Tom Waits - Nighthawks At The Diner (1975) by Tom Waits (보컬) on maniadb.com

Well we are talking about late night and early morning low clouds
With a chance of fog, chance of showers into the afternoon
With variable high cloudiness and gusty winds
Gusty winds at times around the corner of sunset and Alvarado
Yeah I know things are tough all over

When the thunder storms start increasing over the southeast
And south central portions of my apartment, I get upset
And a line of thunderstorms was developing in the early morning
I was ahead of a slow moving cold front, cold blooded

With, with tornado watches issued shortly before noon Sunday
For the areas including, the western region of my mental health
And the northern portions of my ability to deal rationally with my
Disconcerted precarious emotional situation
It's cold out there, colder than a ticket taker's smile at the Ivar theater
On a Saturday night

Flash flood watches covered the southern portion of my disposition


There was no severe weather well into the afternoon
Except for kind of a lone gust of wind in the bedroom

In a high pressure zone
Covering the eastern portion of a small suburban community
With a 1034 millibar high pressure zone
And a weak pressure ridge extending from my eyes down to my cheek
'Cause since you left me baby, put the vice grips on my mental health
Well the extended outlook for an indefinite period of time
Until you come back to me baby
It is high tonight, low tomorrow, and precipitation is expected

That wraps up the weather for this evening
Now back to the 11 o'clock news
I'm enjoying this fish bag ain't got none on me

It was upon a foggy night, an abandoned road
In a twilight mirror mirage
With no indication
Of any kind of service station

Or an all night garage, I was misinformed
I was misdirected 'cause the interchange
Never intersected leaving me marooned
Beneath a bloodshot moon

All upon a foggy night, foggy night
All upon a foggy night, it's kind of an abandoned road
Blurred brocade collage
Is that a road motel? I can't really tell

You got to tell me is that a vacancy lodge
There's no consolation
What kind of situation
To be aimlessly skewed



Amidst a powder blue? No tell tail light clue
[Incomprehensible] is like a spell you spin
This precarious pandemonium
[Incomprehensible] I'm stranded, all upon a foggy night

Like a sweet thick [Incomprehensible] or a Broadway arcade
Heads you win, tails I loose and ramblin' and gamblin'
All upon a foggy night, foggy night
Foggy night, foggy night

You got to fight [Incomprehensible] on my personality
All upon a foggy night, all upon a foggy night
All upon a foggy night, on a foggy night
All upon a foggy, all upon a foggy night

nighthawks at the diner
of Emma's 49er, there's a rendezvous
of strangers around the coffee urn tonight
all the gypsy hacks, the insomniacs
now the paper's been read
now the waitress said

eggs and sausage and a side of toast
coffee and a roll, hash browns over easy
chile in a bowl with burgers and fries
what kind of pie?

In a graveyard charade, a late shift masquerade
2 for a quarter, dime for a dance
with Woolworth rhinestone diamond
earrings, and a sideway's glance
and now the register rings
and now the waitress sings

(chorus)

the classified section offered no direction
it's a cold caffeine in a nicotine cloud
now the touch of your fingers
lingers burning in my memory
I've been 86ed from your scheme
I'm in a melodramatic nocturnal scene
I'm a refugee from a disconcerted affair
as the lead pipe morning falls
and the waitress calls

(chorus

Oh it's just kind of little anthem here

All my friends are married
Every Tom and Dick and Harry
You must be strong to go it alone
Here's to the bachelors and the Bowery bums
And those who feel that they're the ones
Who are better off without a wife

I been sleepin' until the crack of noon
Midnight howlin' at the moon
Goin' out when I want to, and I'm comin' home when I please
I don't have to ask permission if I want to go out fishing
And I never have to ask for the keys

I never been no Valentino
But I had a girl who lived in Reno
Left me for a trumpet player didn't get me down
He was wanted for assault
Though he said it weren't his fault
You know the coppers rode him right out of town

I been sleepin' until the crack of noon
Midnight howlin' at the moon
Goin' out when I want to, comin' home when I please


Don't have to ask permission if I want to go out fishing
Never have to ask for the keys

They say I'm kind of selfish about my privacy
Now as long as I can be with me
We get along so well I can't believe
I love to chew the fat with folks
I have been listenin' to all your dirty jokes
I'm so thankful for these friends I do receive

I been sleepin' until the crack of noon
Midnight howlin' at the moon
Goin' out when I want to, comin' home when I please
Don't have to ask permission if I want to go out fishing
Never have to ask for the keys, no

Yeah, I got this girl, I know man this
She been married several times
I don't want to end up like her
I mean she been married so many times
She got bright sparks all over her face
Yeah you know the kind

One of those nights

Warm beer and cold women, no I just don't fit in
Every joint I stumbled into tonight that's just how it's been
All these double knit strangers with gin and vermouth
And recycled stories in the Naugahyde booths

With the platinum blonds, tobacco brunettes
I'll be drinkin' to forget you, I'll lite another cigarette
And the band's playin' something by Tammy Wynette
And the drinks are on me tonight

All my conversations now I'll just be talkin' about you baby
Borin' some sailor as I try to get through
I just want him to listen now, I said that's all you have to do
He said, "I'm better off without you" until I showed him my tattoo



And now the moon's rising ain't got no time to lose
Time to get down to drinking tell the band to play the blues
Drinks are on me, I'll buy another round
At the last ditch attempt saloon

Warm beer, cold women, I just don't fit in
Every joint I stumbled into tonight that's just how it's been
All these double knit strangers with gin and Vermouth
Receeding hairlines in the Naugahyde booths

With the platinum blonds, tobacco brunettes
I'll just be drinking to forget you baby, I'll lite menthol cigarette
And the band's playing somethin' by Johnnie Barnett
And the last ditch too soon

I guess things were always kinda quiet around Putnam County
Kinda shy and sleepy as it clung to the skirts of the 2-lane
That was stretched out like an asphalt dance floor
Where all the old timers in bib jeans and store bought boots
Were hunkerin' down in the dirt to lie about their lives
And the places that they'd been
And they suck on Coca Colas and be spittin' days work
Until the moon was a stray dog on the ridge and
And the taverns would be swollen until the naked eye of 2 A.M.

And the Stratocaster slung over the Burger meister Beer Guts
Swizzle stick legs jackknifed over naughahyde stools
And the witch hazel spread out over the linoleum floors
Pedal pushers stretched out over midriff bulge
And the coiffed brunette curls over Maybelline eyes
Wearing Prince Machiavelli, Estee Lauder, smells so sweet
And I elbowed up at the counter with mixed feelings over mixed drinks
As Bubba and the Roadmasters moaned in pool hall concentration
And, and knit their brows to cover the entire
Hank Williams songbook whether you like it not

And the Old National register was singing to the tune of
57 dollars and 57 cents
And then its last call, one more game of 8 ball
Bernice will be putting the chairs on the tables
Someone come in say "Hey man, anyone got
Any Jumper Cables, is that a 6 or 12 volt?"
And all the studs in town would toss 'em down
And claim to fame as they stomped their feet
Yeah, boastin' about being able to get more ass than a toilet seat

And the GMC's and the Straight 8 Fords were coughin' and wheezin'
And they perculated as they tossed the gravel underneath the fenders


Weave home a wet, slick anaconda of a 2-lane
Tire irons and a crowbars a-rattlin', with a tool box and a pony saddle
You're grinding gears, shiftin' into first
Yeah and that goddamn tranny's just gettin' worse
With the melodies of 'See ya laters' and screwdrivers on carburettors
Talkin' shop about money to loan and palominos and strawberry roans

See you tomorrow, hello to the Mrs.
With money to borrow and goodnight kisses
As the radio spit out Charlie Rich
Man and he sure can sing that son of a bitch
And you weave home, yeah, weavin' home
Leavin' the little joint winking in the dark, warm, narcotic American night
Beneath a pin cushion sky, it's home to toast and honey

Gotta startup the Ford, yeah, your lunch money's right over there
On the drainin' board, and the toilet's runnin'
Ah, Christ shake the handle and the telephone's ringin'
It's Mrs Randal and where the hell are my goddamn sandals?
What do you mean the dog chewed up my left foot?
With the porcelain poodles and the glass swans
Staring down from the knick knack shelf
And the parent permission slips for the kids' field trips
And a pair of Muckalucks scraping across the shag carpet

And the impending squint of first light
And it that lurked behind a weeping marquee in downtown Putnam
And they'd be pullin' up any minute now
Just like a bastard amber, velveeta yellow cab
On a rainy corner and be blowin' its horn, in every window in town

Nobody, nobody
Will ever love you the way that I loved you
Cause nobody’s that strong

Love’s bitter sweet, life’s treasure’s deep
But no one can keep a love that’s gone wrong

Nobody, nobody
Gonna love you the way I could
Cause nobody’s that strong
No nobody’s that strong

Nobody, nobody
Gonna love you the way I loved you
Cause nobody is that strong, yeah

You’ve had many lovers, you’ll have many others
But they’ll only just break your poor heart in two

And nobody, nobody
Will love you the way that I could
Cause nobody’s that strong,
No nobody’s that strong

Well you see I happened to be back on the east coast
A few years back tryin' to make me a buck
Like everybody else, well you know
Times get hard and well I got down on my luck
And I got tired of just roamin' and bummin'
Around, so I started thumbin' my way
Back to my old hometown
You know I made quite a few miles
In the first couple of days, and I
Figured I'd be home in a week if my
Luck held out this way
But you know it was the third night
I got stranded, it was out at a cold lonely
Crossroads, and as the rain came
Pouring down, I was hungry, tired
Freezin', caught myself a chill, but
It was just about that time that
The lights of an old semi topped the hill
You should of seen me smile when I
Heard them air brakes come on, and
I climbed up in that cab where I
Knew it'd be warm at the wheel
Well at the wheel sat a big man
I'd have to say he must of weighed 210
The way he stuck out a big hand and
Said with a grin "Big Joe's the name
And this here rig's called Phantom 309"
Well I asked him why he called his
Rig such a name, but he just turned to me
And said "Why son don't you know this here
Rig'll be puttin' 'em all to shame, why
There ain't a driver on this
Or any other line for that matter
That's seen nothin' but the taillights of Big Joe
And Phantom 309"
So we rode and talked the better part of the night
And I told my stories and Joe told his and
I smoked up all his Viceroys as we rolled along
He pushed her ahead with 10 forward gears
Man that dashboard was lit like the old
Madam La Rue pinball, a serious semi truck
Until almost mysteriously, well it was the
Lights of a truck stop that rolled into sight
Joe turned to me and said "I'm sorry son
But I'm afraid this is just as far as you go
You see I kinda gotta be makin' a turn
Just up the road a piece," but I'll be
Damned if he didn't throw me a dime as he
Threw her in low and said "Go on in there
Son, and get yourself a hot cup of coffee
On Big Joe"
And when Joe and his rig pulled off into
The night, man in nothing flat they was
Clean outta sight
So I walked into the old stop and
Ordered me up a cup of mud sayin'
"Big Joe's settin' this dude up" but
It got so deathly quiet in that
Place, you could of heard a pin drop
As the waiter's face turned kinda
Pale, I said "What's the matter did
I say somethin' wrong?" I kinda
Said with 8a half way grin. He said
"No son, you see It'll happen every
Now and then. You see every driver in
Here knows Big Joe, but let me
Tell you what happened just ten years
Ago, yea it was ten years ago
Out there at that cold lonely crossroads
Where you flagged Joe down, and
There was a whole bus load of kids
And they were just comin' from school
And they were right in the middle when
Joe topped the hill, and could
Have been slaughtered except
Joe turned his wheels, and
He jackknifed, and went
Into a skid, and folks around here
Say he gave his life to save that bunch
Of kids, and out there at that cold
Lonely crossroads, well they say it
Was the end of the line for
Big Joe and Phantom 309, but it's
Funny you know, cause every now and then
Yea every now and then, when the
Moon's holdin' water, they say old Joe
Will stop and give you a ride, and
Just like you, some hitchhiker will be
Comin' by"
"So here son," he said to me, "get
Yourself another cup of coffee, it's on the
House, you see I want you to hang on
To that dime, yea you hang on to that
Dime as a kind of souvenir, a
Souvenir of Big Joe and Phantom 309"