Mr. Walker had quite a night last night.
Thanks to latentblue and learsfool for a great time.
Now, it’s time to shift gears and get into Marcus mode.
Whistle Down The Wind(1)
(For Tom Jans)(2)
Well, I grew up here all of my life, and I dreamed someday I’d go
Where the blue-eyed(3) girls, and the red guitars, and the naked rivers flow
Now I’m not all I thought I’d be, I’ve always stayed around
I’ve been as far as Mercy and Grand, frozen to the ground
But I can’t stay here, and I’m scared to leave
So kiss me once, and then I’ll go to hell
I might as well be whistlin’ down the wind
The bus is at the corner, the clock on the wall
Broken down windmill, there ain’t no wind at all
And I yelled and I cursed, if I stay here I’ll rust
And I’m stuck like a shipwreck out here in the dust
The sky is red, and the world is on fire, and the corn is taller than me
And the dog is tied to a wagon of rain, and the road is wet as the sea
And sometimes the music from a dance will carry across the plains
And the places that I’m dreaming of, do they dream only of me?
There are places where they never sleep, and the circus never ends
So I will take the Marleybone coach(4), and be whistlin’ down the wind
So I will take the Marleybone coach, and be whistlin’ down the wind
Written by: Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan
Published by: Jalma Music (ASCAP), 1992
Official release: Bone Machine, Island Records Inc., 1992
Arrangement and lyrics published in “Tom Waits – Beautiful Maladies” (Amsco Publications, 1997)
(1)Whistle down the wind: 1. To defame a person. The cognate phrase “blown upon” is more familiar. The idea is to whistle down the wind that the reputation of the person may be blown upon. (“The First Hypertext Edition of The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable”, E. Cobham Brewer. © 1997-99 Bibliomania.com Ltd). 2. “I’m convinced that, dedication to Jans aside, Tom’s “Whistle Down The Wind,” and possibly several other songs on Bone Machine, were partly inspired by a novel by Mary Hayley Bell, also called “Whistle Down The Wind,” or maybe the 1962 film based on it, produced by Richard Attenborough. The novel and movie are about some kids in a small, rural town who find an escaped convict hiding in the family’s barn. They become convinced that the man is Jesus Christ and hide him from the adults in the community, whom they distrust. It’s regarded as a children’s story and is heavy with allegory and New Testament symbolism. Obviously, it shares quite a few themes that recur in Waits’ work. The song and the story are both about being a child in the restrictive atmosphere of small town life (in which Kathleen seems to have grown up), though it’s hard to see a clear connection beyond that. However, when you place the song alongside the other songs on the album — especially Jesus Gunna Be Here, Murder in the Red Barn, Black Wings, and I Don’t Wanna Grow Up, the connections between the M. H. Bell novel, the movie, and the Bone Machine album really start to accumulate. Of course, Waits seems to free-associate and there’s no need to choose in an “either-or” way between Jans and Bell as the inspiration for the song.” (Submitted by Kurt Gegenhuber. Raindogs Listserv discussionlist, 2000)
(2)Jans, Tom:
TW: “He’s an old friend of ours who died in ’83. A songwriter and friend of Kathleen’s and mine. From the central coast of California, kind of a Steinbeck upbringing in a small town. We dedicated it to him. He wrote ‘Lovin’ Arms.’ Dobie Gray recorded it, and also Elvis did it. He used to play with Mimi Farina. It was written about another friend, but it was the kind of song that Tom Jans would have written. He was there in spirit.” (Bone Machine press kit, Rip Rense. Late 1992)
1. “Tom Jans was born on February 9, 1949 (same year as Tom Waits), and died March 25, 1984. There’s a lot of confusion about how he died. Some say drug overdose, others say he died shortly after being in a serious motorcycle accident, and Joan Baez, in her autobiography, says he died in a car crash. Perhaps she should know; she once introduced Jans to her sister Mimi Farina, who became Jans’ singing partner in both touring and recording in the early seventies. Tom Jans seems to have had a reputation for never getting out of the Bay Area where he was born, but apparently he and Mimi even made it to the East Coast, playing clubs in New York. That’s a bit further than Mercy Street and Grand Avenue, if those are indeed the Mountain View / Palo Alto area streets referred to in the song.” (Submitted by Ulf Berggren. Tom Waits eGroups discussionlist, 2000)
2. “About 25 years back Tom Jans was as much an artist’s artist as Tom Waits. The larger part of the public knew their names only by reading. Waits’ name was in a kind of hip Apache-style on the sleeve of The Eagles “On the Border” as the writer of OL’55 and Jans’ name was on an Elvis record. He wrote “Loving Arms”, since then covered by just about everyone (I prefer Millie Jackson to the Dixie Chicks here). By the mid-seventies both were solidly anchored on the Westcoast. Remember these are the years TW sang, voluntary or not, alongside Jackson Browne on the Bonnie Raitt-album “Homeplate” and wrote “Tijuana” with Jack “Peaceful Easy Feeling” Tempchin. Waits & Jans must have known each other from this time on. West Hollywood wasn’t bigger than it is now and besides that there was … Bette Midler who seemed to be on friendly terms with both Toms in those days.Tom Jans started as a more or less conventional folksinger. He made a record together with Mimi Farina (Joan Baez’ sister) and an untitled solo-album for A&M in 1972. At this point Jans got in touch with Lowell George and he started to work with the clan around Little Feat. Two minor masterpieces came from that: “The Eyes of an Only Child” in 1975 and “Dark Blonde” in 1976. What made them special is the original perspective in the songs and their wide scope. Intense love songs are combined with songs that deal with the state of society, the Spanish Franco-regime etc. and it all seems to fit in. What keeps it together is utobiography. In fact the two records seem to be two episodes out of a larger work. This guy was trying to give shape to his life by putting it on records. So when in the Spring of 1977 Jans came to Europe and told his eager interviewers that he rented studio-time to record the next part that summer, a select group of fans couldn’t wait for it’s results. But then it became very silent and after years of waiting the news couldn’t have been worse. In 1984 Jans died, probably in connection with depression & dope although there are also reports he was involved in a car accident shortly before. Bette Midler put up an advertisement to his memory in Billboard in which the lyrics of “My Mother’s Eyes” were printed and that was it. Until “Bone Machine” came out. The beautiful thing about “Whistle Down The Wind” which is dedicated to Tom Jans is that it fits in Waits’ idiom as much as in that of Jans. Those who know the work of Jans well can actually hear him sing this song. For a long time I thought it must have been written earlier than the rest of Bone Machine (Jans died 8 years before, Kathleen not co-writing, the more conventional style than the rest of the songs) but since I heard Mule Variations I’m not so sure about that anymore. So much for the history, here’s the mystery: Once in a while after Jans’ tragic death articles emerged in different magazines with references to a mysterious last record which nobody had actually heard. It’s called “Champion” and it must have been released in the US only in 1982. What is known is who collaborated on the album (the same LA-bunch as on the earlier records, which even opens the possibility that it is in fact a late release of the planned ’77 record) . Well, of course there are (sometimes funny) rumours: Once there was a guy in Tokyo who had a copy but wasn’t in the possession of a recording-machine (we’re talking about Japan here!). There are roadies who had a tape of it but lost it, or they just can’t find it or whatever. The people who actually played on the album don’t react at all or only confirm that they have known Jans and played with him. Why? Well, maybe they think the record is not worth the fuss, a lack of interest in a project that wasn’t too succesful, copyright problems, or simply a story that is too sad to be reminded of. Still, it’s a shame that (the) story is incomplete, so if someone ever comes across …. let it be known…. A few years ago “The Eyes of an Only Child” and “Dark Blonde” were released on CD on Sony Records in Japan. At least in Holland they’re in some cheap import bins.” (Submitted by Hans Nijs. Listserv Raindogs discussionlist, 1999)
3. “After he and Mimi split Jans came down to LA where he became a sort of an innercircle celebrity. This must have been the time when he met Mr. Waits. He lived in Malibu untill his death. > Valerie Carter did a cover of the song on the album ‘Way It Is’ in 1996 Valerie Carter was Tom Jans’ girlfriend from 1976 onwards. She supported The Eagles on the European leg of their Hotel California-tour in 1977. During the only Dutch show in Rotterdam she called Jans on stage to do his “Back on my Feet Again” together. From then on Jans was a cult-star …. in the Netherlands only, I’m afraid. Back on my Feet Again is one of those songs which resemble Whistle down the Wind. It’s from the great album Dark Blonde. Around the world to be found between so much other used vinyl. Recommended particularly to those interested in early Little Feat and Tom Waits. Jans’ last album “Champion” has finally been found. It seems that no American company was willing to release it although the recordings (with Carter, the Porcaro’s, most Little Feat members etc.) were finished. The tapes were bought by the Japanese label Canyon International and the record was released in Japan only. The whole thing left Jans very disappointed. He lost faith in everyone around him with only few exceptions: at the end of the liner notes on the Champion sleeve it says: thanks to Tom and Kathleen. In a way these were his last words in public.” (Submitted by Hans Nijs. Listserv Raindogs discussionlist, 2000)
(3)Blue eyed: adj. 1. Drunk. c1850; obs. 2. Innocent, gullible; idealistic; unworldly. (Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner). Blue: adj. 1. [late 18C-19C] confused, terrified, disappointed. 2. [late 18C+] miserable, depressed (Cassel’s Dictionary of Slang. Jonathon Green 1998. Cassel & Co., 2000). Blue eyed boy/ girl: A man/ woman, not necessarily a youth, who is most favored by those in power (Dictionary Of American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner). Also mentioned in “The Other Side Of The World” (There’s a blue eyed girl with a red bow tie)
(4)Marleybone coach: This is probably misspelled and should read Marylebone. ride by/ go in the Marrowbone/ Marylebone stage, to: phr. [early 19C] to walk. [Marylebone is simply a mispron. of Marrowbone, itself metonomyc for the legs] (Cassel’s Dictionary of Slang. Jonathon Green 1998. Cassel & Co., 2000). Marrow-bones: Down on your marrow-bones, i.e. knees. That marrow in this phrase is not a corruption of “Mary,” meaning the Virgin, is palpable from the analogous phrase, the marrow-bone stage — walking. The leg-bone is the marrow-bone of beef and mutton, and the play is on Marylebone (London) (“The First Hypertext Edition of The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable”, E. Cobham Brewer. © 1997-99 Bibliomania.com Ltd)