Time
(Waits)
Tom Waits - from “Rain Dogs” (1985)
Well, the smart money’s on Harlow
And the moon is in
the street
The shadow boys are
breaking all the laws
And you’re east of
East St. Louis
And the wind is
making speeches
And the rain sounds
like a round of applause
Napoleon is weeping
in the Carnival saloon
His invisible fiance
is in the mirror
The band is going
home
It’s raining hammers,
it’s raining nails
Yes, it’s true,
there’s nothing left for him down here
Chorus:
And it’s Time Time
Time
And it’s Time Time
Time
And it’s Time Time
Time
That you love
And it’s Time Time
Time
And they all pretend
they’re Orphans
And their memory’s
like a train
You can see it
getting smaller as it pulls away
And the things you
can’t remember
Tell the things you
can’t forget that
History puts a saint
in every dream
Well she said she’d
stick around
Until the bandages
came off
But these mamas boys
just don’t know when to quit
And Matilda asks the
sailors are those dreams
Or are those prayers
So just close your
eyes, son
And this won’t hurt a
bit
Chorus
Well, things are
pretty lousy for a calendar girl
The boys just dive
right off the cars
And splash into the
streets
And when she’s on a
roll she pulls a razor
From her boot and a
thousand
Pigeons fall around
her feet
So put a candle in
the window
And a kiss upon his
lips
Till the dish outside
the window fills with rain
Just like a stranger
with the weeds in your heart
And pay the fiddler off till I come back again