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Mr. Siegal Lyrics
i spent all my money in a mexican whorehouse, across the street from a
catholic church, and then i wiped off my revolver, and i buttoned up my
burgundy shirt, i shot the morning in the back, with my red wings on, i told
the sun he'd better go back down, and if i can find a book of matches, i'm
goin' to burn this hotel down.
you got to tell me brave captain, why are the wicked so strong, how do the
angels get to sleep, when the devil leaves the porchlight on.
well i dropped thirty grand on the nugget slots, i had to sell my ass on
fremont street, and the drummer said there's sanctuary, over at the bagdad
room, and now it's one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready,
and go man go, i said tell me mr. siegel, how do i get out of here.
well willard's knocked out on a bottle of heat, drivin' dangerous curves
across the dirty sheets, he said man you ought to see her, when her parents
are gone, man you ought to hear her when the siren's on.
you got to tell me brave captain, why are the wicked so strong, how do the
angels get to sleep, when the devil leaves the porchlight on.
don't you know that ain't no broken bottle, that i picked up in my
headlights, on the other side of the nevada line, where they live hard die
young, and have a good lookin' corpse every time, well the pit-boss said i
should keep movin', this is where you go when you die, and so i shot a black
beauty, and i kissed her right between the eyes.
well willard's knocked out on a bottle of heat, drivin' dangerous curves
across the dirty sheets, he said when the bitch is wound up, and her parents
are gone, man you ought to hear her with the siren on.
you got to tell me brave captain, why are the wicked so strong, how do the
angels get to sleep, when the devil leaves the porchlight on.
catholic church, and then i wiped off my revolver, and i buttoned up my
burgundy shirt, i shot the morning in the back, with my red wings on, i told
the sun he'd better go back down, and if i can find a book of matches, i'm
goin' to burn this hotel down.
angels get to sleep, when the devil leaves the porchlight on.
fremont street, and the drummer said there's sanctuary, over at the bagdad
room, and now it's one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready,
and go man go, i said tell me mr. siegel, how do i get out of here.
across the dirty sheets, he said man you ought to see her, when her parents
are gone, man you ought to hear her when the siren's on.
angels get to sleep, when the devil leaves the porchlight on.
headlights, on the other side of the nevada line, where they live hard die
young, and have a good lookin' corpse every time, well the pit-boss said i
should keep movin', this is where you go when you die, and so i shot a black
beauty, and i kissed her right between the eyes.
across the dirty sheets, he said when the bitch is wound up, and her parents
are gone, man you ought to hear her with the siren on.
angels get to sleep, when the devil leaves the porchlight on.
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It's like he's stuck in a really intensely immoral life and he's trying to get out of it. A lot of the words used seem to be just powerful imagery, maybe drawn from personal experience. Such a sweet song, love Tom Waits' growl. This song has such a dangerous feeling to it, I love it.
I love the line "how do the angels get to sleep, when the devil leaves the porchlight on" it is so powerfull and true. Everytime I go home while spending a long night in a bar or when i'm supposed to study for my exams and get distracted and don't do the work I think of this line.
I am glad that what happens in 'Vegas' stays in 'Vegas'. This song rivals 'Me and my Monkey' by Robbie Willeams as a testimony to evil that places like Las Vegas represent. Great groove ... and evocative lyrics
i read somewhere that mr. siegal is a reference to a gangster from the early 1900s. but what does this song mean? "you got to tell me brave captain, why are the wicked so strong." i think he's talking to god in this line. it's almost as if he's questioning god. he doesn't know why "the wicked are so strong." it's a good argument.
Bugsy Siegel is credited with developing Las Vegas into a gambling/tourist mecca.
Bugsy Siegel is credited with developing Las Vegas into a gambling/tourist mecca.
As a huge Tom Waits fan, I Had a startling revelation last night. While watching the movie, "Abandon Ship" (1957) on TCM, one of the characters said the line: "...tell me brave captain, why are the wicked so strong"!!!!
As a huge Tom Waits fan, I Had a startling revelation last night. While watching the movie, "Abandon Ship" (1957) on TCM, one of the characters said the line: "...tell me brave captain, why are the wicked so strong"!!!!
Bugsy Siegel - "Benjamin Siegel went down in crime history as the man who made Las Vegas into the gambling Mecca of the United States"
I would really like to know what this line means: "don't you know that ain't no broken bottle that i picked up in my headlights, on the other side of the nevada line". Any thoughts?
I think he is referring to Las Vegas. How it may lt may appear from the Nevada line in the dark desert night
I think he is referring to Las Vegas. How it may lt may appear from the Nevada line in the dark desert night
@caitsith01 Me thinks his car ran over something. Could have sworn the bottle was drinkable ie not broken when it hit his beems. Shiiit I donno
@caitsith01 Me thinks his car ran over something. Could have sworn the bottle was drinkable ie not broken when it hit his beems. Shiiit I donno
@caitsith01 I reckon it's what the skyline of Vegas looks like as you come over the hill on the road into the Las Vegas Basin. all the odd shaped skyscrapers and hotels can look like shards of broken glass sticking up?
@caitsith01 I reckon it's what the skyline of Vegas looks like as you come over the hill on the road into the Las Vegas Basin. all the odd shaped skyscrapers and hotels can look like shards of broken glass sticking up?
As a huge Tom Waits fan, I Had a startling revelation last night. While watching the movie, "Abandon Ship" (1957) on TCM, one of the characters said the line: "...tell me brave captain, why are the wicked so strong"!!!!
How do the angels get to sleep when the devil leaves his porch light on? Could be a reference to ‘good’ versus not-so-clean-living people (i.e., different people), but it could also be referencing to inner responsible versus carefree parts of any one person. In Please Call Me Baby he sings “if I exorcise my devils well my angels may leave too, when they leave they’re so hard to find”.
The line "Live fast, die young, leave a good looking corpse" is a quote from the character Nick Romano from Willard Motley\'s 1947 novel "Knock on Any Door", a story of life on Skid Row in Chicago at the time.\nThe book was made into a movie in 1949. I haven\'t seen the movie, but no doubt that line was in it, and is likely where Waits got it from, it\'s a very cool line that I used to quote often, a lifetime ago.