Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen) aka Waltzing Matilda
James R. Woods
Anyone out there have any background information on this song? Or any
theories about what Tom is saying? I'm getting some interesting images,
but I haven't really been able to sting together a coherent picture.
I'd really appreciate anyone's thoughts, conjecture, etc.
Please reply in the Newsgroup or e-mail me: sir...@accent.net
Thanks!
James R. Woods
--------------
"Christ, you don't know the meaning of heartbreak, buddy" - Tom Waits
Gary Tausch
On the Cold Beer On a Hot Night bootleg he introduces this song as having
met a girl named Matilda and having a little too much to drink and then
he says:
"So this song is about throwing up in a foreign country"
Gary
Adam J. Thornton
In article <31B1FA...@rogidi.com>, Gary Tausch <gta...@rogidi.com> wrote:
>James R. Woods wrote:
>> Anyone out there have any background information on this song? Or any
>> theories about what Tom is saying? I'm getting some interesting images,
>> but I haven't really been able to sting together a coherent picture.
>met a girl named Matilda and having a little too much to drink and then
>he says:
>"So this song is about throwing up in a foreign country"
And at the end of "Mainstreet" (12/18/76, NYC, Bottom Line) he claims it's
about "Throwing up on yourself in a foreign country" and how much more
inconvenient it is there than at home and how they'll put you in the pokey
for it. It's a charming rap.
I *still* think the song is about heroin addiction.
Adam
--
ad...@phoenix.princeton.edu | Viva HEGGA! | Save the choad! | 64,928 | Fnord
"Double integral is also the shape of lovers curled asleep":Pynchon | Linux
Thanks for letting me rearrange the chemicals in your head. | Team OS/2
You can have my PGP passphrase when you pry it from my cold, dead brain.
Peter
Tom Brox wrote:
>
> Adam J. Thornton writes:
> |>Gary Tausch wrote:
> |> >James R. Woods wrote:
> |> >> Anyone out there have any background information on this song? Or any
> |> >> theories about what Tom is saying? I'm getting some interesting images,
> |> >> but I haven't really been able to sting together a coherent picture.
> |> >On the Cold Beer On a Hot Night bootleg he introduces this song as having
> |> >met a girl named Matilda and having a little too much to drink and then
> |> >he says:
> |> >"So this song is about throwing up in a foreign country"
> |>
> |> And at the end of "Mainstreet" (12/18/76, NYC, Bottom Line) he claims it's
> |> about "Throwing up on yourself in a foreign country" and how much more
> |> inconvenient it is there than at home and how they'll put you in the pokey
> |> for it. It's a charming rap.
> |>
> |> I *still* think the song is about heroin addiction.
>
> in the Studio) he explains that the "waltzing Mathilda" chorus is
> about "blowing town", a "Mathilda" being an australian term for
> a backpack. Basically a walkabout.
>
> There's also another version around, which states that Mathilda is
> the name of a danish musician/singer that Tom used to hang around
> with, presumably in Copenhagen.
>
> Persornally, I've always thought that the song is just a
> description of crawling down the alleys on a broken pair
> of legs somewhere abroad with a broken heart... or something
> like that anyway.
>
> --
> TOM BROX
> (br...@stud.unit.no)
Hi all
Waltzing Matilda is dedicated to the danish performer Matilde, which he
met in Copenhagen many years ago, and was quite attracted to.
Regards
peter (another dane)
Matthos
> Anyone out there have any background information on this song?
The fact that Tom quotes the old folk song "Walzing Matilda" (about a war
between Turkey and Australia. Or is it Austria?) both lyrically and
musically cannot be overlooked. There's a connection, I'm sure, but what
it is exactly I'm not sure.
Don Schantz
mat...@aol.com (Matthos) wrote:
>The fact that Tom quotes the old folk song "Walzing Matilda" (about a war
>between Turkey and Australia. Or is it Austria?) both lyrically and
>musically cannot be overlooked. There's a connection, I'm sure, but what
>it is exactly I'm not sure.
Not to knock you or anyone else personally for asking about it, but I think there's been enough
discussion on this one single Waltzing Mathilda topic over the last few months to start an
alt.music.tom.trauberts.blues newsgroup out of it, which would be getting twice as much
activity as alt.music.tom-waits. Is anyone else getting tired of it? Sorry to anyone who
hasn't been around for all of that, but it just seems like 2 out every 3 posts about the
meaning of Tom's lyrics have to do with this topic, and he's sure got an awful lot of other
interesting stuff to talk about. This is just an observation, not a big complaint.
- Don
PACO 5
In article <4plfvu$4...@daily-planet.execpc.com>, Don Schantz
<dsch...@execpc.com> writes:
snip...
>but it just seems like 2 out every 3 posts about the
>meaning of Tom's lyrics have to do with this topic, and he's sure got an
>awful lot of other
>interesting stuff to talk about. This is just an observation, not a big
>complaint.
>
>- Don
Well, Don, bring it on. Let's talk about something--you pick.
Dionysus
j0...@netcom.com
pa...@aol.com (PACO 5) writes:
0rrrrrrr, we could just use newsreaders which allow us to
chose subject matter, and make some determinations on our
own lives......
Monica Lepe
In article <4p6d36$j...@due.unit.no>, br...@stud.unit.no (Tom Brox) writes:
> > Anyone out there have any background information on this song?
This is from a pretty interesting book called "Written in My Soul" by Bill
Flanagan. In it he talks to a bunch of prominent songwriters about....song-
writing.
BF - You based "Hang Down Your Head" on "Tom Dooley," and "Tom Traubert's
Blues" quotes "Waltzing Matilda." Ever get in any copyright trouble?
TW - No, "Waltzing Matilda" was written in about 1903. I think the gals who
wrote it are still around. But I didn't have any trouble. It goes over well
in England. "Waltzing Matilda" is very sentimental over there because it's
about the English going off, disappearing from the homeland. "Matilda" is
a backpack. When you're "waltzing Matilda" you're on the bum. For me, I
was in Europe for the first time and I felt like a soldier far away from
home and drunk on the corner with no money, lost. I had a hotel key and I
didn't know where I was. That kind of feeling.
Gary Thorn
Don Schantz (dsch...@execpc.com) wrote:
: mat...@aol.com (Matthos) wrote:
:
: >The fact that Tom quotes the old folk song "Walzing Matilda" (about a war
: >between Turkey and Australia. Or is it Austria?) both lyrically and
: >musically cannot be overlooked. There's a connection, I'm sure, but what
: >it is exactly I'm not sure.
:
: Not to knock you or anyone else personally for asking about it, but I think there's been enough
: discussion on this one single Waltzing Mathilda topic over the last few months to start an
: alt.music.tom.trauberts.blues newsgroup out of it, which would be getting twice as much
: activity as alt.music.tom-waits. Is anyone else getting tired of it? Sorry to anyone who
: interesting stuff to talk about. This is just an observation, not a big complaint.
:
: - Don
If you don't like it, skip on to other topics or stop reading the group.
The group is for people to discuss Tom Waits, and if there are newcomers
who haven't read the threads you find so tiresome, they shouldn't be
penalized just because the group isn't going your way.
This group is for informational purposes, not some kind of know-it-all
fraternity.
Gary Thorn
************************************************************************
"Amongst our weaponry are fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, an almost
fanatical devotion to the Pope, and nice red uniforms."
--The Cardinal,
The Spanish Inquisition
Brian Bowe
On 14 Jun 1996, Gary Thorn wrote:
> : >The fact that Tom quotes the old folk song "Walzing Matilda" (about a war
> : >between Turkey and Australia. Or is it Austria?) both lyrically and
> : >musically cannot be overlooked. There's a connection, I'm sure, but what
> : >it is exactly I'm not sure.
Hooo boy, here we go again.
> : Not to knock you or anyone else personally for asking about it, but I think there's been enough
> : discussion on this one single Waltzing Mathilda topic over the last few months to start an
> : alt.music.tom.trauberts.blues newsgroup out of it, which would be getting twice as much
> : activity as alt.music.tom-waits. Is anyone else getting tired of it? Sorry to anyone who
> : hasn't been around for all of that, but it just seems like 2 out every 3 posts about the
> : meaning of Tom's lyrics have to do with this topic, and he's sure got an awful lot of other
> : interesting stuff to talk about. This is just an observation, not a big complaint.
right on. there seem to be two topics on this group: "what the fuck does
traubert's blues mean" and "I just started listening to tom waits and i
want to know what to buy next." add a little bit of "what do you like
better, tw's old stuff or new?" and you get alt.music.tom-waits in a
nutshell.
> If you don't like it, skip on to other topics or stop reading the group.
gee whiz, such a surly, sophomoric response. perhaps there should be an
FAQ or an archive somewhere that people can look through before they come
rushing in and wasting bandwidth on questions that have been discussed to
death.
>
> The group is for people to discuss Tom Waits, and if there are newcomers
> who haven't read the threads you find so tiresome, they shouldn't be
> penalized just because the group isn't going your way.
>
> This group is for informational purposes, not some kind of know-it-all
> fraternity.
Yeah, whatever. Nobody here claims to be "some kind of know-it-all," it
is simply that this newsgroup hasn't been interesting since the february
concert waits played in san francisco. it has been the same dull posts on
the same lame topics for months...
brian j. bowe
bo...@river.it.gvsu.edu
Don Schantz
>If you don't like it, skip on to other topics or stop reading the group.
>
>who haven't read the threads you find so tiresome, they shouldn't be
>penalized just because the group isn't going your way.
>
>This group is for informational purposes, not some kind of know-it-all
>fraternity.
>
Sorry, Gary. I knew I would probably end up getting this from somebody. I tried real hard to
word my original post so that I wouldn't offend anyone, but I guess I could do better. It was
really meant to be more of a fishnet for other topics discussions, and not so much of a
complaint. I understand there are new people coming on board all the time, and I was just
trying to point out that the constant hashing over of a common topic could start to wear on all
those people too, if that's what they see all the time as they're getting into a new NG. I am
already taking your advice of skipping on to other topics, but there's too much fun stuff here
to read to skip it entirely! I just like seeing more variety, that's all.
Cheerfully,
Don
Don Schantz
pa...@aol.com (PACO 5) wrote:
>In article <4plfvu$4...@daily-planet.execpc.com>, Don Schantz
><dsch...@execpc.com> writes:
>snip...
>>meaning of Tom's lyrics have to do with this topic, and he's sure got an
>>awful lot of other
>>interesting stuff to talk about. This is just an observation, not a big
>>complaint.
>>
>
>Well, Don, bring it on. Let's talk about something--you pick.
>
>
OK. How about this - What are some of the favorite instrumental solos on Tom's records (not
counting his voice, although it's certainly a great instrument). I'm more interested in what
specific contributions in specific songs by other band members really make you sit up and take
notice? Marc Ribot is a vast source of such material. Some particular favorites for me
include the solo in "Big Black Mariah" on Big Time, the opening riff and the solo in "Jockey
Full of Bourbon", and the solos in the studio version of "Way Down In The Hole". I love the
way he manages to sound so out of control and just plain wrong until you hear him enough times
that you really realize how great it sounds and how right it is - a perfect complement for
Tom's voice and music. I also really dig the organ solo in "Down Down Down", I forget who it's
by and I'm too lazy to go look - Eric something, I think.
Oh, I also have a question about lyric interpretation, in "A Little Rain":
She was 15 years old
And never seen the ocean
She climbed into a van
With a vagabond
And the last thing she said
Was "I love you mom"
Do you think this means the last thing she said as she was leaving, or the last thing she said,
period, just before she died? Maybe the vagabond strangled her to death, or she killed
herself. That may be a lot darker interpretation than was intended, but it's such a sad
sounding song and so much of this album is about death in some way, that I'm not sure how to
take it. I will say before anybody responds that I already disagree with you if you say "Oh,
it's OBVIOUSLY this or CLEARLY that". I hate it when people say that about the meaning of
someone else's lyrics. It's fun to speculate, though.
- Don
Koen van der Drift
In article <4q7tjo$p...@daily-planet.execpc.com>, Don Schantz
<dsch...@execpc.com> wrote:
>Oh, I also have a question about lyric interpretation, in "A Little Rain":
>
She is probably a mermaid, when she arrives at the beach she will swim
away forever and never see her mother again. BTW I LOVE the piano intro to
this song. It is so simple and beautiful and brings tears to my eyes.
- Koen.
Nancy M. Dabrowski
>
> >OK. How about this - What are some of the favorite instrumental solos
on Tom's records (not
> >counting his voice, although it's certainly a great instrument).
>
Closing Time conjures up upturned chairs on scarred wooden tables ,
yellow light and cigarette burned barnboard floors .
Second is a boot version of Pasties & A G-String , where he shout out "
Stella ! Thry're playing our song !" and the band breaks into a waltz .
dameeene
Mike Dickson
In article <Pine.HPP.3.91.960618...@river.it.gvsu.edu>
bo...@river.it.gvsu.edu wrote...
> gee whiz, such a surly, sophomoric response. perhaps there should be an
> FAQ or an archive somewhere that people can look through before they come
> rushing in and wasting bandwidth on questions that have been discussed to
> death.
> Yeah, whatever. Nobody here claims to be "some kind of know-it-all,"
I take it you just do impressions, do you?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Dickson, Black Cat Software Factory, Musselburgh, Scotland, EH21 6NL
mi...@blackcat.demon.co.uk - Fax 0131-653-6124 - Columnated Ruins Domino
Brian Varney
>OK. How about this - What are some of the favorite instrumental solos on Tom's records (not
>counting his voice, although it's certainly a great instrument).
the intro to 'hang on st. christopher.' the band just sounds so drunk and
obnoxious. great.
brian
Gary Thorn
Don Schantz (dsch...@execpc.com) wrote:
: pa...@aol.com (PACO 5) wrote:
: >In article <4plfvu$4...@daily-planet.execpc.com>, Don Schantz
: ><dsch...@execpc.com> writes:
: >snip...
: >>but it just seems like 2 out every 3 posts about the
: >>meaning of Tom's lyrics have to do with this topic, and he's sure got an
: >>awful lot of other
: >>interesting stuff to talk about. This is just an observation, not a big
: >>complaint.
: >>
: >>- Don
: >
: >Well, Don, bring it on. Let's talk about something--you pick.
: >
: >
: >Dionysus
: OK. How about this - What are some of the favorite instrumental solos on Tom's records (not
: counting his voice, although it's certainly a great instrument). I'm more interested in what
My favorite is in "Tom Traubert's Blues." Speaking of which, what do you
think is the meaning behind "Waltzing Mathilda" in that song?
--gt
Mike Dickson
In article <4q7tjo$p...@daily-planet.execpc.com> dsch...@execpc.com wrote...
> OK. How about this - What are some of the favorite instrumental solos
> on Tom's records
The instrumental at the end of 'Rain Dogs' on 'Big Time' is stunning
stuff, as is 'Russian Dance' from 'The Black Rider'.
Mike Dickson
In article <4q9fau$k...@mark.ucdavis.edu> ez04...@bullwinkle.ucdavis.edu wrote...
> My favorite is in "Tom Traubert's Blues." Speaking of which, what do you
> think is the meaning behind "Waltzing Mathilda" in that song?
<SFX - heavy machine gun fire>
PACO 5
>>OK. How about this - What are some of the favorite instrumental solos
on
>Tom's records (not
>>counting his voice, although it's certainly a great instrument).
The upright bass on Big Time's "Telephone Call from Istanbul," the
openings to "Hang on St. Christopher," "Goin' Out West," and "More than
Rain," and, of course, "Just Another Sucker Down the Vine." I also like
the tango on "One From the Heart."
Dionysus
Kristina & Paul Kremer
>>Marc Ribot is a vast source of such material.
Speaking of Marc Ribot has anyone ever heard any of his solo records? And
are they worth buying??
-Paul
--
The Speared Peanut Design Studio
http://www.spearedpeanut.com
Johnny Boy
Don Schantz <dsch...@execpc.com> wrote:
>Oh, I also have a question about lyric interpretation, in "A Little Rain":
>She was 15 years old
>And never seen the ocean
>She climbed into a van
>With a vagabond
>And the last thing she said
>Was "I love you mom"
>Do you think this means the last thing she said as she was leaving, or the last thing she said,
>period, just before she died? Maybe the vagabond strangled her to death, or she killed
>herself. That may be a lot darker interpretation than was intended, but it's such a sad
>sounding song and so much of this album is about death in some way, that I'm not sure how to
>take it. I will say before anybody responds that I already disagree with you if you say "Oh,
>it's OBVIOUSLY this or CLEARLY that". I hate it when people say that about the meaning of
>someone else's lyrics. It's fun to speculate, though.
Funny, I was just thinking about that the other day -- I'd always
pictured it as being the last thing MOM HEARD her say. 'Cos it
created a strange vision in my brain, a 15-year-old girl, hundreds of
miles away from home being throttled somewhere and saying that.
I think it's the last thing mom heard her say.
Always a deeply disturbing moment in a beautifully dark, sonically
astonishing, satisfying listen of an album.
Aidan Cully
I always saw her getting into the car with the vagabond, and wishing her
mother farewell saying "I love you, mom..." For some reason or other, I
also pictured the vagabond driving over a cliff into the ocean, but she's
never seen it so I think this last bit is probably wrong.. Maybe the
vagabond was taking her to the ocean, or maybe Waits just used it as a
symbol of a life that ended incomplete. Any other thoughts?
j0...@netcom.com
Though not *clearly*, she could have said that as the last
thing she said to her mother [metaphor for family, childhood,
innocence]. She might have left home to never be able to
returen. Not because she was violently murdered, nor became
a child prostitute/porn-star/etc, but rather because life got
in her way.
Imagine not the worst end for her, but the longest, most
extended: never finding love, never finding a way to support
herself well, .....never finding the ocean.
Dark lullabyes,
-joja
j0...@netcom.com
Dave Everett
This song conjures up a memory of some vagabond type in a van who picked
up a girl, and, unfortunately violently killed her (I remember the
details; you don't want to hear them). This happened in San Diego
county, I think down in the desert. Tom grew up in San Diego, so that
might be what the song is about. Brings chills to my spine.
ronald sharek
Dave Everett (ever...@n2.net) wrote:
I must say that the idea that the girl died at the hands of a vagabound
had never crossed my mind. I had always pictured a small town girl who
"had never seen the ocean" So when she is fifteen she leaves her parents
in hopes of seeking this. But what the song is saying is that there was
no hostility between her and her mother. She was not leaving due to
some adolesent impulse, rather it was unfortunate that she had to leave
to leave her parents.to experience that which she desperately
had to experience. The song is about doing difficult things. She
did not want to leave her mother, her mother did not want her to go, but she
did. She began the difficult process of taking your frist steps in the world.
I must say that the thought of a girl dying a violent death at the hands of
stuff
but i say:
that's my two cents.
Dave Everett
You might be right. However, the entire album (and I must say I haven't
really analyzed it) is about death, and even murder. And, as I said, I
have this memory of an incident with a van and a girl in the desert,
which the song naturally conjured up. Not that I want that
interpretation, or anything.
Your interpretation is certainly more palatable.
Don Schantz
Dave Everett <ever...@n2.net> wrote:
>This song conjures up a memory of some vagabond type in a van who picked
>up a girl, and, unfortunately violently killed her (I remember the
>details; you don't want to hear them). This happened in San Diego
>county, I think down in the desert. Tom grew up in San Diego, so that
>might be what the song is about. Brings chills to my spine.
When I first heard this song, for some reason the idea that the vagabond killed her crossed my
mind before the idea that she was just leaving. I think maybe it's because so much of Bone
Machine is about death in some way or another. But when I originally posted asking about the
interpretation I sure didn't think it would have been based on an actual incident. It might
not be, but it seems like the more I learn about Tom's music the more I realize how often this
is the case. Do I remember hearing somewhere that "Murder In The Red Barn" was also based on
an actual story? Being from Wisconsin (home of Jeffrey Dahmer and Ed Gein, not to mention
many, many barns), I probably should know this, but I don't. Anyone know?
Don
Mad Prince Jack
Don Schantz <dsch...@execpc.com> wrote:
>Oh, I also have a question about lyric interpretation, in "A Little
>Rain":
>
>She was 15 years old
>And never seen the ocean
>She climbed into a van
>With a vagabond
>And the last thing she said
>Was "I love you mom"
>
>Do you think this means the last thing she said as she was leaving, or
>the last thing she said,
>period, just before she died? Maybe the vagabond strangled her to death,
>or she killed
>herself. That may be a lot darker interpretation than was intended, but
>it's such a sad
>sounding song and so much of this album is about death in some way, that
>I'm not sure how to take it.
I just picked up 'Bone Machine' a few days ago, and this is one of my favorite
songs on it. I picture the girl climbing in the van, hitchhiking perhaps, to
leave a small town to head for the big city and follow her dreams, risking
"something that matters." The song seems to be dealing with that bold move of
leaving the security of the home town to make one's own way in the world, and
being willing to suffer the hardships of being alone in a new place. Of
course, the really interesting thing about interpretations is how we tend to
fit our interpretations into molds that most fit our lives. For example, I'm
leaving school soon to head to a new town where I know no one, so this sort of
thing has been on my mind a lot lately. So it makes sense that I would see
the song this way. And I probably always will, only in a few years the song
will serve to remind of these days. Odd, eh?
Sorry about the digression, but I have to have more original text than added
for my poster to post...)
mpj
c64...@mizzou1.missouri.edu
"If I exorcise my devils, well, my angels may leave, too."
-- Tom Waits, "Please Call Me, Baby"
APE/ALIEN?
Don Schantz <dsch...@execpc.com> wrote:
>Don
The murder in the red barn was a true story. It happened in 1827 in
Suffolk. The details are pretty much as the song tells it adultery and
murder. I could go on for ever and interprit every line ,but i wont.
It also became a play and/or novel called Maria Martin or the murder
in the red barn. with toms interest in theatre i gess this is where
he heard it.
sdevn
Monica
In article <4rq7d9$q...@daily-planet.execpc.com>, Don Schantz
<dsch...@execpc.com> wrote:
>Do I remember hearing somewhere that "Murder In The Red Barn" was also
based on
> an actual story? Being from Wisconsin (home of Jeffrey Dahmer and Ed
Gein, >not to mention
> many, many barns), I probably should know this, but I don't. Anyone know?
>
> Don
Maybe you read it in the Tom Waits Digest (http://www.nwu.edu/waits/).
This is from the lyrics dictionary included on that site (compiled by Seth
Nielsen?).
"Murder in the Red Barn [Murder in the Red Barn/Bone Machine]
Murder In the Red Barn actually refers to a murder in
Victorian rural England. A man called Richard Cawdaw? had
a relationship with a dairy maid. But after an argument he
killed her with a spade in a red barn on the farm and buried her
under a pile of straw. He then ran off to the Isle of Man, but
wrote to the girl's mother pretending to be the girl herself,
telling her that she had settled down with a man. However, a
woman had a dream of the murder and the body buried
beneath the straw. After the body was found, Richard
Cawdaw was found guilty on the strength of the dream and
was sentenced to be hanged. The British public was intrigued
by the murder and the court case, and foot lengths of the
hanging rope were sold for a guinea each. The story was made
into a musical melodrama, called, funnily enough, The Murder
In The Red Barn."