It's a strange song with many characters, but to me it's about being homeless and the characters you might meet on the way. God's green hair means he's sleeping outside on the grass and wakes up to the dew, or the diamond, seeing beauty when at rock bottom.
The weird things he dines on 'Tilapia fishcakes and fried black swan are a bit of wishful thinking, just like dreaming all night about a beautiful girl'
Black swans are from Australia, which to some could be described as the bottom of the world. But then cardinal birds are from north and south America. Like most Waits songs, there is no hard and fast meaning - that's up to you.
It's a strange song with many characters, but to me it's about being homeless and the characters you might meet on the way. God's green hair means he's sleeping outside on the grass and wakes up to the dew, or the diamond, seeing beauty when at rock bottom. The weird things he dines on 'Tilapia fishcakes and fried black swan are a bit of wishful thinking, just like dreaming all night about a beautiful girl' Black swans are from Australia, which to some could be described as the bottom of the world. But then cardinal birds are from north and south America. Like most Waits songs, there is no hard and fast meaning - that's up to you.