8 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A

Rain Dogs Lyrics

Inside a broken clock, splashing the wine with all the rain dogs
Taxi, we'd rather walk, huddle a doorway with the rain dogs
For I am a rain dog, too

Oh, how we danced and we swallowed the night
For it was all ripe for dreaming
Oh, how we danced away all of the lights
We've always been out of our minds

The rum pours strong and thin, beat out the dustman with the rain dogs
Aboard a shipwreck train, give my umbrella to the rain dogs
For I am a rain dog, too

Oh, how we danced with the Rose of Tralee
Her long hair black as a raven
Oh, how we danced and you whispered to me
You'll never be going back home
Oh, how we danced with the Rose of Tralee
Her long hair black as a raven
Oh, how we danced and you whispered to me
You'll never be going back home
8 Meanings

Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.

Add your thoughts...
Cover art for Rain Dogs lyrics by Tom Waits

I read on a site (which I have yet to find again) that the term rain dog refers to a dog that's outside in the rain, and all the scents are washed away by water, so it has no idea how to get home.

Check out the blog regarding "Everything Zen" by Bush. "Rain dog" makes another appearance . . . I made a post about the lyrics being about a person drifting through this crazy world and surviving it. The "rain dog" analogy fits it.

Cover art for Rain Dogs lyrics by Tom Waits

there should be a Tom Waits dictionary for all his slang

indeed

Seconded - but only Tom waits could write it!

He should, Beck Hansen wrote the Becktionary. It's okay if you don't get that.

Cover art for Rain Dogs lyrics by Tom Waits

You got the right idea Phweemaggot, the term rain dog, is just that, a dog in the rain cannot smell the scents that mark territory. Therefore it cannot find it's way home. The song is about a night where the lead in the song spent a night with homeless people enjoying life with no cares.

@Chilli220 I think you're spot on. Time has stopped he's drunk and free. I think he may also be dead (or dying.) He'll never be going back home also suggested by the ballad of the Rose of Tralee.

My Interpretation
Cover art for Rain Dogs lyrics by Tom Waits

"Tom described a RAIN DOG as a dog you would see huddled in the doorways of New York after a heavy rainfall because the rain has washed away its scent and it cannot find its way back home. I have also heard this term used for dogs that get lost out in the country in the same manner."

http://www.raindogsonline.com/content.php?cid=2

of course, quote of a quote of a quote, who knows if he ever actually said anything of the sort? Ah... the internet, gotta love it.

Cover art for Rain Dogs lyrics by Tom Waits

Waits honeymooned in Ireland with his wife Kathleen, in Cork to be more specific. Slightly to the North of Cork is County Kerry, where Tralee is located. And he is the link to the tragic tale of "The Rose of Tralee"...

http://ireland.iol.ie/~rose/story.htm

Cover art for Rain Dogs lyrics by Tom Waits

For I am a rain dog too!

I've been a "rain dog" before . . .

Cover art for Rain Dogs lyrics by Tom Waits

tom waits :X

Cover art for Rain Dogs lyrics by Tom Waits

tom waits :X

 
Questions and Answers

Ask specific questions and get answers to unlock more indepth meanings & facts.

Ask a question...