Day After Tomorrow
John Kerry was right in 1971 when he said, "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?" He was wrong when he said that didn't apply to Iraq it does. Tom Waits normally not overtly political is decidedly so in his new song. clip of Day After Tomorrow mp3
Tom Waits' long career has been marked by an aversion to explicitly political music. Dim light bulbs and graveyards, rifles that ring out at dawn, mules and very tall men, old dogs, old people, Oldsmobiles' all have been celebrated in Waits' songs. Never, though, has the eccentric and impossibly rugged-voiced singer waded into unabashed political commentary.Which is why it's stunning to realize that Waits' new record, Real Gone, contains what is surely (for my money, at least) the most essential song inspired by the war in Iraq...
A sort of audio journal told from the perspective of a soldier whose tour in Iraq is coming to a close, 'Tomorrow' opens with the unnamed narrator getting some mail from home. He's a Midwestern kid'raised, he tells the listener, in northern Illinois'and has managed to hold on to some of his boyish na'vete. 'I still believe that there's gold/At the end of the world,' sings Waits as he begins to sketch his character. The soldier's spirits are buoyed by the knowledge that he'll soon be boarding a plane; he's due to arrive in America in just a couple days..,
With steely calm, the young soldier notes that he and his peers have been fed 'lies' since the start of the war, that the violence that surrounds him is deeply unnerving. Though we're not told his chief reason for joining the service, whatever illusions he might have possessed have long since been shattered: 'I'm not fighting for justice/I'm not fighting for freedom/I am fighting for my life and/Another day in the world here.'
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I'm a huge Waits fan and have been for years. To say that, Day After Tomorrow is about Iraq is like saying that Dylans, North Country Girl is about this girl I met in Canada when I was 19. (Which is true by the way. Her name is Heidi.)
The point is the song may or may not have been inspired by the war in Iraq, but to assume that Waits is making a direct reference to Iraq is folly. Simply because there's a war going on does not mean it's a politcal statement about Iraq. If anything you could call it a political statement about war and the pain that it causes. Listen to a, "A Soldiers Things." and tell me if that's about the Granada or Iran? For all you know, Waits voted for Bush. It's presumptuous to assume to know his political inclinations. He's to good for topical politics. Twenty years from now they'll be saying its a song about the war in China.
It seems likely that the song was inspired by Iraq although there is no direct evidence of that. You're correct it could be about any war at any time, and that's the genius of Waits. The song will become a classic anti-war anthem.
I love this song. Waits can make me cry more than any other musician. On that note, the rest of the album is fabulous, too. It's sure to be one of his best. (The rest isn't composed of ballads like this song, though.)
He recorded it like a rap artist in the bathroom of his make-shift studio. He used his voice for the percussion like a rap artist, but the sounds are true Waits.
Ah! He's so fabulous.
If you're not a Waits fan already, you should check him out. I've found it takes a couple listen-throughs for new listeners to become fans, but if you have the patience, you'll be a fan forever.
I love this song. Waits can make me cry more than any other musician. On that note, the rest of the album is fabulous, too. It's sure to be one of his best. (The rest isn't composed of ballads like this song, though.)
He recorded it like a rap artist in the bathroom of his make-shift studio. He used his voice for the percussion like a rap artist, but the sounds are true Waits.
Ah! He's so fabulous.
If you're not a Waits fan already, you should check him out. I've found it takes a couple listen-throughs for new listeners to become fans, but if you have the patience, you'll be a fan forever.
I love this song. Waits can make me cry more than any other musician. On that note, the rest of the album is fabulous, too. It's sure to be one of his best. (The rest isn't composed of ballads like this song, though.)
He recorded it like a rap artist in the bathroom of his make-shift studio. He used his voice for the percussion like a rap artist, but the sounds are true Waits.
Ah! He's so fabulous.
If you're not a Waits fan already, you should check him out. I've found it takes a couple listen-throughs for new listeners to become fans, but if you have the patience, you'll be a fan forever.
Referring to the first sentence of this topic, John Kerry betrayed his America in 1971 - it's part of the reason he lost.
Werd.