Tom Waits - Goodnight Irene Lyrics
[Chorus:]
Irene, goodnight. Irene, goodnight
Goodnight, Irene. Goodnight, Irene.
I'll see you in my dreams.
Me and my wife settled down.
Now, me and my wife are parted.
Gonna take a little stroll downtown.
[Chorus]
Yeah, sometimes I live in the country
And sometimes I live in town.
Yeah, and sometimes I take a great notion
I'm gonna jump in the river and drown.
[Chorus]
Stop ramblin'. Stop that gamblin'.
Stop staying out late at night.
Go home to your wife and family.
Stay there by the fireside, bright.
[Chorus]
Goodnight, Irene. Goodnight, Irene.
I'll see you in my dreams.
Other Lyrics by Artist
- Tom Waits - 2:19
- Tom Waits - The Part You Throw Away
- Tom Waits - Starving In The Belly Of A Whale
- Tom Waits - Lullaby
- Tom Waits - Another Man's Vine
- Tom Waits - God's Away On Business
- Tom Waits - All The World Is Green
- Tom Waits - Coney Island Baby
- Tom Waits - Everything Goes To Hell
- Tom Waits - Misery Is The River Of The World
- Tom Waits - Barcarolle
- Tom Waits - Fish & Bird
- Tom Waits - I'm Still Here
- Tom Waits - Reeperbahn
- Tom Waits - Watch Her Disappear
- Tom Waits - We're All Mad Here
- Tom Waits - Lost In The Harbour
- Tom Waits - Woe
Rand Lyrics
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Tom Waits Goodnight Irene Comments
I think Tom Waits might actually be drunker than his audience.
He really botched this one.
"If she ever finds another, I'm gonna take morphine and die," is my favorite lyric in this song
My ultimate exit plan.
...
Not anytime soon or anything like that.
But if I am still driving on the last leg of this trip...that's the exit for me.
😋
Irene good night
Irene Irene good night
good night Irene
good night Irene
I'll get you
in my dreams
last Saturday night I got married
me and my wife settled down
now me and my wife are parted
I'm gonna take me a little stroll uptown
Irene good night
Irene Irene good night
good night Irene
good night Irene
I'll get you
in my dreams
sometimes I live in the country
sometimes I live in town
sometimes I take a great notion
to jump in the river and drown
Irene good night
Irene Irene good night
good night Irene
good night Irene
I'll get you
in my dreams
I love Irene god knows I do
I'll love her till the sea runs dry
if she ever loves another
someone'll take morphine and die
Irene good night
Irene Irene good night
good night Irene
good night Irene
I'll get you
in my dreams
stop your rambling
stop your gambling
stop staying out late at night
go home to your wife and your family
sit down by the fire light
Irene good night
Irene Irene good night
good night Irene
good night Irene
I'll get you
in my dreams
Irene good night
Irene Irene good night
good night Irene
good night Irene
I'll get you
in my dreams
My mom, Irene (R.I.P.) loved this song, it was "her" song.
My Grandma use to sing this to me...her name was Irene and so is my middle name. I have always loved it, especially
after Toms version.
Good old Irish song
Should I ever loose my hearing, the last thing I want to hear is him in his songs.
Listen thinking of the internet dying with net neutrality
Me reacting to justice league bombing while thinking about a cold drink.
my fav version ..for say good night to my FB friends
one of the good ones
Loved him to sing with The Pogues
love his voice , so much texture. it's like you can imagine yourself in a new York cafe in 1974 on a rainy day. his breath must have spirit waves that have visual and sensory attachments.
Been a while since anyone posted here but hundreds of artists have played this song, dozens of them famous. This is still by far the best.
You know, my Lady's name's Irene, she looked like the Lady on the picture but now She must be in Heaven, I guess.
These days we might call Irene a hot mess. Re-hearing it for the countless time today, it made me think of George Jones' hit, "He Stopped Loving Her Today." To be imprinted on someone like a baby duck, over the top for her so bad that it's making you trash your own life. Tough drama. Great song. All-in performance. Glad I stopped by.
Something it's wrong with this guy. But sometimes wrong is good.
Ry Cooder also does a great version.
Ry Cooder has done many film pieces as well as some Stones contributions.
This is the best version I heard. Love it :))))
Goosebumps....the one and only Tom .....his voice is perfect for this song, and it sounds like he gargles with tar, metal grindings and kerosene......most original singer/songwriter on the scene....
I'm thinking more along the lines of hot Drano and gravel.
i had the honor of meeting him on main st in Sebastopol Ca one afternoon about 12 yrs ago at a rummage sale..he then walked me back to my store across the street and wished me well.
He was probably looking for a brake drum for percussion.
Peak "Irene" would be Waits singing with Dr John of piano?
Wonderful. You can imagine pub in Wild West with drunks, whores singing, yelling, fighting, shooting and fucking. :D Brings back memories and feelings. Amazing artist, not much of them can bring similar emotions.
or a bunch of sailors
Up the gas 🔵⚪️🔵⚪️
katastrofa.......
This song just brings tears to my eyes
Unusually, instead of being the original Tom Waits, this is a tribute to Ledbelly. Sung in the traditional.
Tom Waits is "the voice"
The only voice that matters
I really love Huddie's recording of this, I also love Tom Waits!
UP THE FUCKING GAS
this song is on bioshock infinite
The only song by the only artist that i feel is just for me. This is one of my nightly tunes.
Any other psycho out there that…nevermind.
Irene is no longer a problem.
Many people have done this song, and I'm sure many of them have sung it with what most people would call a "Prettier" voice. If there is such a thing, but the vulnerable and human feel of this version makes it my absolute favorite. There is something in Tom Waits' voice that is just so unique, it's hard to describe. You either get it or you don't. If you get it you're one of the lucky ones, because there's much to be treasured from this man.
@Bobby Davis My friends don't get him, but I love Tom Waits....well said, Bobby!
@Bobby Davis This is one of my favorite versions of this cool song. Even better than the Van Morrisson Skiffle sessions.
+Jeffrey R. Broido Hmm... it sounds to me like 'get'! Both here and in the video of Leadbelly...
"I'll get you in my dreams" while maybe not that poetic, might be logical in the sense that the loved/hated Irene, always somehow unreachable or unkeepable in real life, will be his in dreams.
Given the long oral history of the song, I get the feeling there may have been verses lost - maybe dropped for respectability - and new ones invented over the years; the storyline is unclear and seemingly incomplete in both the versions I've heard: who knows what the original story might have been.
The song seems as elusive as Irene herself...
At least he didn't actually take morphine and die!
I really don't know how people don't get Tom Waits. None of my friends or family members except one of my alcoholic brothers like him. His voice was truly cinematic since the first song i heard from him which was Wrong Side of the Road. I guess people these days are so full of that saccharine smooth soft singing that innovative versatile voices like Tom, Satchmo, Howlin, Lanegan, Cohen, Callahan or Beefheart get bad looks from most.
Wonderful tune, nicely done. I'm curious if all the voices in this version belong to Tom, like Billy Joel in 'The Longest Time'
Ha-ha!!! An unusual comparison.
Rough 'N' Gruff I like it
The sound that is Tom Waits
excellent
gorgeous
Can just imagine a town pub at last call with a bunch of drunks singing this. Wonderful!
+Rob Wolfe
Actually, I do remember this exact scenario, in a North London pub in the 1960s. I think they had one particular night that was for singing... men and women, all ages from me illegally drinking in my mid-teens to little old ladies probably in their 80s. Goodnight Irene seemed to be a huge favourite, along with Rambling Rose and others. Everyone seemed to know all the words to every song, and there was hardly a dry eye in the house by the end of the night!
Omg your comment gave me chills
A Beautiful Lullaby! Thanks for Sharing!
Ok, when Tom Waits sings Leadbelly, the world can stop spinning. Everything is complete. Thank you
tom should cover "I put a spell on you"
Don't tell me that doesn't make the hair on your neck stand up
cool dear Tom...
Good Night, Lisa.
holy shit, this is fucking horrible
U r probably a pop tart. Give a listen to "Small Change". U'll hate it. Keep on repeat until u get it. Welcome to the underbelly of the misunderstood & forgotten.
Doesn't even care about nor thinks about the broad in the back..so heartbroken and you feel it. Great song.
Tom Waits is the best, most honest and most true vocalist there is... :D
Superb!!!!
God loves drunks. It may sound cliché but it's 100% true.
i don't know how to respond to this. i just got out of the drunk tank and am drinking whisky to placate my soul. imma buy some more when the liquor store opens. god love you and up the gas
great version, but still like leadbelly's better
try a jack daniels with this
Fabulous...
tom waits
I love Tom Waits but personally I prefer Kelly Joe Phelps version.
Anybody know who the other singers are in this? I can't seem to figure it out.
good version but can't measure to Mississippi John Hurt's rendition
love this version! the ultimate drinking song!. well suited for st Patricks
Incredible South, incredibly given by an incredible guy.
the Ry Cooder version is good, but sorry Ry this is the definitive Irene!
AMAZING!!!!
this guy is good
45 year fan & 7 albums. He was in "Down by Law". Also "Short Cuts" w/Tim Robbins & that famous redhead & "Ironweed" with J. Nicholson & Meryl Streep.
i'd just like to give a big 'thumbs up' to all who commented on this video. god bless all your souls
The best thing on Earth when you have to serenade a girl named Irene...
What a lucky man i am.
very relaxing! but that picture is the cover of the small change album!
Where is the picture from?
love this song - love this version - waits is amazing
It's a an old U.S. folk standard. Who knows how old it is. Leadbelly popularized it in the 30's [via Allen Lomax recordings] and supposedly performed it starting in the early 20'th century. The Weavers further advanced the tune (as well as many others learned directly from Ledbetter); recorded at their famous Carnegie Hall concert on Christmas Eve 1955. It has been covered hundreds of times since then.
I've read some stupid things on youtube but this deserves some sort of award.
Love this song. Herd it in a record store about a year ago. Listend to differant versions but like this one the best.
Big Bill Broonzy performed it and he died in the late 1950's. It has nothing to do with the hurricane.
engineer: gooood night Irene!
If Huddy hadn't written this song Tom would have. This a great version of a great song.
Tom Waits, the wild side of the music.
classic song suposedly written by Huddy Leadbetter. many folk talkes about the origin.. certainly a good drinking song! and i think Tom Waits has the best version
I am not drunk yet, but can tell the same :)
I´m Irene ....ups
Disappointing - Waits is much better when he plays the blues piano like his classic Waltzing Matilda -Tom Trabert blues
Tom Waits is my religion
IF I LISTEN TO IRENE; I DRINK SCOTCH
GREETINGS
the best IRENE
LOVE IT
@thetachi7117 In that case, I must stick this on next time I'm staring at the bottom of a glass.
oh shit, my irish bottlehas crash down
he dude, give me that shit bourbon bottle
my song is stupid
This is really effective; if you don't like it, it's because you don't appreciate what Tom is trying to re-produce here
@itouchguitar hahhhh okay, PEACE!
@morganrock1 sorry wrong commented on the wrong comment :P
@itouchguitar errm, could you remind me what i sais plz, i cant remember
@morganrock1 no need
it's christmas eve here in hong kong. glad to hear this song. goodnight, tom!
@hammerlights
scotch, single malt. bourbon is water with sugar.
Tom Waits passes an absolute beauty onto another generation...
@spotleoruby fuck u mate
@MrBluey1 <3 i hope she is okay..
my name is irene, this song makes me cry everytime. makes me think how good i have it, yet sometimes i take it for advantage. you know, you never know how good you got it until its gone...
@IOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO actually "like a hurricane" by neil young! :D
my name is irene <3 i love when people sing this too me!
"I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy"
@irenemir Welterusten!