The 30 Best Tom Waits Songs, from Closing Time to Bad as Me

What is Tom Waits' most famous song?

"Tom Traubert's Blues", "Ol' '55" and "Downtown Train" are Tom Waits' most famous songs, along with "Jersey Girl" and "Hold On". Several became bigger hits for other artists: the Eagles recorded "Ol' '55", Bruce Springsteen made "Jersey Girl" a live favorite and Rod Stewart took "Downtown Train" into the top three in 1990.

Tom Waits' essential songs

1. "Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen)", 1976: the aching opener of Small Change.
2. "Ol' '55", 1973: his debut single, a gentle song about driving home at dawn.
3. "Downtown Train", 1985: a soaring rocker from Rain Dogs.
4. "Jersey Girl", 1980: a sweet, romantic song from Heartattack and Vine.
5. "Hold On", 1999: a hopeful highlight of the Grammy-winning Mule Variations.
6. "Martha", 1973: a heartbreaking piano ballad about calling an old love.
7. "Time", 1985: a tender, accordion-tinged ballad from Rain Dogs.
8. "(Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night", 1974: a dreamy ode to the start of the weekend.
9. "Innocent When You Dream", 1987: a waltz from Franks Wild Years.
10. "Come On Up to the House", 1999: a gospel-tinged song of welcome that closes Mule Variations.

Songs from the Asylum years (1973 to 1980)

11. "Grapefruit Moon", 1973: a lonely piano ballad from Closing Time.
12. "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You", 1973: the gentle opener of his debut album.
13. "San Diego Serenade", 1974: a tender ballad from The Heart of Saturday Night.
14. "The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)", 1976: a comic barroom monologue.
15. "Step Right Up", 1976: a fast-talking carnival-barker satire of advertising.
16. "I Never Talk to Strangers", 1977: a barroom duet with Bette Midler.
17. "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis", 1978: a bittersweet story song from Blue Valentine.
18. "Kentucky Avenue", 1978: a nostalgic song about childhood friendship.
19. "Ruby's Arms", 1980: a quiet farewell ballad with strings.

Songs from the Island years (1983 to 1993)

20. "In the Neighborhood", 1983: a brass-band portrait of his street from Swordfishtrombones.
21. "Johnsburg, Illinois", 1983: a short love song for his wife, Kathleen Brennan.
22. "Jockey Full of Bourbon", 1985: a swaying, Latin-tinged Rain Dogs favorite.
23. "Clap Hands", 1985: a percussive, mysterious song from Rain Dogs.
24. "Way Down in the Hole", 1987: the gospel-blues song later used as the theme of The Wire.
25. "Hang On St. Christopher", 1987: a clanging single from Franks Wild Years.
26. "Going Out West", 1992: a stomping rocker from Bone Machine.

Songs from Mule Variations (1999) and later

27. "Picture in a Frame", 1999: a simple, devoted love song.
28. "Take It with Me", 1999: a moving song about the love you carry with you.
29. "Chocolate Jesus", 1999: a playful, bluesy song about faith.
30. "Bad as Me", 2011: the title track of his most recent studio album.

Who is Tom Waits?

Tom Waits was born on December 7, 1949, in Pomona, California. He started out playing coffeehouses and clubs in Los Angeles, and his early albums for Asylum Records, beginning with Closing Time in 1973, presented him as a late-night piano balladeer with a jazz and beat-poetry edge. In 1980 he married Kathleen Brennan, who became his co-writer and producer, and the albums that followed on Island Records, starting with Swordfishtrombones, reinvented his sound with junkyard percussion, marimbas, horns and an ever rougher voice. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.

Tom Waits' voice and sound

On his early records Waits sang in a smoky croon over piano and upright bass, like a lounge singer who had read too much Jack Kerouac. By the 80s his voice had turned into the famous gravelly growl, and his arrangements borrowed from blues, vaudeville, cabaret, tango, New Orleans brass bands and experimental rock, with influences from Howlin' Wolf to Captain Beefheart. Instruments like pump organs, marimbas, banjos and homemade percussion gave songs like "Clap Hands" and "Going Out West" a sound no one else could copy.

The story behind Tom Traubert's Blues

"Tom Traubert's Blues", the opening song of Small Change (1976), borrows its chorus from the Australian folk song "Waltzing Matilda" and tells a story of being lost and lonely in a foreign city. It is often named his greatest song, and Rod Stewart recorded a well-known version in 1992.

The songs other artists made famous

Many people know Tom Waits songs through other singers. The Eagles recorded "Ol' '55" on On the Border in 1974, Bruce Springsteen made "Jersey Girl" a staple of his concerts, Rod Stewart had a top three hit with "Downtown Train" in 1990, and artists from Tim Buckley to Scarlett Johansson, who made an album almost entirely of his songs, have covered his work. Waits' own versions are rougher, but that is part of their charm.

Grammy wins and Mule Variations

Tom Waits won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album for Bone Machine in 1993 and the Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album for Mule Variations in 2000. Mule Variations, his first album for the Anti- label, became one of his best-selling records and brought him to a new generation of fans with "Hold On", "Come On Up to the House", "Picture in a Frame" and "Take It with Me".

Tom Waits the actor

Waits has also had a long acting career, appearing in Jim Jarmusch's Down by Law, Robert Altman's Short Cuts, Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula as Renfield and the Coen brothers' The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. His gravelly voice and characters made him a favorite of independent filmmakers.

Tom Waits albums to start with

• Closing Time (1973): the gentle piano-bar debut, with "Ol' '55" and "Martha".
• Small Change (1976): with "Tom Traubert's Blues" and "Step Right Up".
• Rain Dogs (1985): his masterpiece, with "Downtown Train", "Time" and "Jockey Full of Bourbon".
• Bone Machine (1992): dark and percussive, a Grammy winner.
• Mule Variations (1999): the perfect place for new listeners to start.

Tom Waits songs for a wedding

For a wedding, "Picture in a Frame", "Jersey Girl", "Time" and "Johnsburg, Illinois" are unusual and deeply romantic choices, and "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You" suits a couple with a sense of humor. For more, see our old love songs.

Tom Waits songs for a memorial or a late night

"Take It with Me", "Come On Up to the House" and "Time" are often chosen for memorials, and "Hold On" offers comfort in a hard season. For a late-night playlist, "Grapefruit Moon", "Martha", "Tom Traubert's Blues" and "Ruby's Arms" are perfect. For more, see our celebration of life songs and sad songs.

More great songwriters

If you love Tom Waits, explore our Randy Newman songs, Bob Dylan songs and Jason Isbell songs.

A song with their own characters

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