Orphans Summary - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [394a]

Sam and Martin conclude the 22nd season of Song by Song, bringing thoughts on the 60+ tracks, 21 episodes, 10 guests and many musical influences we’ve considered over the last 5 months of the show. We talk over the album order, it’s purpose for both Waits and his listeners, and attempt to form a Best Of list by making a few “adoptions”.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Sea Of Love, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

The Asylum Years, album, Tom Waits (1986)

Beautiful Maladies: The Island Years, album, Tom Waits (1998)

Adopted Orphans - Martin’s playlist

Adopted Orphans - Sam’s playlist

Diamond In Your Mind, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)
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No One Can Forgive Me / Mathie Grove / Silent Night - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [392/393/394]

A final set of bonus tracks brings us to the end of season 22, with Christa, Martin and Sam enjoying a demo-style blues number, an extended bit of acapella storytelling, and Waits’s duet with a children’s choir. We conclude with some exaggerated masculinity, the Elizabethan-equivalent of Reservoir Dogs, and a bit of Christmas charidee.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
No One Can Forgive Me, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

No One Can Forgive Me, Got Love If You Want It, John Hammond (1992)

Mathie Grove, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Matty Groves, Liege And Lief, Fairport Convention (1969)

Matty Groves, In Concert, Joan Baez (1962)

Shady Grove, The Essential Doc Watson, Doc Watson (1973)

Silent Night, S.O.S United, SOS Children’s Villages & Tom Waits (1989)

Lullaby For Grown Ups, S.O.S United, SOS Children’s Villages & Chris Thompson (1989)

Documentary about the making of S.O.S United, via YouTube (1989)
Recording of Silent Night between 14m0s and 17m30s

How To Lose Everything: A Field Guide - animated short by Christa Couture, via Gem CBC (2022)
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Pray / Young At Heart / Missing My Son - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [389/390/391]

Musician and writer Christa Couture joins Martin and Sam for the final few Orphans, including a Book of Knots collaboration, the tale of an unpaid grocery bill, and a bit of ol’ Blue Eyes. Our penultimate episode for the season includes a celebration of youth, silly storytelling, and a surprise vocal cameo by the one and only Kathleen.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Pray, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Pray, Traineater, Book of Knots (2007)

Helium Reprise, Helium, Tin Hat Trio (2000)

Helium (Reprise), “360” Film Soundtrack, Mike Patton et al (2011)

Young At Heart, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Young At Heart, single, Frank Sinatra (1953)

Dick and Arlene Van Dyke record Young At Heart, via YouTube (2018)

Missing My Son, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

2 Versions of ‘The Grocery Scam’, Deseret News, Jan Harold Brunvand (1989)
‘Auggie’ from Smoke, dir. Wayne Wang (1995)

Credits (second part of ‘Auggie’) from Smoke, dir. Wayne Wang (1995)

Good Bayou, The Living Record, Christa Couture (2012)

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Cannon Song / Jayne's Blue Wish / Dog Treat - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [386/387/388]

Heading into the final tracks from Orphans, Tim, Martin and Sam discuss the ruinous junkyard dog that is Waits’s music, with another track from Brecht/Weill’s Threepenny Opera, some nursery rhyme cribs, and a bit of spontaneous(?) comedy. Waits delivers some aggressive anti-war sentiment, a song slightly lacking in specificity, and then finishes with a load of absolute bull.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Cannon Song, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Army Song, The Threepenny Opera - original Broadway recording, Kurt Weill / Bertolt Brecht / trans. by Marc Blitzstein (1954)

Cannon Song, Lost In The Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill, Kurt Weill / Bertolt Brecht / The Fowler Brothers / Stan Ridgway / trans. by Ralph Manheim and John Willett (1985)

Kanonensong, Die Dreigroschenoper, Kurt Weill / Bertolt Brecht (1931)

One-Winged Angel (Final Fantasy VII), Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy, Nobuo Uematsu (2007)

Jayne's Blue Wish, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Long Way Home, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Big Bad Love trailer, dir. Arliss Howard (2001)

Dog Treat, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Tom Waits in ‘The Old Man and The Gun’, dir. David Lowery (2018)

Innocent When You Dream (featuring ‘That’s A Lie’ introduction), via YouTube (1999?)

Mentalism, mind reading and the art of getting inside your head, Darren Brown at TED Vancouver (2019)

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Diamond In Your Mind / Danny Says / On The Road - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [383/384/385]

We welcome writer and podcaster Tim Clare to Song by Song, for more Orphaned songs about the significance of imaginary diamonds, sound-check deadlines, and a collaboration with Primus. We discuss reinterpretations of The Ramones, another version of Kerouac’s song On The Road, and a very valuable belt.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Diamond In Your Mind, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Diamond In Your Mind, Healing The Divide: A Concert For Reconciliation And Peace, Tom Waits / The Chronos Quartet (2007)

Diamond In Your Mind, Don't Give Up On Me, Solomon Burke (2002)

Danny Says, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Danny Says, End of the Century, The Ramones (1980)

Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight), Brain Drain, The Ramones (1989)

On The Road, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Waits and Primus recording On The Road, extract from Videoplasty (1998)

Home I'll Never Be, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

On The Road (excerpt), Jack Kerouac reads On The Road, Jack Kerouac (1999)

If It Wasnae for Your Wellies, A Life In The Day Of: The Collection, Billy Connolly (1998)

Maybe Tomorrow, theme music from the Littlest Hobo, Terry Bush (1963)

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Crazy 'Bout My Baby / Down There By The Train / King Kong - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [380/381/382]

Having dealt with all the Brawlers, Sam and Martin dig into the bonus disc of Orphans with a Fats Waller cover, music first performed by Johnny Cash, and a synopsis of King Kong. We discuss Waits’s capability as a pianist, his treatment of history’s villains, and consider his cover of an iconic outsider-artist musician. 

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Crazy 'Bout My Baby, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby, Ain't Misbehavin', Fats Waller (1943/1931?)

American Heart, dir. Martin Bell (1992) - Crazy 'Bout My Baby featured in the opening 2 minutes

Down There By The Train, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Down There By The Train, American Recordings, Johnny Cash (1994)

King Kong, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

King Kong, Yip Jump Music, Daniel Johnston (1983)

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Rains On Me / Take Care Of All My Children / Spidey's Wild Ride - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [377/378/379]

Some soothing, some heartbreak, and some extreme weather for Miss Yankey, as she examines another set of Orphans with Sam and Martin. Waits looks back on his Troubador years with tenderness, calls for care of the children of Seattle, and delivers a questionable hip-hop tribute. 

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Rains On Me, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Rains On Me, Extremely Cool, Chuck E. Weiss / Tom Waits (1998)

Jitterbug Boy (Sharing A Curbstone with Chuck E Weiss, Robert Marchese, Paul Body and The Mug and Artie), Small Change, Tom Waits (1976)

Do You Know What I Idi Amin, Extremely Cool, Chuck E. Weiss / Tom Waits (1998)

Rickie Lee Jones Remembers Chuck E. Weiss, LA Times (2021)
Take Care Of All My Children, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Streetwise, dir. Martin Bell (1984)
("Rat's Theme" starts at beginning of the video, Take Care Of All Of My Children over end credits)
Spidey's Wild Ride, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Spacious Thoughts, The Spirit Of Apollo, N.A.S.A feat Tom Waits & Kool Keith (2009)

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Buzz Fledderjohn / The Fall Of Troy / The Pontiac - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [374/375/376]

Miss Yankey rejoins Martin and Sam, bringing her perspective on the writing and performance of this week’s selection of neighbourhood memories, childhood crimes and old cars. We peer over Waits’s fence at forbidden gardens, pair greek myth with tragic violence, and visit with Kathleen’s dad.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Buzz Fledderjohn, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

The Fall Of Troy, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

The Pontiac, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

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Sea Of Love / Goodnight Irene / Altar Boy - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [371/372/373]

Jo, Martin and Sam return to the ocean, the church, and another Leadbelly cover to consider Waits's reinterpretation of various older songs. The swirling Sea of Love, the unnecessary pub singalong, and behind-the-altar confessionals all get a new twist, to varied effect.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Sea Of Love, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Sea of Love trailer, dir. Harold Becker (1989)

Sea Of Love, single, Phil Phillips (1959)

I Want to Hold Your Hand, Pinkus Abortion Technician, The Melvins (2018)

Goodnight Irene, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Goodnight Irene, The Best of Leadbelly, Leadbelly (1939?)

Goodnight Irene, single, The Weavers (1950)

Goodnight Irene as sung by Bristol Rovers fans around the UK, via YouTube

Altar Boy, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

What Became Of Old Father Craft, The Alice Demos, Tom Waits (1992 - unreleased)
Still sadly unavailable on streaming
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Walk Away / If I Have To Go / Poor Little Lamb - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [368/369/370]

Walking back to the show only to walk away again, Jo Neary takes on another trio of Orphans with Martin and Sam. Beginning with the 90s religious material, heading back to theatre of the 80s, and then the street poetry of William Kennedy’s childhood, we also consider how Waits’s writing functions as a dusting soundtrack. 

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Walk Away, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

If I Have To Go, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

If I Have To Go, Little Drop Of Poison, Rebekka Bakken (2014)

Poor Little Lamb, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Ana Ng, Lincoln, They Might Be Giants (1988)

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Mailbag Episode #6

As we enter 2023, Sam and Martin take a quick rummage through the emails, tweets and carrier pigeon letters the listeners have sent in over the last year, getting your take on lyrical and musical elements we may have missed, as well as a bunch of other thoughts and considerations.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Heartattack And Vine, Heartattack And Vine, Tom Waits (1980)

A Little Rain, Bone Machine, Tom Waits (1992)

Starving In The Belly Of A Whale, Blood Money, Tom Waits (2002)

Cape Cod Times story - Man swallowed by Whale
Just The Way We Are Boys, unreleased Woyzeck song, Tom Waits (2000)

Hoist That Rag, Real Gone, Tom Waits (2004)

Sins Of My Father, Real Gone, Tom Waits (2004)

Bad As Me, Spirit In The Room, Tom Jones (2012)

Bad As Me, live at the San Diego House Of Blues, Tom Jones (2014)

Day After Tomorrow, Real Gone, Tom Waits (2004)

Tom Waits on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (2006)
Going Fetal, Blinking Lights and Other Revelations, The Eels (2005)

New live tracks from the 2022 Anniversary Editions of Alice and Blood Money

Grave Diggers: Tom Waits, compilation EP (2022/various)

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The Return Of Jackie And Judy / It's Over / Home I'll Never Be - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [365/366/367]

Martin is a punk, Sam Pay is a runt, Vera joined the podcast and they all… focused on getting enough water because hydration is important. We dip back into the Woyzeck material, consider Ramones fandom, and Waits pays tribute to Jack Kerouac.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
The Return Of Jackie And Judy, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

The Return Of Jackie And Judy, End of the Century, The Ramones (1980)

Judy Is A Punk, Ramones, The Ramones (1976)

It's Over, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Scene featuring 'It's Over' from Liberty Heights (dir. Levinson), via YouTube (1999)

Home I'll Never Be, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

On The Road (excerpt), Jack Kerouac reads On The Road, Jack Kerouac (1999)

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All The Time / Little Man / Nirvana - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [362/363/364]

Vera Chok makes her triumphant 2023 return to Song by Song for fat driving beats, donated smooth jazz vocals and a moment of zen. This week we discuss the anger of an ageing codependent relationship, the nature (and futility) of advice, and the magic of anticipated nostalgia. 

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
All The Time, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Interpretation of All The Time by user "Believo', from genius.com
Little Man, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

I'm Not Your Fool Anymore, Mississippi Lad, Teddy Edwards (1991)

Sonny Boy, You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet, Jackie Wilson (1961)

Sonny Boy, sung by various performers, from 'Tuppy and the Terrier', Jeeves & Wooster S01E02, ITV (1990)

Nirvana, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Tom Waits reads 'The Laughing Heart', by Charles Bukowski, from 'Bukowski: Born Into This', dir. John Dullaghan (2003)

Tom Waits on Charles Bukowski, from 'Bukowski: Born Into This', dir. John Dullaghan (2003)

'Bukowski: Born Into This', dir. John Dullaghan (2003)

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Road To Peace / Fannin Street / Redrum - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [359/360/361]

Dina is back for some tricky conversations with Martin and Sam about the geography of Shreveport and Huston, more Woyzeck off-cuts, and of course, the big topic of the Gaza conflict. We consider Waits working outside his comfort zone, his Lead Belly reversal, and again discuss the “why” of his instrumental choices.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Road To Peace, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Jazz Police, I'm Your Man, Leonard Cohen (1988)

The Road To Peace notes on the Tom Waits Library, featuring articles from the NYT, June 2003
Not Ready To Make Nice, Taking The Long Way, The Chicks / Dixie Chicks (2008)

Hedy Lamar on Drunk History, Comedy Central via YouTube (2019)

Fannin Street, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Fannin Street (Mr Tom Hughes' Town), Lead Belly's Last Sessions, Lead Belly (1948/1959)

Fannin Street, Wicked Grin, John Hammond (2001)

Fannin Street, Anywhere I Lay My Head, Scarlett Johansson (2008)

Redrum, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Tougher Than The Rest, Tunnel of Love, Bruce Springsteen (1987)

Night Moves, Night Moves, Bob Seger (1976)

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Puttin' On The Dog / Never Let Go / Dog Door - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [356/357/358]

It’s all stories of attentiveness and canines this week, as we welcome Dina Del Bucchia to the show for a striptease routine, sentimental intensity, and a song about a mean lady. We discuss his connection to Bette Midler, consensual domination, and the needs of attention-seeking Leos.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Puttin' On The Dog, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Rainbow Sleeves, from Divine Madness concert film, Bette Midler (1980)

Jump Jive and Wail, The Wildest, Louis Prima (1956)

Flip Flop and Fly, Flip Flop and Fly, Big Joe Turner (1951)

Excerpt from Liberty Heights featuring Puttin' on the Dog, dir. Barry Levinson (1999)

Never Let Go, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Excerpt from American Heart featuring Never Let Go (Of Your Hand), dir. Martin Bell (1992)

Dog Door, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Ian Hislop on Room 101, featuring his interview with Tom Waits (go to 29m20s), BBC (1994)

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Lord I've Been Changed / Tell It To Me / First Kiss - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [353/354/355]

Jeffrey’s with Martin and Sam for a second Orphaned week, delighting in gospel music, songs of absentee fathers, and approximately 500 Bing Bangs. Waits sidesteps his irony to celebrate religion (or at least its musical traditions), we get down and dirty with a country music legend, and Jeffrey… falls in love!

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Lord I've Been Changed, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Lord I've Been Changed, from Freedom Highway, dir. Phillip King (2001)

Know I've Been Changed, Wicked Grin, John Hammond / Tom Waits (2001)

Know I've Been Changed, Great Day, Staples Singers (1975)

Tell It To Me, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Louise, Friends of Mine, Ramblin' Jack Elliott / Tom Waits (1998)

Lucille (aka 'a country song in 3/4 time'), Kenny Rogers, Kenny Rogers (1976)

The Cowboy Waltz (aka 'another country song in 3/4 time'), Asch Recordings vol 4, Woodie Guthrie (1999/?)

First Kiss, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Thousand Bing Bangs, Devout Catalyst, Ken Nordine / Tom Waits (1991)

A Thousand Bingbangs, A Transparent Mask, Ken Nordine (2011)

The Movie, Devout Catalyst, Ken Nordine / Tom Waits (1991)

Circus, single, Ken Nordine / Tom Waits (2019)

Funky Moped, live on TOTP, Jasper Carrot (1975)

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Ain't Goin' Down To The Well / World Keeps Turning / Two Sisters - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [350/351/352]

We welcome Nightvale’s own Jeffrey Cranor back to Song by Song, joining Martin and Sam to explore a Lead Belly cover, sentimental material from the film Pollock, and a murderous song of sibling rivalry. We talk about mutability and adaptation in the blues tradition, supernatural extensions in folk ballads, and Martin experiences a moment of emotional crisis.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Ain't Goin' Down To The Well, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Ain't Going Down To The Well, from Freedom Highway, dir. Phillip King (2001)

World Keeps Turning, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Pollock trailer, dir. Ed Harris (2000)

Two Sisters, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Bow And Balance / Two Sisters, Old Town School of Folk Music, Horton Barker (1962)

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Lucinda / Shiny Things / Bone Chain - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [347/348/349]

A positive start and slight decline for Hannah, Sam and Martin, with Waits in murder ballad mode, a simple banjo-led song of yearning and the first instrumental of the album. The ‘who’ of our Brawler, the ‘where’ of our Bawler, and the ‘why’ of the Bastard all get a good discussion, as Song by Song continues through Orphans.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Lucinda, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Shiny Things, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Bone Chain, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Garth Marenghi on Subtext, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace (2004)

Log Driver’s Waltz, music: Kate and Anna McGarrigle, and The Mountain City Four, dir. John Weldon (1979)

True Orphans - list of unreleased Waits songs from the Tom Waits Library
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Bottom Of The World / Little Drop Of Poison / Books Of Moses - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [344/345/346]

Martin and Sam welcome Hannah McGregor for another trio of Waits’s abandoned children: a hobo lullabye, his contribution to the Shrek-niverse and a tribute to one of 1969’s most unusual solo projects. Plus: how hard would it be for two women in their 30s to fit inside one overcoat?!?

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Bottom Of The World, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

The Hobo’s Lullaby, Woodie Guthrie, Asch Recordings vol. 1 (1945-47/1997)

Little Drop Of Poison, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Little Drop Of Poison from Shrek 2, dir. Andrew Adamson, Conrad Vernon, Kelly Asbury (2004)

Little Drop Of Poison, The End of Violence OST, Tom Waits (1997)

Books Of Moses, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Books Of Moses, Oar, Skip Spence (1969)

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Fish In The Jailhouse / Widow's Grove / Army Ants - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards [341/342/343]

Returning for another eclectic selection of tracks, Amanda, Martin and Sam listen to a pescatarian jailbreak tune, an unusually conversational murder ballad, and Waits-does-Attenborough. We consider the possible origins of Widow's Grove, truth and fiction in insect monologues, and the value of seafood-based escapology.

Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include:
Fish In The Jailhouse, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Widow's Grove, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Army Ants, Orphans: Brawlers Bawlers & Bastards, Tom Waits (2006)

Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone, Extensions, The Manhattan Transfer (1979)

Open Air, Wireless Original Audio Drama, feat. Amanda Gordon as Ruby (2022)
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