What's He Building in There? Lyrics
He's not building anything; that's the point of the song. Tom Waits is singing from the point of view of a representative of the paranoid townspeople who view this man with suspicion simply because he seems to be up to something. There is of course no proof for anything he might be up to as it's all in the heads of those around him, and the narration reveals the obsessive and invasive mindset of the suspicious townspeople rather than concentrating on the man who is supposedly building something.
The song was inspired by the Unabomber. Also features in the opening to the film "Enron The Smartest Guys in the Room" to great effect!
The scariest parts of this song to me are the venom that accompanies the words "I'll tell you one thing, He's not building a playhouse for the children...", as if implying the subject is some kind of child abuser, and the last line, "We have a right to know..." which sums up everything wrong with this track. I love it though!
well, for one, Tom usually sings.
this work is reminiscent of "Romeo Is Bleeding" and some of Waits' early work. Tom Waits is a profound fan of Beat Poetry, and would often embark on Beat excursions in his music.
his lyrics and reverence for jazz reflects his interest in the Beats outstandingly.
i recommend "Mule Variations" and "Bone Machine" as safe purchases for someone unsure about a foray into Tom Waits. both albums are some of his best and most recent work (except for the two just released this month!) and should give the listener an excellent idea of where Mr. Waits is coming from. enjoy!
I think Mule Variations must be one of the easiest of his album to get into, older stuff tends to be more to the more hardmelted side. One album i can recomment more than others is Swordfishtrombones. Mostly cause there are songs that are easy to melt early, but also an album that really grows with you. A golden trophy in my record collection. (though "Whats he building" is probably the most amusing work he has ever done in my opinion).
this is the only song ive heard of tom waits, whats the other stuff like?? comparisons and descriptions please
This is more one of his creepy-cool story-songs. Not so much a musical pursuit. He's a lot like Bowie in the sense that he's more of an artist who plays music, not a musician that is artistic. His music is very cool, but you've got to have an open mind, he's nothing near mainstream in his style. He likes a lot of strange percussion, horns and uses a rough voice most of the time. Almost all of his songs have GREAT lines and in general good lyrics. I'd recommend just going to youtube and typing in Tom Waits, checking out...
This is more one of his creepy-cool story-songs. Not so much a musical pursuit. He's a lot like Bowie in the sense that he's more of an artist who plays music, not a musician that is artistic. His music is very cool, but you've got to have an open mind, he's nothing near mainstream in his style. He likes a lot of strange percussion, horns and uses a rough voice most of the time. Almost all of his songs have GREAT lines and in general good lyrics. I'd recommend just going to youtube and typing in Tom Waits, checking out some of his stuff (the non-live stuff is easier to digest, FYI).
thank you
What do you think of the stuff on Rain Dogs with Keith Richards? I just recently got into it and I'm impressed.
i love this. i wish we actually found out what he was building, though
Don't you think it would wreck the song if we found out? Oh. He was building a shelving unit- how boring.
Don't you think it would wreck the song if we found out? Oh. He was building a shelving unit- how boring.
Tom Waits was at his best on his early albums (Closing Time, Small Change and Blue Valentine in particular) in my opinion and although his late albums are good, the best songs are always those remeniscent of his early stuff. Waits is at his best with a piano or an acoustic guitar, and in general his more experimental stuff isn't quite as good. The exceptions to this are Rain Doge and Mule Variations, which blend experimentation with old-fashioned ballads perfectly. This song brings back the humour of Waits' early works such as Mighthawks at the Diner and Small Change.