I'm a newbie to Tom's music, but I love him & am addicted!! So far, Martha is my favorite because I relate to it 100%. I bawled when I first heard it. I name my plants & one I named, Martha.
You literally cannot skip a song on any album without risking missing a gem. The moment you think it's not something thing special he strings it all together.
I fell in love with Tom Waits playing in the background...I conceived two daughters with Tom Waits records playing and some nice weed!....As time moved on.., I tried to save our relationship by playing Tom Waits!!!!.. Then I lost myself in the bottom of many Vodka bottles with Tom!!!. Then I got sober with Tom!!! Now Im just 50yrs old!! Boring (but enough stories keep me going)!! Tom Waits is my background tape! His music has been monumental in my life!! I love music...from Willie Nelson to Eminem! The only musician Id love to meet is Tom Waits. I want to thank him!!!! For his music...it got me through!!!! ♥️♥️♥️
@@Jayhazy23 yeah...dont remember where I was exactly. I was driving from Rochester down to Long Island...maybe a college station from one of the SUNY schools?
Please forgive me... I just discovered this pure gem and i am 24 Never heard this one before. But it's like an instant crush Those lyrics... damn... goosebumbs
I was introduced to Tom Waits from an FTP full of mp3s back in the late 90s. I was 14 and downloaded Frank's Wild Years because it was free and I was a dirty music / software pirate. It was on an FTP full of ambient, jungle, drum & bass, and other electronic music. Been a huge Tom Waits fan ever since. I've bought every album at least once since then. Every time I listen to Closing Time, I appreciate it a bit more, and "Martha" stings a little more. This album would be an impressive work at the peak of nearly any musician's career, yet for Tom -- it's just him getting started.
I keep on listening/repeating this Martha as my personal poem/anthem, since everyone of us has his own Martha in his life. Martha as first love, as victimized/jeopardized, non realized love we remember when we are much older.-"...And those were the days of roses, of poetry and prose and Martha all I had was you and all you had was me..."-Finally:"...And I remember quiet evenings, trembling close to YOU"!-Such a life poetry!- Tom Waits, together with Bob Dylan are unique cant-authors poets!
“The Portuguese call it saudade: a longing for something so indefinite as to be indefinable. Love affairs, miseries of life, the way things were, people already dead, those who left and the ocean that tossed them on the shores of a different land - all things born of the soul that can only be felt.” ― Anthony De Sa, Barnacle Love . . . . . Boop, Thank You for loving this broken Caveman, Will
Sang this to my 3 kids and now my 5 grandkids hear it ... 😊and im remembering all those years and all those tiny faces 😍 ... Don't forget Tata when he's gone ....just play this tune and smile 😊..... I'll be waiting ❤
yes it is. Southside Johnny has been the keeper of my soul for 40 years. Tom is right besdie him & I just started listening to him. It was Johnny that got me into him with the Grapefruit Moon album, all Tom's songs. I love them all!! By both artists.
Siobhan,her lovely mam ,her bros, and her cat named toke brought me to this song and tom,thank you my love,i hope youre well and happy......good times,early 90's xx
I’m still haunted by Georgia Lee. If I listen to it it plays for days in my head. As a news story it could be dismissed soon but when Tom makes a song about it it sticks.
Me too. Must be the weather or maybe early symptoms of the flu. I'm a fairly emotionally distant, hardened-by-life individual, but this song brought tears to me. Not full-on crying, but a few tears of enough substance to make it down my cheek.
This is the most romantic songs I've known. Perhaps it is my age. Perhaps my youth. Either way. It has rung true since I was in my twenties. Incredible lyrics and atmosphere.
My friend said this is his ultimate sadness song. I can't argue with that. Since all the cover artists play it with slow and painful voice (RUclips lack Tom live version on this song unfortunately). But I think the Old Tom Frost is happy in this song, he packs all his 40 years memories about his beloved that he is going to meet later, drinking coffee with rugged nostalgic yet confident voice.
I am in love again! An amzing masterpiece of lyrics . I also love the cover on Better Things. Never heard this song before. Nothing like music to lift the spirit during the tUMP regime.
Tom Waits is a cultural icon capable of bringing together people across all sorts of sociocultural boundaries. In 200 years, many presidents will come and go leaving nothing more than a sentence or two in a high school history textbook and perhaps a building named after them. Tom Waits, on the other hand, will be remembered as one of the most influential yet underappreciated by the general population songwriters and cultural icons of our time. What's this "Better Things" you speak of? I'm so out of touch with modern mainstream television, movies, music, etc that I've never heard of it.
Meatloaf does a fantastic version of this song as well. His is more operatic. Both are great, but Tom's is so soulful. He's truly an American treasure.
Operator, number please It's been so many years Will she remember my old voice While I fight the tears? Hello, hello there, is this Martha? This is old Tom Frost And I am calling long distance Don't worry 'bout the cost 'Cause it's been 40 years or more Now, Martha, please recall Meet me out for coffee Where we'll talk about it all And those were the days of roses, poetry and prose And, Martha, all I had was you, and all you had was me There was no tomorrows, we'd packed away our sorrows And we saved them for a rainy day And I feel so much older now And you're much older too How's your husband and how's the kids? You know that I got married too? Lucky that you found someone To make you feel secure 'Cause we were all so young and foolish Now we are mature And those were the days of roses, poetry and prose And, Martha, all I had was you, and all you had was me There was no tomorrows, we'd packed away our sorrows And we saved them for a rainy day And I was always so impulsive I guess that I still am And all that really mattered then Was that I was a man I guess that our being together Was never meant to be And Martha, Martha I love you, can't you see? And those were the days of roses, poetry and prose And, Martha, all I had was you, and all you had was me There was no tomorrows, we'd packed away our sorrows And we saved them for a rainy day And I remember quiet evenings Trembling close to you
My Martha was called Lynn, she was amazingly intelligent, really super bright . She saw herself as an ordinary girl but i saw her for the stunningly wonderful woman that she was both inside and out . Not one bad word was said about anyone , an angel . I was the opposite, clumsy awkward, stupid . I was terrified that one day she would wake up and see me for what i really was and run away from this worthless lump she was saddled too. So i treated her as someone l could pick up and put down any time I liked. I broke her heart and she left me . I was so ashamed of what i had done i watched her leave hoping she would find a real man worthy of her love . I hope she found that man and had an amazing life that she deserved do much . I loved you Lynn but you deserved so much more .
After almost 38-years on this planet, I am finally listening to Tom Waits, and halfway through his first album, I can understand the appeal -- reminds me of The Yardbirds and The Kinks for kookiness and Van Morrison for that more subtle but somehow more lyrically-nuanced wistfulness, though I know there are other male musicians who remind me of him, though . How much Tori Amos and Patty Griffin are relatable for women is equivalent to how much Tom Waits is relatable for men. Maybe?
If all of the trees are frozen, would it really be the days of roses? Perhaps there's a start of an idea for a similar song there where two former lovers reflect on the past in such a way as one perceives it as being springtime -- full of roses and life -- while the other relives feelings of cold and abandonment. Perhaps that's why Martha left? It definitely doesn't say that, but it could potentially make sense in that context at least.
Thanks for your consistent care, love and support towards me on my page I really appreciate you and can’t thank you enough. Write me with the address above so we can have more positive conversations about my music and life in general
you want me to call you... again? I don't want to fight no more. I want to love free all, every one, free no more pushing no more pulling I long for balance
Meatloaf's death caused me to look into other musicians who died in the past 20 years, which led me to his cover of Warren Zevon's "Lawyers, Guns & Money and then his "Martha" cover. The ol' Meat dude had good taste in music, and that voice just works for those two covers. I'm going to have to go back and listen to Meatloaf's discography.
The original song is by Tom Waits of the Closing Time album in 1973. Buckley covered it & it appears on a compilation of Waits covers call Step Right Up in 1995
One of my top-500 Tom Waits songs.
I'm a newbie to Tom's music, but I love him & am addicted!! So far, Martha is my favorite because I relate to it 100%. I bawled when I first heard it. I name my plants & one I named, Martha.
You are right, one of mine too!... :)
He was at the time of this recording on top of his game
This and christmas card
Wow, I'm impressed that you were able to narrow your list down to such a small number!!
😏
I had a "Martha" once.
I wish I had the guts to call her up after all these years.
Go for it! I reconnected with the love of my life 2 years ago, after an almost 20 year break. Best thing I *ever* did.
😢😢😢😢
Me too mate.
Just my perspective, but expect that people never change, brother! Only diseases change people. Otherwise, good luck!
We've all had a "Martha" bro. If we were very, very lucky that is. ;)
The lyrics are descriptive, honest , and heartbreaking. “ And I remember quiet evenings trembling close to you”
You literally cannot skip a song on any album without risking missing a gem. The moment you think it's not something thing special he strings it all together.
I fell in love with Tom Waits playing in the background...I conceived two daughters with Tom Waits records playing and some nice weed!....As time moved on..,
I tried to save our relationship by playing Tom Waits!!!!..
Then I lost myself in the bottom of many Vodka bottles with Tom!!!.
Then I got sober with Tom!!!
Now Im just 50yrs old!! Boring (but enough stories keep me going)!!
Tom Waits is my background tape! His music has been monumental in my life!!
I love music...from Willie Nelson to Eminem! The only musician Id love to meet is Tom Waits. I want to thank him!!!! For his music...it got me through!!!! ♥️♥️♥️
Think he has had a profound effect on many such as yourself
Write to him and tell him this.
Next cycle try Cat Stevens 😄
Phantastic life description❤
"Those were days of roses, poetry and prose and Martha all II had was you and all you had was me." Brilliant.
stop....I'm crying again.
@@kaytelopez254 kills me
I heard the entire album played on an upstate radio station. Before i got home i stopped and bought it.. I never get tired of how it makes me feel..
An upstate radio station?
Whenever I hear someone say "upstate" it seems that they are always talking about New York.
They play whole albums up there?
@@Jayhazy23 yeah...dont remember where I was exactly. I was driving from Rochester down to Long Island...maybe a college station from one of the SUNY schools?
The pain in this song is soo real.
yes it very much is. and his voice & piano playing, just makes it cut like a knife to the heart.
Please forgive me... I just discovered this pure gem and i am 24
Never heard this one before. But it's like an instant crush
Those lyrics... damn... goosebumbs
Tom was only 24 when the album "Closing Time" (with the song "Martha") came out.
Better to discover it later than never at all ❤️
I just discovered this as well and am totally mesmerized. What a gorgeous, soulful song! I’m so thankful to have stumbled across this!
I was introduced to Tom Waits from an FTP full of mp3s back in the late 90s. I was 14 and downloaded Frank's Wild Years because it was free and I was a dirty music / software pirate. It was on an FTP full of ambient, jungle, drum & bass, and other electronic music. Been a huge Tom Waits fan ever since. I've bought every album at least once since then.
Every time I listen to Closing Time, I appreciate it a bit more, and "Martha" stings a little more. This album would be an impressive work at the peak of nearly any musician's career, yet for Tom -- it's just him getting started.
Beautiful discovery of such gorgeous lyrics and music compassion makes me cry for his Martha so glad I found this gem 💎
We all have a Martha we would like to call ❤️
Oh we really do!
So very true ... ;)
yes but I can't find mine. 30 years now. it's killin' me.
kayte lopez According to this song, you still have 10 years!
Yep :(
And i remember quiet evenings trembling close to you....best last line of a song ever
This is the sweetest song I’ve heard in a very long time. The emotion of it is so real. Thank you, Tom for such a lovely song.
I'm not really a Waits fan so this is my top 1.
Though his Waltzing Mathilda ain't too shabby I will admit.
Transported back over 30 years....music doesn’t get any better than this
How about 50 years! 1973- 2023
I think it's safe to say, there will never be another artist like Tom Waits. Thank you Tom ❤
I only can tell you this, search for Tamino,belgian artist, hidden gem in the desert of bad music nowadays ;-)
This song has seen me through hard times.
"I remember, quiet evenings, trembling close to you"
Mercy!
I keep on listening/repeating this Martha as my personal poem/anthem, since everyone of us has his own Martha in his life. Martha as first love, as victimized/jeopardized, non realized love we remember when we are much older.-"...And those were the days of roses, of poetry and prose and Martha all I had was you and all you had was me..."-Finally:"...And I remember quiet evenings, trembling close to YOU"!-Such a life poetry!- Tom Waits, together with Bob Dylan are unique cant-authors poets!
My favourite Tom Waits song. Always gets me.
If there is a song that makes me cry... this is it.
“The Portuguese call it saudade: a longing for something so indefinite as to be indefinable. Love affairs, miseries of life, the way things were, people already dead, those who left and the ocean that tossed them on the shores of a different land - all things born of the soul that can only be felt.” ― Anthony De Sa, Barnacle Love
.
.
.
.
.
Boop, Thank You for loving this broken Caveman, Will
In Galicia , right upper Portugal , we call it morriña ;)
@@leafffgz Thank You for your kindness, to share that with me. Please Be Well, and Stay Strong, Will
😎👌🤲
@@miguellourenco7645 Amen!
You could also call it the blues.....
Young and thinking is far different as we know. We all have our own journey and how we have interpreted our lives. Yep!
Sang this to my 3 kids and now my 5 grandkids hear it ... 😊and im remembering all those years and all those tiny faces 😍 ... Don't forget Tata when he's gone ....just play this tune and smile 😊..... I'll be waiting ❤
Recently met a man whom I shared a house with and loved way back when we were students. After 38 years. Was so wonderful. He’s still the same. ❤
Utterly beautiful and mesmerising. Yet another Tom Waits song I wish I'd written.....this guy just connects with my very soul.
yes it is. Southside Johnny has been the keeper of my soul for 40 years. Tom is right besdie him & I just started listening to him. It was Johnny that got me into him with the Grapefruit Moon album, all Tom's songs. I love them all!! By both artists.
@@kaytelopez254 ❤
So undeservedly underappreciated. Thank you Tom Waits!
Siobhan,her lovely mam ,her bros, and her cat named toke brought me to this song and tom,thank you my love,i hope youre well and happy......good times,early 90's xx
I have just found this. Beautiful. Not many songs at 47 stop me in my tracks. Thanks to "better things"
I’m still haunted by Georgia Lee. If I listen to it it plays for days in my head. As a news story it could be dismissed soon but when Tom makes a song about it it sticks.
I can't listen to this song because it's so beautiful that it hurts!
Try listening to it with some alcohol, you'll bawl your eyes out
My life within a beautiful song.
Tom was 24 years old when he wrote and performed this. . . . . .
Damn, got somethin in my eyes.
yea I wonder now, what could it be?
Me too. Must be the weather or maybe early symptoms of the flu.
I'm a fairly emotionally distant, hardened-by-life individual, but this song brought tears to me. Not full-on crying, but a few tears of enough substance to make it down my cheek.
I waits so long to listen to= such a marthsterpiece
This is the most romantic songs I've known. Perhaps it is my age. Perhaps my youth. Either way. It has rung true since I was in my twenties. Incredible lyrics and atmosphere.
LOVE this song. And love the name Martha. ❤
My friend said this is his ultimate sadness song. I can't argue with that. Since all the cover artists play it with slow and painful voice (RUclips lack Tom live version on this song unfortunately).
But I think the Old Tom Frost is happy in this song, he packs all his 40 years memories about his beloved that he is going to meet later, drinking coffee with rugged nostalgic yet confident voice.
There is a Scottish band called Hue and Cry that did a beautiful cover of this.
Once again, thankyou Tom Waits.
Beautiful song. Brings to mind someone very special. Thanks, Tom.
Always makes me cry.
Let's just talk about his ability to write. Never again will there be tom waits. Well done
2025 January, Jake Lizzio made me come here, Just started my Journey, love it!
I am in love again! An amzing masterpiece of lyrics . I also love the cover on Better Things. Never heard this song before. Nothing like music to lift the spirit during the tUMP regime.
what is a tUMP did you really whine about orange man on a tom waits song lol
Tom Waits is a cultural icon capable of bringing together people across all sorts of sociocultural boundaries. In 200 years, many presidents will come and go leaving nothing more than a sentence or two in a high school history textbook and perhaps a building named after them. Tom Waits, on the other hand, will be remembered as one of the most influential yet underappreciated by the general population songwriters and cultural icons of our time.
What's this "Better Things" you speak of? I'm so out of touch with modern mainstream television, movies, music, etc that I've never heard of it.
On a tous sa "Martha". Quel artiste profond et sensible.
gifted person from a young age. i love you Tom.
This is why hes the greatest...whatever live we had..the first love we had...we will never forget...for better or worse
My go to inspiration song, always gives me hope
my god how did i miss this wonderful song!
Beautiful song..
Yes.. not only beautiful.. more than that 😊😊
Meatloaf does a fantastic version of this song as well. His is more operatic. Both are great, but Tom's is so soulful. He's truly an American treasure.
One of my favorite love songs.
Happy birthday 🌹
My aunt in East Texas a good memory
Operator, number please
It's been so many years
Will she remember my old voice
While I fight the tears?
Hello, hello there, is this Martha?
This is old Tom Frost
And I am calling long distance
Don't worry 'bout the cost
'Cause it's been 40 years or more
Now, Martha, please recall
Meet me out for coffee
Where we'll talk about it all
And those were the days of roses, poetry and prose
And, Martha, all I had was you, and all you had was me
There was no tomorrows, we'd packed away our sorrows
And we saved them for a rainy day
And I feel so much older now
And you're much older too
How's your husband and how's the kids?
You know that I got married too?
Lucky that you found someone
To make you feel secure
'Cause we were all so young and foolish
Now we are mature
And those were the days of roses, poetry and prose
And, Martha, all I had was you, and all you had was me
There was no tomorrows, we'd packed away our sorrows
And we saved them for a rainy day
And I was always so impulsive
I guess that I still am
And all that really mattered then
Was that I was a man
I guess that our being together
Was never meant to be
And Martha, Martha
I love you, can't you see?
And those were the days of roses, poetry and prose
And, Martha, all I had was you, and all you had was me
There was no tomorrows, we'd packed away our sorrows
And we saved them for a rainy day
And I remember quiet evenings
Trembling close to you
The 2 best artists, in my opinion, are Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits. They can both make me cry.
My Martha was called Lynn, she was amazingly intelligent, really super bright . She saw herself as an ordinary girl but i saw her for the stunningly wonderful woman that she was both inside and out . Not one bad word was said about anyone , an angel . I was the opposite, clumsy awkward, stupid . I was terrified that one day she would wake up and see me for what i really was and run away from this worthless lump she was saddled too. So i treated her as someone l could pick up and put down any time I liked. I broke her heart and she left me . I was so ashamed of what i had done i watched her leave hoping she would find a real man worthy of her love . I hope she found that man and had an amazing life that she deserved do much . I loved you Lynn but you deserved so much more .
perfect
I love this song
this is a certified banger!!!!!! 🔥
Amazing song. So touchy❤
""Time is a storm in which we are all lost" - William Carlos Williams
.
We may be in different boats, but we are all in the same storm.
Will
Sublime.
You know who you are....❤️
Perfection
After almost 38-years on this planet, I am finally listening to Tom Waits, and halfway through his first album, I can understand the appeal -- reminds me of The Yardbirds and The Kinks for kookiness and Van Morrison for that more subtle but somehow more lyrically-nuanced wistfulness, though I know there are other male musicians who remind me of him, though .
How much Tori Amos and Patty Griffin are relatable for women is equivalent to how much Tom Waits is relatable for men. Maybe?
I can't believe they waited until 2019 to create this channel.
その年齢に近づいてる、元気に過ごしているなら嬉しいです
Tom like John Prine conjure entire movies in my mind.
This kind of bar piano music blows Billy Joel out of the water!
I wish that my name was Martha
этот трек заставляет меня плакать
❤❤❤
on this line, I am listening that he said, "those were the days of roses, all the tree frozan !" are all listening the same ?
"those were the days of roses, poetry and prose". Prose is a kind of telling a story with no fake language: plain and simple.
If all of the trees are frozen, would it really be the days of roses? Perhaps there's a start of an idea for a similar song there where two former lovers reflect on the past in such a way as one perceives it as being springtime -- full of roses and life -- while the other relives feelings of cold and abandonment. Perhaps that's why Martha left?
It definitely doesn't say that, but it could potentially make sense in that context at least.
Thanks for your consistent care, love and support towards me on my page I really appreciate you and can’t thank you enough. Write me with the address above so we can have more positive conversations about my music and life in general
♥️
just came here from better things ❤️
grace harris - didn’t you love it??
you want me to call you... again?
I don't want to fight no more.
I want to love
free
all, every one, free
no more pushing no more pulling
I long for
balance
better things?
Better things than Tom Waits? Nope. Well, Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan is better than a lonely Tom Waits, but nothing is better than that couple.
Meatloaf did a great version with a full orchestra
Meatloaf's death caused me to look into other musicians who died in the past 20 years, which led me to his cover of Warren Zevon's "Lawyers, Guns & Money and then his "Martha" cover. The ol' Meat dude had good taste in music, and that voice just works for those two covers. I'm going to have to go back and listen to Meatloaf's discography.
@@AunCollective I need to do that too.
This should be part of the Snyderverse, if you know what I mean
🦈👁️
As Starbucks dies, new song title.
I believe Tom Waits was only 23 yo when he wrote this song.😔
Is it necessary to put the subtitles on this, If we are here we are surely above average...drop the the titles and let the song play as intended
Next of Kin brought me here
It’s not an original song people!!
Yes, it is
It definitely is. This man is a respected lyricist and song writer. Even rappers known for their lyricism have referenced him.
No shit
Then the Cubans hit the floor..
Not the faintest trace of singing voice. I've never heard anything so awful.
🤣
That's what makes it good.
Can't figure why Waits discounts these early tunes. They're some of the best things he ever wrote and performed.
FYI original song is by Tim Buckley
No it isn't. Look it up.
The original song is by Tom Waits of the Closing Time album in 1973. Buckley covered it & it appears on a compilation of Waits covers call Step Right Up in 1995
This was the last song Tom had ever made, he made this because Martha stopped him from drinking.
That's why I lost my Martha. I couldn't stop drinking. Miss you Martha. If it makes you feel better I did stop ha
❤