Tom Waits - Semi Suite Lyrics
Well you hate those diesels rollin'
And those Friday nights out bowlin'
When he's off for a twelve hour lay over night
You wish you had a dollar
That he's leavin'
And he's never comin' back
But the curtain-laced billow
And his hands on your pillow
And his trousers are hangin' on the chair
You're lyin' through your pain, babe
But you're gonna tell him he's your man
And you ain't got the courage to leave
He tells you that you're on his mind
You're the only one he's ever gonna find
It's kind-a special, understands his complicated soul...
But the only place a man can breathe
And collect his thoughts is
Midnight and flyin' away on the road.
But you've packed and unpacked
So many times you've lost track
And the steam heat is drippin' off the walls
But when you hear his engines
You're lookin' through the window in the kitchen and you know
You're always gonna be there when he calls
'Cause he's a truck drivin' man
Stoppin' when he can
He's a truck drivin' man
Stoppin' when he can
Other Lyrics by Artist
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- Tom Waits - The Part You Throw Away
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- 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 Semi Suite Comments
so damn good........
very very good tom
Colder than a well diggers arse... great tune...
This is one of Wait's most sophisticated, developed songs. every single line can be pretty intricately analyzed.
I'd think the song is about a man singing his thoughts about a woman who is being tied down in an unhealthy relationship with a man constantly cheating on her. Waits uses a Semi Truck driver as a metaphor to someone constantly leaving his woman.
The title itself is a triple entendre: Semi Suite.
a Suite is a form of music that tells a story. Waits only tells half the story- the woman's point of view. Semi is half the story.
Semi (Sweet) meaning the song is only sweet from the man's point of view, the woman is upset with her relationship.
Semi Suite, being a song telling the story of a Semi Truck Driver.
There are many clues to support this idea-
When he's off for a twelve hour lay- "Over night" - spending the night away claiming to be on business
wish you had a dollar everytime he said he wasn't coming back
Lyin through your pain, ain't got the courage to leave- (She's being cheated on and still staying)
Trousers are hangin on the chair (they are sleeping together)
You're the only one he's ever gonna find (The man lying to his woman)
Packed and Unpacked (he's kicked her out and told her to come back and she keeps coming back)
hence- you're always gonna be there when he calls
"He's a truck drivin man, stoppin when he can"
-he's going to keep coming and going, only stopping when it's convenient to him
Interesting :) I have always imagined it as being about the wife of a truck driver who cant decide whether its too much that he is driving a truck most of the time and that There isn't enough time for her and her husband...And that she misses him alot but realises in the end that she apreciates when he comes home too much to leave him
Thank you for posting this. ^_^
Good Ol Tom.I don't kno any other singer song writer who mention's truck drivers more n I luv him for it!
thank you thank you for the upload!
best comment I found made me laugh out aloud too . Quote "This song makes me want to walk around my house in black lingerie. And I'm a guy."
beachfrontal Makes me want to lay outside in the grass, drinking from a bottle of cheap wine and smoking cigs watching the stars dance in the sky.
Stellar.
This song reminds me of a Saturday night drive down Niagara Falls Blvd NY, somehow ending up on Transit road. Might as well go into Di'Bella's and get an assorted sub!
Hahahahaha you win the interwebz today!
No dislikes.
FUCK YES
Ah, you spoke too soon. There always seems to be someone.
This song makes me want to walk around my house in black lingerie. And I'm a guy.
From top to bottom, this album can stand against any other album by any artist.
.... wow
I'm a lesbian but Tom Waits turns me on. o.O
isnt he like 60 tho?
you just dont get album covers as good as that anymore
Ha, I was just wondering if someone had posted this great song after I was just listening to Please Call Me Baby. This is my second fav song on the album and I love how his lyrics paint the picture. This is a great song to sing over a giant scotch.
opuscat great scotch!
Please call me baby was dedicated to Bobi Thomas, one of Tom's girlfriends