The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Sticks and stones will break my bones
But I always will be true
And when your mama is dead and gone
I'll sing this lullaby just for you
So what becomes of all the little boys
Who never comb their hair?
They're lined up all around the block
On The Nickel over there
So you better bring a bucket
There is a hole in the pail
If you don't get my letter
Then you'll know that I'm in jail
So what becomes of all the little boys
Who never say their prayers?
They're sleepin' like a baby
On The Nickel over there
If you chew tobacco, and wish upon a star
You'll find out where the scarecrows sit
Just like punchlines between the cars
I know a place where a royal flush
Can never beat a pair
And even Thomas Jefferson
Is On The Nickel over there
So ring around the rosie, you're sleepin' in the rain
And you're always late for supper
And man you let me down, let me down again
I thought I heard a mockingbird, Roosevelt knows where
You can skip the light with grady tuck
On the Nickel over there
So what becomes of all the little boys
Who run away from home?
The world just keeps gettin' bigger
Once you get out on your own
So what becomes of all the little boys
The sandman takes you where
You'll be sleepin' with a pillowman
On the Nickel over there
So let's climb up through that button hole
And fall right up the stairs
I'll show you where the short dogs grow
On the Nickel over there
But I always will be true
And when your mama is dead and gone
I'll sing this lullaby just for you
So what becomes of all the little boys
Who never comb their hair?
They're lined up all around the block
On The Nickel over there
So you better bring a bucket
There is a hole in the pail
If you don't get my letter
Then you'll know that I'm in jail
So what becomes of all the little boys
Who never say their prayers?
They're sleepin' like a baby
On The Nickel over there
If you chew tobacco, and wish upon a star
You'll find out where the scarecrows sit
Just like punchlines between the cars
I know a place where a royal flush
Can never beat a pair
And even Thomas Jefferson
Is On The Nickel over there
So ring around the rosie, you're sleepin' in the rain
And you're always late for supper
And man you let me down, let me down again
I thought I heard a mockingbird, Roosevelt knows where
You can skip the light with grady tuck
On the Nickel over there
So what becomes of all the little boys
Who run away from home?
The world just keeps gettin' bigger
Once you get out on your own
So what becomes of all the little boys
The sandman takes you where
You'll be sleepin' with a pillowman
On the Nickel over there
So let's climb up through that button hole
And fall right up the stairs
I'll show you where the short dogs grow
On the Nickel over there
Lyrics submitted by yuri_sucupira, edited by Mellow_Harsher, durruti36
On the Nickel Lyrics as written by Tom Waits
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
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This song paints one hell of a picture. I think it shows the pure genius of Mr. Waits. Combining the hard streets with lines and verses written for children evoke stark images and a release of emotions. As with most geniuses, some of his stuff doesn't ring at all for me, then along comes a song like this that knocks me to my knees.
@Mudflap I spent my highschool years as a Christian missionary in some of the poorest places in the world. Kids huffing glue from bottles hidden in the sleeves of oversized shirts were a tragic commonality. I listen to this song and can't help but weep for all the little boys who I saw destroying their brains to stop hunger pangs. I'm not so religious anymore but I still try to care, and as a grown-up I'll always encourage other privileged people like me to consider fostering children. Even if you can only afford to make a difference for one kid, that difference means the whole world to them.
that's so funny I've always thought about the Thomas Jefferson bit and hadn't related it to a coin. nice little irony of the face on a coin in the gutter. nice one enslow: it's amazing how so many comments on this site are just: wow yeah that's a cool song. I mean, c'mon, if you haven't got anything to say why bother?
In his tour "No Visitors After Midnight" (Live in London 1979 & Live in Chicago 1975
Live at BBC 1979 For TV Show "Live In Person" and on YouTube) Tom Waits says, "This is about downtown Los Angeles, on 5th St. All the winos affectionately refer to it as "the Nickel" - so this is kind of a hobo's lullaby"
My brother was a beautiful soul who was kicked out of Catholic school in 3rd grade back in 1960.. was afraid of the new public school teacher.. so wandered around instead of going to school .. sent to truancy court.. put in a home for bad kids... ended up dying of cirrhosis of the liver at 25 years old..after living on the streets in The Bowery in NYC for years...I think it’s a litany of what happens to human beings who are discarded by society when the don’t fit the mold...maybe a tribute to those all beautiful lost souls...
@mia1095446 What an awfully heartbreaking and yet loving commentary you've posted. A tribute to your brother. you brought a tear to my eye, and a punch in my soul. thank you
Tom Waits said this was a lullaby about the homeless on "the Nickel", or Fifth St, Los Angeles.
my thoughts are along that vein. it's basically saying naughty boys grow up to live on the street. i don't believe the songwriter thinks this, as many of Tom Waits' songs tend to center around being 'down & out'.
lullabies, taken for face value are atrocious (i.e. Rock-a-Bye Baby), and this is just the same. i picture a father singing this to his little boy just before bedtime, after the kid got into a fight at school and failed Math.
it's a nice way of saying "Square your ass away, or you'll end up in the gutter."
and what a better way to say it than this song?
@roger wilco I sang this song tonight to my 3yo boy while I was bouncing him to sleep on a yoga ball in our nice comfy house while it was raining outside. Thinking of him growing up like the little boys who live in Guatemala City's municipal garbage dump breaks my heart. I wish that I could bring them all into my home and feed them and give them a warm, dry place to sleep. As it is, I can only afford to foster one child and my wife and I are in the process of making that happen. Human suffering is a big bad problem that a little man like me can't solve solo. Good thing Jeff Bezos was able to earn his 30 billion dollars this last coupla months, you know? We live in a twisted ironic world that sustains an incredible amount of suffering on the part of millions of innocent children. The only answer I can offer is to ask other people to think about doing what they can to help...
@roger wilco I sang this song tonight to my 3yo boy while I was bouncing him to sleep on a yoga ball in our nice comfy house while it was raining outside. Thinking of him growing up like the little boys who live in Guatemala City's municipal garbage dump breaks my heart. I wish that I could bring them all into my home and feed them and give them a warm, dry place to sleep. As it is, I can only afford to foster one child and my wife and I are in the process of making that happen. Human suffering is a big bad problem that a little man like me can't solve solo. Good thing Jeff Bezos was able to earn his 30 billion dollars this last coupla months, you know? We live in a twisted ironic world that sustains an incredible amount of suffering on the part of millions of innocent children. The only answer I can offer is to ask other people to think about doing what they can to help...
To hear this song live, is amazing. The lyrics, the piano, and the voice that you can never forget. This is what good music is.
@sierp Tom Waits is an angel.
@sierp Tom Waits is an angel.
class song alright, i only got heart attack and vine recently....and it's fuckin brilliant. this is one of the highlights of the album though
I especially love the line "And i know a place where a royal flush can never beat a pair". To me, this means that The Nickel is a special sort of place where the normal rules don't apply - you may be a bum out in the real world, but on The Nickel, everyone's a champ.
This reminds me so much of the Wire - corner boys in season four - although the "nickel" probably does refer more to money begged for / found rather than "earned". But the feeling is just right.
Twain, <br /> <br /> To me, that line has a double meaning. He is talking to someone in the song, a young companion of some sort? The child is "On the Nickel," which is the skid row area of Los Angeles (the Nickel=5th Street area). It's a movie from 1981, starring Ralph Waite (papa Walton). I believe this song is featured in the movie.<br /> <br /> Anyway, to get back to the double meaning, the "pair" he is referring to is his companion on the street and himself. Nothing beats the two of them together, not even a royal flush. It's a beautiful allusion.
I agree, Martin. Although I take it more generally: On "the nickel" (5th street), having a friend, someone who's got your back -- being a "pair" -- beats a Royal flush. The movie as I understand (haven't been able to find it) is mostly about a friendship between 2 derelicts on the Nickel, even after one cleans up and gets out. I don't think there's a specific child in the song -- the references to "all the little boys" -- the kids that didn't get taken care of, are the ones that end up in addiction in places like the Nickel. That's my take , anyway.<br /> And if anyone knows where I can find this movie, let me know (Amazon says it's no longer available, even the re-issue)
@twain It's like the old hobo song "Big Rock Candy Mountain"<br />
this song always made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
YouTube of the 1979 Austin City Limits performance (m.youtube.com/watch ) 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).