Tom Waits

Yesterday Is Here

6 Meanings

Add Yours

Q&A

Yesterday Is Here Lyrics

(Written by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan)

If you want money in your pocket
and a top hat on your head
a hot meal on your table
and a blanket on your bed
well today is grey skies
tomorrow is tears
you'll have to wait til yesterday is here
Well I'm going to New York City
and I'm leaving on a train
and if you want to stay behind and
wait til I come back again
well today is grey skies
tomorrow is tears
you'll have to wait til yesterday is here
If you want to go
where the rainbows end
you'll have to say goodbye
all our dreams come true
baby up ahead
and it's out where your memories lie
well the road's out before me
and the moon is shining bright
what I want you to remember
as I disappear tonight
today is grey skies
tomorrow's tears
you'll have to wait til yesterday is here

Submitted by

yuri_sucupira On Dec 27, 2001

Hoist That Rag

Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen)

Martha

Come on Up to the House

Downtown Train

Lyrics saved successfully! Thanks!

These lyrics are currently locked and can only be edited by moderators and administrators.

You must be logged in to edit lyrics.

Unable to save lyrics. Please try again.

Lyrics cannot contain links.

Lyric edit submitted successfully and is pending approval. Approvals usually take 24 hours.

Keep it true to the song

Fix what’s wrong, but don’t rewrite what the artist wrote. Stick to the official released version — album booklet, label site, verified lyric video, etc. If you’re guessing, pause and double-check.

Respect the structure

Songs have rhythm. Pages do too. Leave line breaks where they belong. Don’t smash things together or add extra empty space just for looks.

Punctuation counts (but vibe-editing doesn’t)

Correct typos? Yes. Re-punctuating a whole verse because it ‘looks better’? Probably not. Keep capitalization and punctuation close to the official source.

Don’t mix versions

If you’re editing the explicit version, keep it explicit. If it’s the clean version, keep it clean. No mashups.

Let the lyrics be lyrics

This isn’t the place for interpretations, memories, stories, or trivia — that’s what comments are for. Keep metadata, translations, and bracketed stage directions out unless they’re officially part of the song.

Edit lightly

If two lines are wrong… fix the two lines. No need to bulldoze the whole page. Think ‘surgical,’ not ‘remix.’

When in doubt, ask the crowd

Not sure what they’re singing in that fuzzy bridge? Drop a question in the comments and let the music nerds swarm. Someone always knows.

yuri_sucupira

Submitter

2001-12-27 17:42:16

6 Meanings

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

Sort by

by tsugumi

17y ago

i love this one

My Opinion

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by lemgruber

13y ago

Pretty straightforward song about rural exodus, a common theme in Tom's songs.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by lemgruber

13y ago

Pretty straightforward song about rural exodus, a common theme in Tom's songs.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by Brassfinch

13y ago

Your best days are already behind you.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by cstrieb1

13y ago

Today is bad, tomorrow looks worse, just hope things go back to the way they were. Alternatively wait till yesterday is here could mean the past is past, its not coming back, and if thats what you are waiting for you will be waiting forever.

again as he talks about having to say good bye, about leaving, moving forward, it sounds like he is moving on, and someone cant get over the past because the future looks bleak.

My Interpretation

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by savingupspend

19y ago

Ween's "the Pod' always comes to mind when I hear this. I have no idea why.

-1

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

Questions and Answers

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