Palooka is a 20-30s term for a boxer of average skill: a big, dumb lug who get paid to be punched in the face - like the narrator, a palooka's life is all about rolling with the punches.
Notice how the mention of a car parked under a bridge foreshadows the crash in the next verse; Donger's point is especially prescient- the line "& he died with the radio on" is cut short, just like his life was cut short - by a car suddenly coming to a stop by hitting a telephone pole as punctuation mark.
'Hey barkeeper whats keeping you keep pouring drinks' is especially brilliant. Its an example of either polyptoton or antanaclasis- repetition of the same word with different a) roots b) meanings*.
Like lots of Waits, this could be 1/2 of a play's dialogue. With the other conversationalist's words elided, it seems as if the narrator is talking to himself more than his friend, speachifying as drunks do. Its as if the more he drinks, the more the past comes swirling into focus, making the present fades away. I wouldnt be surprised if his 'new' car was almost a decade old. Its 'new' because his old friend hasnt seen it yet.
An example of antanaclasis if Franklin's: We must all hang together, or we'll all hang seperately; and of polyptoton is Shakespear's "With eager feeding food doth choke the feeder." Wait's phrase is a mix of the two - different meanings, different roots.
Palooka is a 20-30s term for a boxer of average skill: a big, dumb lug who get paid to be punched in the face - like the narrator, a palooka's life is all about rolling with the punches.
Notice how the mention of a car parked under a bridge foreshadows the crash in the next verse; Donger's point is especially prescient- the line "& he died with the radio on" is cut short, just like his life was cut short - by a car suddenly coming to a stop by hitting a telephone pole as punctuation mark.
'Hey barkeeper whats keeping you keep pouring drinks' is especially brilliant. Its an example of either polyptoton or antanaclasis- repetition of the same word with different a) roots b) meanings*.
Like lots of Waits, this could be 1/2 of a play's dialogue. With the other conversationalist's words elided, it seems as if the narrator is talking to himself more than his friend, speachifying as drunks do. Its as if the more he drinks, the more the past comes swirling into focus, making the present fades away. I wouldnt be surprised if his 'new' car was almost a decade old. Its 'new' because his old friend hasnt seen it yet.