"Tom Traubert's Blues" was written by Tom Waits while he was living in London in 1976.^[1] In an interview on NPR's World Cafe in December 2006, Waits stated that the title character was "a friend of a friend" who had died in prison.^[2] The song's subtitle ("Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen") is a reference to the time that Waits spent in Copenhagen, Denmark while on tour in June 1976. In Copenhagen, Waits had met Danish singer and violinist Mathilde Bondo. Bondo performed violin during Waits' appearance on the DR1 TV show Sange Efter Lukketid and said that she "of course had to show him the city – we were in Tivoli and on Christianshavn. It was a lovely night [...] we waltzed a lot"^[3] Bondo later said "I'm really proud to have been the muse for his song" and referred to Waits' depiction of Copenhagen as "somewhat ambiguous but it's a wonderful song."^[3]

In May 1979, Waits himself confirmed the song's origins during a live performance in Sydney, Australia, stating "I met this girl named Matilda. And uh, I had a little too much to drink that night. This is about throwing up in a foreign country."^[4]

However, producer Bones Howe has said that another experience inspired "Tom Traubert's Blues." Recalling the experience, Howe said "he [Waits] went down and hung around on Skid Row in L.A. because he wanted to get stimulated for writing this material. He called me up and said, 'I went down to skid row ... I bought a pint of rye. In a brown paper bag.' I said, 'Oh really?.' 'Yeah – hunkered down, drank the pint of rye, went home, threw up, and wrote 'Tom Traubert's Blues' [...] every guy down there... everyone I spoke to, a woman put him there."^[5] Howe recorded and produced "Tom Traubert's Blues" during Small Change's recording sessions. The sessions were held at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco, California from July 15 to July 29, 1976. The song was recorded direct to ½-inch two-track stereo tape.^[6][7] Waits and Howe decided to record on a two-track console to ensure the song did not sound overproduced. Howe later commented that "jazz is more about getting a good take, not about having a lot of tracks to mix."^[7]

"Tom Traubert's Blues" was written solely by Waits and produced by Bones Howe. The song is in common time (⁴
₄) and has a slow tempo of 60 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of F major. The song is piano-based and led by Waits but also features Jim Hughart performing bass. A fifteen-piece orchestral ensemble performs on the song, arranged and conducted by Jerry Yester who had produced Waits' debut studio album Closing Time (1973).^[6]

The song's lyrics narrate the story of Tom Traubert, "a man who finds himself stranded and penniless in a foreign land." Biographer Jay S. Jacobs has described Traubert as "etched as a sympathetic character, but it's clear that he inhabits a hell of his own making. He'll never make his way home again because any cash he gets his hands on he squanders on drink."^[5]

The lyrics to the song's chorus incorporates a significant part of the chorus of the Australian folk song "Waltzing Matilda." Waits explained the reason for choosing to incorporate parts of "Waltzing Matilda" saying, "when you're 'waltzing matilda', you're on the road. You're not with your girlfriend, you're on the bum. For me, I was in Europe for the first time, and I felt like a soldier far away from home and drunk on the corner with no money, lost."^[8]

Bones Howe considers the song's lyrics to be "brilliant" and "the work of an extremely talented lyricist." Speaking of the lyrics, Howe has said: "occasionally I'll do something for songwriters. They all say the same thing to me. 'All the great lyrics are done.' And I say, 'I'm going to give you a lyric that you never heard before.' 'A battered old suitcase to a hotel someplace / And a wound that will never heal.'."^[5]

"Tom Traubert's Blues" was included as the opening track on Small Change, released in September 1976 on Asylum Records. Upon Small Change's release, the song received largely positive critical acclaim.^{[citation needed]} In more recent years, it has been considered one of Waits' signature songs.^{[by whom?]} Allmusic reviewer Thomas Ward has referred to the song as "without doubt, one of Tom Waits' finest recordings" and described it as "heartbreakingly beautiful, containing some of the artist's finest lyrics, especially in the croaking opening 'wasted and wounded / 'taint what the moon did / got what I paid for now'."^[9]

"Tom Traubert's Blues" was debuted live on the BBC2 television show The Old Grey Whistle Test on May 3, 1977.^[10][11] It was performed alongside Small Change, another track taken from the album of the same name.

"Tom Traubert's Blues" was covered by Rod Stewart under the title "Tom Traubert's Blues (Waltzing Matilda)". Released as a single in November 1992, it was later included on the compilation Lead Vocalist (1993) and live albums Unplugged...and Seated (1993) and You're in My Heart: Rod Stewart with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2019).

Track listings edit

UK CD single (W0144CDX)

1. "Tom Traubert's Blues (Waltzing Matilda)" (Waits) – 6:11
2. "Sailing" (Sutherland) – 4:22
3. "I Don't Want to Talk About It" (Whitten) – 4:48
4. "Try a Little Tenderness" (Campbell, Connelly, Woods) – 4:29

European CD single (W0144CD)

1. "Tom Traubert's Blues (Waltzing Matilda)" (edit) (Waits) – 4:30
2. "No Holding Back" (Savigar, Stewart) – 5:43
3. "Downtown Train" (Waits) – 4:39

German 7-inch single (W0144)

1. "Tom Traubert's Blues (Waltzing Matilda)" (edit) (Waits) – 4:30
2. "No Holding Back" (Savigar, Stewart) – 5:43

Charts edit

Personnel adapted from Small Change's liner notes.^[6]

Bibliography

• Humphries, Patrick (2007). The Many Lives of Tom Waits. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1-84772-509-7.

References