Lyrics for What's He Building? as interpreted by archmastermind

What's He Building? Lyrics
What's he building in there?
What the hell is he building
In there?
He has subscriptions to those
Magazines... He never
Waves when he goes by
He's hiding something from
The rest of us... He's all
To himself... I think I know
Why... He took down the
Tire swing from the Peppertree
He has no children of his
Own you see... He has no dog
And he has no friends and
His lawn is dying... and
What about all those packages
He sends. What's he building in there?
With that hook light
On the stairs. What's he building
In there... I'll tell you one thing
He's not building a playhouse for
The children what's he building
In there?

Now what's that sound from under the door?
He's pounding nails into a
Hardwood floor... and I
Swear to god I heard someone
Moaning low... and I keep
Seeing the blue light of a
T.V. show...
He has a router
And a table saw... and you
Won't believe what Mr. Sticha saw
There's poison underneath the sink
Of course... But there's also
Enough formaldehyde to choke
A horse... What's he building
In there. What the hell is he
Building in there? I heard he
Has an ex-wife in some place
Called Mayors Income, Tennessee
And he used to have a
consulting business in Indonesia...
but what is he building in there?
What the hell is building in there?

He has no friends
But he gets a lot of mail
I'll bet he spent a little
Time in jail...
I heard he was up on the
Roof last night
Signaling with a flashlight
And what's that tune he's
Always whistling...
What's he building in there?
What's he building in there?

We have a right to know...

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Calculator Jose
05-15-2002

Rated 0 
this is the only song ive heard of tom waits, whats the other stuff like??
comparisons and descriptions please


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roger wilco
05-15-2002

Rated 0 
well, for one, Tom usually sings.

this work is reminiscent of "Romeo Is Bleeding" and some of Waits' early work. Tom Waits is a profound fan of Beat Poetry, and would often embark on Beat excursions in his music.

his lyrics and reverence for jazz reflects his interest in the Beats outstandingly.

i recommend "Mule Variations" and "Bone Machine" as safe purchases for someone unsure about a foray into Tom Waits. both albums are some of his best and most recent work (except for the two just released this month!) and should give the listener an excellent idea of where Mr. Waits is coming from. enjoy!

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Calculator Jose
05-24-2002

Rated 0 
thank you

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Straylite
05-09-2003

Rated 0 
I think Mule Variations must be one of the easiest of his album to get into, older stuff tends to be more to the more hardmelted side. One album i can recomment more than others is Swordfishtrombones. Mostly cause there are songs that are easy to melt early, but also an album that really grows with you. A golden trophy in my record collection. (though "Whats he building" is probably the most amusing work he has ever done in my opinion).

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JumpyJack
12-17-2004

Rated 0 
What do you think of the stuff on Rain Dogs with Keith Richards? I just recently got into it and I'm impressed.

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Azdnumis210
04-09-2005

Rated 0 
i love this. i wish we actually found out what he was building, though

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badge
04-10-2005

Rated 0 
Tom Waits was at his best on his early albums (Closing Time, Small Change and Blue Valentine in particular) in my opinion and although his late albums are good, the best songs are always those remeniscent of his early stuff. Waits is at his best with a piano or an acoustic guitar, and in general his more experimental stuff isn't quite as good. The exceptions to this are Rain Doge and Mule Variations, which blend experimentation with old-fashioned ballads perfectly. This song brings back the humour of Waits' early works such as Mighthawks at the Diner and Small Change.

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sloop
08-20-2005

Rated 0 
He's not building anything; that's the point of the song. Tom Waits is singing from the point of view of a representative of the paranoid townspeople who view this man with suspicion simply because he seems to be up to something. There is of course no proof for anything he might be up to as it's all in the heads of those around him, and the narration reveals the obsessive and invasive mindset of the suspicious townspeople rather than concentrating on the man who is supposedly building something.

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GriZzmo
04-13-2006

Rated 0 
Dead on sloop. This is the song that sparked my interest in Tom Waits. I remember seeing the video on mtv (back when I still found it bareable) in the middle of night - I was instantly hooked.

Of course, the line "what's he building in there?" has turned into a bit of an inside joke. Tends to cause weird looks from the uninitiated though.

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suburban
09-08-2006

Rated 0 
He's trying to tell us not to be so suspicious about people just because they don't revial everything about themselves/their lives to everybody. If you don't know you get suspicious, and if there is anything that seems strange you expect the worst. I think the bottom line is that people need and deserve privacy.

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bandhgold
09-11-2006

Rated 0 
What a song!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree with the idea that we should be looking more at the townsfolk than 'he'. All of the information that we're given is either heresay from the reliable 'Mr Stiches' (or 'I heard he was up on the roof last night signaling with a flashlight') or not particularly incriminating ("oh shit his lawn is dying").

But Waits never gives us a clear answer. There is always an ambiguity. And noone can deny that, although the actions of the man have been recorded to a ridiculous extent, the guy's still pretty sinister. His distance from the other townsfolk and that chilling whistling that closes the song can confirm that his actions are justifiably suspect.

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RyanJW
11-11-2006

Rated 0 
I don't know guys. You could be right about people being paranoid..

But, what if someone subscribed to 'those' magazines, stole the tire swing from the cherry tree, USED TO have a consulting firm in IN-DO-NE-SAAA and always whistling that tune.. not to mention all of those packages he sends out.. It really makes you think..

What IS he building in there?

Besides it's like JUST the stranger is imagining it-- because you won't believe what Mr. Stitches saw either!!

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morbid morag
06-27-2008

Rated 0 
I've had neighbours like that - trust me, it's not funny! A few years ago there was a big fuss about people growing tall hedges &, this being Britain, there had to be speeches in Parliament & stupid nosey-parker legislation. A TV programme looked at some of these weirdos who liked their privacy - at one point what seemed like a whole village was surrounding one house (along with the TV crew, of course) saying things like "Why do they want to shut us out? What are they doing that they don't want us to see?". Frankly, if I lived among people like that I'd have a fifteen-foot wall with razor wire & some hungry dogs. I think that's what this song is about - the "we have a right to know" attitude.Seriously creepy - the neighbours, not the poor soul in the house.

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garethm
10-19-2009

Rated 0 
In my opinion the song is about a private man, possibly a bit odd to some of his neighbours, but generally just a bit shy. He's being constantly watched and talked about by people who run away with their imaginations and talk too much- curtain twitchers.

I also think it's about Tom Waits, himself. People want to know every little detail about him. He's a very private person and his level of success, and cult following draws a lot of attention.

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twigletmania
10-21-2009

Rated 0 
The song was inspired by the Unabomber. Also features in the opening to the film "Enron The Smartest Guys in the Room" to great effect!

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