Hoist That Rag

well not that every song has to be pinned down to one granite meaning but this to me is all about war, the rag is obviously a flag and the guttural bark of 'hoist that rag' sums up superbly the horrific vomiting bark of jingoism.

Getting even more specific it could not have been written when it was without alluding however indirectly to foreign policy of the good old us of a. Hoist that Ring!

I think this song is an accusation of imperialism directed toward the people who sold America the invasion of Iraq. "Hoist that rag"= raise the flag over the conquered territory. "Rag" is sometimes used as a derogatory term for flag, but I don't think Tom is calling the American flag a rag, as much as implying that it's been stained and abused by the use it's been put to lately.

"Well I learned the trade From Piggy Knowles Sing Sing Tommy Shay Boys"

Great names for shady characters. Piggy Knowles = Karl Rove? It's a name that describes him well.

"god used me as hammer boys To beat his weary drum today"

George Bush used a religious imagery, such as crusades, in his public speeches before the invasion of Iraq. He even told Ha'aretz, an Israeli newspaper, that God had told him to go to war!

"The sun is up the world is flat"

As good a description of Iraq as any. It's a country of flat plains and desert.

"Damn good address for a rat"

Saddam was certainly vermin.

"The smell of blood The Drone of flies"

Dead bodies all around, check. Fits Iraq.

Here's the payoff: "Well we stick our fingers in The ground, heave and Turn the world around"

Remember the grandiose promises before the invasion? It was supposed to be effortless, and it would change the world (turn the world around). But the plan was really as crazy as thinking you could do what the lyrics say.

"Smoke is blacking out the sun At night I pray and clean my gun"

Remember 1991, when the Iraqis set fire to all the oil wells in Kuwait as they retreated? Smoke did indeed black out the sun. Praying and cleaning a gun in the disastrous night = the paranoia and delusion that enabled the Gulf War's repeat.

"The cracked bell rings as The ghost bird sings and the gods Go beggin here"

Postwar Iraq, the promised beacon of freedom (the liberty bell and bald eagles) is in reality a land where all of the virtues (gods) are oppressed by evil, and can be sustained only by losing all semblance of their former pride.

"So just open fire As you hit the shore All is fair in love And war"

As a former US Marine, this verse echoes in my head. Take no prisoners, and take that beach!

From tomwaitslibrary.com:

• Tom Waits (2004): "Well, "Sins Of My Father" is political. "Hoist That Rag" is. There's a bunch of soldier songs. (Source: "Magnet Interview With Tom Waits", by Jonathan Valania. Magnet magazine (UK). October 5, 2004)

Piggy Knowles and Sing Sing Tommy Shay

• "It seems that Tom Waits was reading Herbert Asbury's The Gangs of New York while writing Real Gone. Piggy Noles (misspelled "Knowles" in the Real Gone lyrics) and Bum Mahoney both appear on page 73 as being part of the river pirate gangs of Manhattan's lower east side in mid 19th century New York. They reappear together with Tommy Shay as part of the "Hook gang" on page 76 and 77: "Another member of the Hookers was Piggy Noles, who stole a rowboat, repainted it and then sold it to its original owner". (Source: Submitted by Mikael Borg as sent to Tom Waits Yahoo Groups discussionlist. November 2, 2004)
• Hook Gang: "The Hook Gang was a New York street gang and later river pirates during the late nineteenth century. The Hook Gang was formed during the mid-1860s following the American Civil War. Based from New York's Corlears' Hook waterfront of the East River, the Hookers numbered between 50 to 100 members including many of the notorious sneak thieves and other criminals of the period including James Coffee, Terry Le Strange, Suds Merrick, and Tommy Shay. The gang quickly became known for attacking and hijacking shipping almost always outnumbered. An early robbery took place when James Coffee and Tommy Shay forced a local eight-man rowing club at gunpoint to row the boat to the Brooklyn shore. Within 50 yards the men ordered the rowing team to jump out and swim to the beach while the men escaped with the boat later sailing the boat to a canal boat at the Hudson River dockyards. One gang member however, Slipsey Ward, was arrested and imprisoned at Auburn Prison after attempting to hijack a schooner sailing past Pike Street killing three of the six man crew before he was detained by the remaining crew members." (Source: "Encyclopedia of World Crime Vol. II. Robert Jay Nash. Crimebooks Inc., 1990)

The gods go begging: Could be taken from Alfredo Véa's novel "The Gods Go Begging" (NY Dutton, 1999). A gripping novel which starts with the brutal murders of two women in San Francisco, a murder which has its roots in the war in Vietnam. One review called this 'a novel filled with magic realism, searing descriptions and stunning eloquence." "Alfredo Véa, author of "La Maravilla," "The Gods Go Begging," and "The Silver Cloud Café," is a practicing criminal defense attorney. His most recent book, "The Gods Go Begging," was named one of the Best Books of 1999 by the Los Angeles Times and was the winner of the 1999 Bay Area Book Reviewers' Award for Fiction. Véa was born in Arizona and lived the life of a migrant worker before being sent to Vietnam. After his discharge, he worked as anything from a truck driver to carnival mechanic to put himself through law school. He currently lives in San Francisco." (Source: "Novelist Alfredo Véa to Read at UA Nov. 12" By Julieta Gonzalez. Yniversity Of Arizona news: November 05, 2003)

All is fair in love and war: attributed to Francis Edward Smedley (1818-1864), in "Frank Fairleigh" [1850]

The first verse: Piggy Knowles (correctly Piggy Noles) and Tommy Shay were members of New Yorks 'Hook Gang'. The Hook Gang were at times a street gang, and for a while, river pirates. Sing Sing, of course, is a New York prison.

This verse doesn't really share the same apocalyptic hysteria that the 2nd and 3rd possess, and I think it's a bit much to read a big tale about Iraq out of that, although I'd certainly agree with the final verses final line being D-Day inspired, or something similar.

My take on this song is that it's Tom's assessment of pro-America jingoism... "You know what to do if the baby cries/Hoist that rag" seems to sum it up. As long as we're waving old glory, everything will be okay. ...I don't think Tom is exactly subscribing to this school of thought.

I somewhat agree with doubleoh, but I think there might be a little more to it (I'm just not sure what that is...)

In addition, bass-god Les Claypool (Primus, C2B3) plays the bass on this track.

in my opinion, his best song (except for Tom Traubert's Blues) and definately one of the best songs ever. that 1:30 minute guitar solo is one of the best moments in music history

Awesome song.

I think that he's trying to represent a hopeless world and a man who stands alone (you know, that comic book stuff, in a rotten world), a very dark meaning. My favourite line, and maybe my favourite line in music history (yeah, i like this song xD) is: "At night I pray and clean my gun". I think I'll get it tattooed some time soon

"If the packed theater houses of the Bowery (whose audiences would yell 'H'ist dat rag!' when the curtain failed to rise promptly at the scheduled time)..." Borges, "The Disinterested Killer Bill Harrigan." That's the only other place I've seen the term hoist that rag, but I guess flags and sails make sense too. The story is about Billy the Kid, who is born in New York when the street gangs were everywhere, and he learns how to kill without caring. He moves west and starts shooting people. Kind of works with that, I guess, except the shore bit.