Lyrics for Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets to the... as interpreted by archmastermind

Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets to the... Lyrics
Wasted and wounded, it ain't what the moon did.
I got what I paid for now.
See you tomorrow. Hey, Frank, can I borrow
A couple of bucks from you to go
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda?
You'll go waltzing Matilda with me.

I'm an innocent victim of a blinded alley
And I'm tired of all these soldiers here.
No one speaks English and everything's broken
And my Stacy's are soaking wet to go
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda.
You'll go waltzing Matilda with me.

Now the dogs are barking
And the taxi cabs parking,
A lot they can do for me.
I begged you to stab me.
You tore my shirt open
And I'm down on my knees tonight.
Old Bushmill's, I staggered,
You buried the dagger
In your silhouette window light to go
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda.
You'll go waltzing Matilda with me.

Now I've lost my St Christopher now that I've kissed her
And the one-armed bandit knows
And the maverick Chinamen and the cold-blooded signs
And the girls down by the striptease shows go
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda.
You'll go waltzing Matilda with me.

No, I don't want your sympathy. The fugitives say
That the streets aren't for dreaming now.
Manslaughter dragnets and the ghosts that sell memories,
They want a piece of the action anyhow, go
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda.
You'll go waltzing Matilda with me.

And you can ask any sailor and the keys from the jailer
And the old men in wheelchairs know
That Matilda's the defendant. She killed about a hundred
And she follows wherever you may go
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda.
You'll go waltzing Matilda with me.

And it's a battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace
And a wound that will never heal.
No prima donna, the perfume is on
An old shirt that is stained with blood and whiskey
And goodnight to the street sweepers,
The night watchman flame keepers,
And goodnight, Matilda, too.

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maltedmilk
05-06-2002

Rated 0 
i've heard this song is about vietnam and shooting heroin....

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JohnnyBlueJeans
08-17-2002

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Actually, from what I've read, this song really was written in Copehagen. Its a love song to his wife, Kathleen Brennan, written while Mr. Waits was lost, lonely, confused and surrounded by drunks and caberet singers in Denmark. Beautiful song either way, though...

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PiKuelo
04-13-2004

Rated 0 
just my favourite song ever

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sloop
01-13-2005

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correct me if I'm wrong, but i don't think it could have actually been written about Ms. Brennan because she and Waits didn't meet until years after this record was done - I don't have a better answer now though

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PiKuelo
02-14-2005

Rated 0 
i think so too, sloop. anyway, i think mathilda is a general name for women in waits' world, as he mentions her again in Time.

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alfresco_slapstick
04-13-2005

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i think it was written about a drunken evening that tom spent with danish folk-singer Mathilde Bondo after a performance in copanhagen. its definately not about his wife kathleen as they only met a few years later when he was working on the soundtrack for 'One From The Heart'

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Skunk Ape
05-08-2006

Rated 0 
Well, Wikipedia explains "Waltzing Matilda" in the original folk song as referring to either travelling with all of one's belongings in a sack, or learning a craft as an apprentice.

In this case, it seems to be a metaphor for alcoholism or addiction of some sort, and a slow side into self-destruction. I interpret the song as the story of a man who's slowly mastering the art of drinking himself to death.

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taal_19
05-17-2006

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Tom Waits mixed a popular Australian song "Waltzing Matilda" with his own original material. The Australian original is about a travelling man (swagman) who stole a sheep (jumbuck) stuffed it in his bag but then was cornered by the farmer who owned the sheep (squatter) and the police (troopers). The swagman jumped into the billabong so he wouldn't get caught alive and his ghost is still there today.

'Waltzing matilda' means to travel with your swag (where you roll all your stuff up in a fabric or whatever and carry it). Waltz = to travel, matilda = swag.

Good song, I like the war/fight/hopelessness type theme and sombreness of it.

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chus_4
08-09-2006

Rated -1 
matilda = swag, waltzing = moving...... when you're walking about, your backpack moves too and fro, just like waltzing. Great song, I read on a different site it's about some night in Copenhagen when Waits was drunk and stumbling about and whatnot. It had bunches of quotes from him of what he said prior to singing the song... usually pretty vague. I don't think it is a metaphor for self destruction. I think whoever thinks that is an idiot.

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smellystudent
08-17-2006

Rated 0 
"I lost my Saint Christopher now that I've kissed her"

One of my favourite lines ever.

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Smokler
12-02-2006

Rated 0 
Just beautiful. It's appearence in the movie "Basquiat" is one of the best song/movie moments ever.

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wertoi
03-27-2007

Rated 0 
It's about men who travel the world to get over a woman. A guy is somewhere far from home, out of money and still battling his heartache, and he sees a lot of men like himself.

One of Waits' greatest songs, i think. His manager at the time cried the first time he read/heard it, and called it the greatest piece of poetry ever written.

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criostoir
04-22-2007

Rated 0 
I also love the line "lost my St. Christopher now that I kissed her." St. Christopher is (in the West) the patron saint of travellers. I think what Waits means is that when he kissed "her," his wandering days were over. This makes a nice juxtaposition with the "Waltzing Matilda" theme which is about being a roving bandit of sorts.

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superficies
06-13-2007

Rated 0 
I always assumed this song was about drugs... some of the references are related to morphine/IV drugs. I don't deny the significance of the traveling theme, I just think Tom compared the relationship of the two. He usually has multiple layers to every song...

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dolfan
12-07-2007

Rated 0 
Here is a link that should explain everything about this tune and has a live performance of the song if you'd like to see and hear it. The web site is pretty thorough, as well. http://www.tomwaitslibrary.com/lyrics-by-songs.html

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riderinblack
04-13-2008

Rated 0 
the greatest song of all time. PERIOD. SCREW BOB DYLAN HE DOESN'T DESERVE TO HOLD WAITS JOCK STRAP. I like bob dylan but waits is the greatest IMO

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steveblair
08-24-2008

Rated 0 
I have incredibly strong feeling for this song. One that I thought I knew, until he played it on one night in Edinburgh 2008.
I think it is partially a song about self destruction, starting perhaps with asking his father for some money (father’s name is Frank) to go ‘waltzing Matilda’ (disappearing, and travelling with just his ‘swagbag’).
One story goes that ex-military German immigrants used to call their army greatcoats ‘Matilda’, as they gave them the warmth a women could.
His producer at the time, Bones Howe, has been noted to quote at seminars, as being the most perfect lyric:
“And it's a battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace
And a wound that will never heal.”
An outstandingly powerful line for me is:
“Now I've lost my St Christopher now that I've kissed her”.
St Christopher is the patron saint of travellers, and so mirroring the above comments, he was no longer lost (or a ‘raindog’ for that matter – dogs getting lost after a downpour washes away their marked scents). However, it’s believed that St Christopher is also the patron saint of bachelors... Perfect double whammy.
Ultimately, I think this about absolute heartbreak, and the joy in finding somebody – probably in Copenhagen. Lost and found. It will not be forgotten.

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tsreyb
11-12-2008

Rated 0 
Whew! this song is F'ing depressing - and that's a HUGE compliment! Tom Waits is one artist extroidinaire.

To be honest, when I listen to this song I envy the poor man who lives out of a battered old suitcase - because 1) he's probably toasted, 2) he's happy enough, and he's at peace w/himself.

OK, you say I'm off target? Well, find for me in the lyrics ONE line that indicates that the subject of this song is UNHAPPY or NOT at peace with himself.

I suggest he is an alcoholic, he has accepted his alcoholism and he is basically observing the night people around him before he lays himself down for a night of drunken sleep.

Again, find for me in the lyrics any line that suggests he is unhappy.

It is funny, because the tone of the song is very sad.

Are we supposed to pity this man? If you accept my premise that he is a happy (albeit a happy alcoholic) person, then why should we pity him?

Personally, my only pity for him is if he doesn't have the joy of raising children. However, we don't even know that much. He could've easily raised 5 kids or more, and *then* became alone. It has occurred before.

Maybe he missed out on love

Funny .. I'd rank this as one of the saddest songs of all time. Nevertheless I envy this poor, probably homeless, man.

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