Small Change

Tom Waits

10 fans

Tom Waits

Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car." With this trademark growl, his incorporation of pre-rock music styles such as blues, jazz, and vaudeville, and experimental tendencies verging on industrial music, Waits has built up a distinctive musical persona. He has worked as a composer for movies and musical plays and has acted in supporting roles in films including Paradise Alley and Bram Stoker's Dracula; he also starred in the 1986 film Down by Law. He was nominated for an Academy Awa… more »


Year:
1986
5:05
370 
#1

 Become A Better Singer In Only 30 Days, With Easy Video Lessons!

Small change got rained on with his own thirty-eight
And nobody flinched down by the arcade
And the marquees weren't weeping, they went stark-raving mad
And the cabbies were the only ones that really had it made
And his cold trousers were twisted, and the sirens high and shrill
And crumpled in his fist was a five-dollar bill
And the naked mannequins with their Cheshire grins,
And the raconteurs and roustabouts said buddy, come on in, 'cause
'Cause the dreams ain't broken down here now, they're walking with a limp
Now that small change got rained on with his own thirty-eight

And nobody flinched down by the arcade
And the burglar alarm's been disconnected,
And the newsmen start to rattle
And the cops are telling jokes about some whorehouse in Seattle
And the fire hydrants plead the fifth amendment
And the furniture is bargains galore
But the blood is by the jukebox on an old linoleum floor
And what a hot rain on forty-second street
And now the umbrellas ain't got a chance
And the newsboy's a lunatic with stains on his pants, 'cause
'Cause small change got rained on with his own thirty-eight

And no one's gone over to close his eyes
And there's a racing form in his pocket,
Circled blue boots in the third
And the cashier at the clothing store didn't say a word
As the siren tears the night in half, and someone lost his wallet
Well, a surveillance of assailance, it that's what you want to call it
And the whores hike up their skirts and fish for drug-store prophylactics
With their mouths cut just like razor blades and their eyes are like stilettos
And her radiator's steaming and her teeth are in a wreck, and nah,
She won't let you kiss her, but what the hell do you expect?
And the gypsies are tragic and if you want to buy perfume,
Well, they'll bark you down like carneys, sell you christmas cards in June, but
But small change got rained on with his own thirty-eight

And his headstone's a gumball machine,
No more chewing gum or baseball cards or overcoats or dreams
Someone's hosing down the sidewalk, and he's only in his teens, 'cause
'Cause small change got rained on with his own thirty-eight

And a fistful of dollars can't change that,
And someone copped his watch fob, and someone got his ring
And the newsboy got his porkpie Stetson hat
And the tuberculosis old men at the nelson wheeze and cough
And someone will head south until this whole thing cools off, 'cause
'Cause small change got rained on with his own thirty-eight, yeah,
Small change got rained on with his own thirty-eight

 Watch: New Singing Lesson Videos Can Make Anyone A Great Singer

Written by: TOM WAITS

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, JALMA MUSIC

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

Discuss the Small Change Lyrics with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add these lyrics to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Small Change Lyrics." Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/3259183/Tom+Waits/Small+Change>.

    Missing lyrics by Tom Waits?

    Know any other songs by Tom Waits? Don't keep it to yourself!

    Watch the song video

    Small Change

    135.8K
    622     15

    Browse Lyrics.com

    Quiz

    Are you a music master?

    »
    Which song was discussed by the characters in the movie Reservoir Dogs?
    A Coconut
    B Across 110th Street
    C Like a virgin
    D Fool for love

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant explanation for any lyrics that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant explanation for any acronym or abbreviation that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Don't miss Tom Waits's

    Upcoming Events

    »
    Tom Waits tracks

    On Radio Right Now

    Loading...

    Powered by OnRad.io


    Think you know music? Test your MusicIQ here!