or two of us we there.busted and he sang it.
Прекрасно!
The man was 31 when this was released.
Am I right in saying this was the Kentucky Avenue sequel?
I want to hear this guy do Pumbaa's voice.
That was fucking nice !
I was one of those raggedy kids on 5th Street in Skid Row.
Jammie ....
🚬 🍸 🍺
Not many better than Tom Waits. John Prine maybe. I’m only saying that but it could be debated.
Paging Neil Gaiman
Hello, what was this reference? I am a big fan of Tom Waits and really like Neil Gaiman although I don't know all of his stuff, what's the connection between the two?
I've heard many a song. After all, I was born in 1953.
With our a doubt. This is
Great tune from a great artist.
Songs like this are why I love Tom Waits music. A one off genius