When I was a kid (in England), police cars were always called Black Mariahs. Which confused me, as they were always pale blue & white back then.
Anyone got any ideas about the rest of it? I know a wooden coat is a coffin & would guess that "Benny Jag Blue" is a drug reference, but beyond that I'm stumped. How the hell does Tom Waits write these fantastic, evocative songs & nobody knows what they mean?
a "black Mariah" is not a hearse or a cop car .... well, technically, I suppose it could be called a cop car, but specifically, it's a paddy wagon - usually a truck used to transport prisoners.
a "black Mariah" is not a hearse or a cop car .... well, technically, I suppose it could be called a cop car, but specifically, it's a paddy wagon - usually a truck used to transport prisoners.
Black Mariah is a cop car in England and some other places. It's rumoured to have been named after a particularly fearsome black woman who the police would call for help with difficult prisoners.
Black Mariah is a cop car in England and some other places. It's rumoured to have been named after a particularly fearsome black woman who the police would call for help with difficult prisoners.
When I was a kid (in England), police cars were always called Black Mariahs. Which confused me, as they were always pale blue & white back then. Anyone got any ideas about the rest of it? I know a wooden coat is a coffin & would guess that "Benny Jag Blue" is a drug reference, but beyond that I'm stumped. How the hell does Tom Waits write these fantastic, evocative songs & nobody knows what they mean?
a "black Mariah" is not a hearse or a cop car .... well, technically, I suppose it could be called a cop car, but specifically, it's a paddy wagon - usually a truck used to transport prisoners.
a "black Mariah" is not a hearse or a cop car .... well, technically, I suppose it could be called a cop car, but specifically, it's a paddy wagon - usually a truck used to transport prisoners.
Black Mariah is a cop car in England and some other places. It's rumoured to have been named after a particularly fearsome black woman who the police would call for help with difficult prisoners.
Black Mariah is a cop car in England and some other places. It's rumoured to have been named after a particularly fearsome black woman who the police would call for help with difficult prisoners.
Also I think the Ford car company makes cars too, including cop cars so it all fits.
Also I think the Ford car company makes cars too, including cop cars so it all fits.