| Tom Waits – On the Nickel Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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@[MartinL:17552] it is commonplace to ignore the punchline to an old joke until it is time to laugh. The scarecrows are likewise ignored, even though you know they are there, even though you know they are there. The short dogs are cheap drinks, like five cent beers or one dollar bottles of wine. After you climb through the button hole and fall right up the stairs ( die and go to heaven) you find the short dogs grow on trees. |
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| Tom Waits – On the Nickel Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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YouTube of the 1979 Austin City Limits performance (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uq3NAPpdXM8 ) has a brief explanation in his own words (@ 26.30 mark) about this wino lullaby. It's sung to a man who is dying by his long time friend, but the words apply to all the homeless men sleeping on Fifth St. (aka the nickel). |
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