Wasted and wounded, it ain't what the moon did
I got what I paid for now
See ya tomorrow, hey Frank can I borrow
A couple of bucks from you
To go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll go waltzing Matilda with me

I'm an innocent victim of a blinded alley
And I'm tired of all these soldiers here
No one speaks English, and everything's broken
And my Stacys are soaking wet
To go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll go waltzing Matilda with me

Now the dogs are barking
And the taxicabs parking
A lot they can do for me
I begged you to stab me
You tore my shirt open
And I'm down on my knees tonight
Old Bushmills I staggered
You buried the dagger in
Your silhouette window light
To go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll go waltzing Matilda with me

Now I've lost my St. Christopher
Now that I've kissed her and the
And the one-armed bandit knows
And the maverick Chinaman, and the cold-blooded signs
And the girls down by the strip tease shows go
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll go waltzing Matilda with me

No, I don't want your sympathy
The fugitives say that the streets aren't for dreaming now
Manslaughter dragnets and the ghosts that sell memories
They want a piece of the action anyhow
Go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll go waltzing Matilda with me

And you can ask any sailor
And the keys from the jailer
And the old men in wheelchairs know
That Matilda's the defendant, she killed about a hundred
And she follows wherever you may go
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll go waltzing Matilda with me

And it's a battered old suitcase
To a hotel someplace
And a wound that will never heal
No prima donna, the perfume is on
An old shirt that is stained with blood and whiskey
And goodnight to the street sweepers
The night watchman flame keepers
And goodnight Matilda, too


Lyrics submitted by yuri_sucupira

Tom Traubert's Blues Lyrics as written by Tom Waits

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, JALMA MUSIC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen) song meanings
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  • +1
    General Comment

    I don't think this song is about suicide as previous posters maintain, although it is steeped in melancholia and nostalgia in that beautiful way that Waits does so well. To me it's the tale of a traveling bachelor, wandering the globe and drowning his sorrows trying to forget about the woman he loves who ripped his heart out, but she's with him all the while, in his thoughts, waltzing with him as he threads his way through animated night scenes of foreign cities that accentuate his loneliness.

    Losing his St Christopher doesn't mean that he's finished wandering, only that he goes on traveling but without the protection of the saints. On he goes, remembering Matilda until the last moment of each day - late in the dark when he curls up drunkenly in some dingy hotel, and wishes his lost love good night before drifting off to sleep. Sad and beautiful.

    Darkadianrhythmon November 29, 2012   Link

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