LYRICS: Heartattack And Vine: On The Nickel

On The Nickel

Sticks and stones will break my bones⁽²⁾, I always will be true
And when your mama's dead and gone, I'll sing this lullaby just for you
And what becomes of all the little boys, who never comb their hair
They're lined up all around the block, on the Nickel over there

So better bring a bucket, there's a hole in the pail
And if you don't get my letter, then you'll know that I'm in jail
And what becomes of all the little boys, who never say their prayers
They're sleepin' like a baby, on the Nickel over there

And if you chew tobacco, and wish upon a star
You'll find out where the scarecrows sit, just like punch lines between the cars
And I know a place where a royal flush⁽³⁾ can never beat a pair
And even Thomas Jefferson⁽⁴⁾ is on the Nickel over there

So ring around the rosy⁽⁵⁾, sleepin' in the rain
And you're always late for supper, man you let me down, let me down again
And I thought I heard a mockingbird, Roosevelt knows where
You can skip the light with Grady Tuck⁽⁶⁾, on the Nickel over there⁽⁷⁾

So what becomes of all the little boys, who run away from home
The world just keeps gettin' bigger once you get out on your own⁽⁸⁾
So here's to all the little boys, the sandman takes you where
You're sleepin' with a pillow man, on the Nickel over there⁽⁹⁾

So climb up through that button hole and fall right up the stairs
And I'll show you where the short dogs⁽¹⁰⁾ grow, on the Nickel
Over there

Written by: Tom Waits
Published by: Fifth Floor Music Inc. (ASCAP), © 1980
Official release: Heartattack And Vine, Elektra Entertainment/ WEA Entertainment Inc., 1980
Arrangement and lyrics published in "Tom Waits - Anthology" (Amsco Publications, 1988/ Nuova Carisch, 2000)

Known covers:
Rites of Passage. Georgette Fry. 1995. Self-released
New Coat Of Paint. Various artists. May, 2000. Manifesto Records. Performed by Carla Bozulich
Ausgelacht. Arnim Töpel. September, 2002. Self-released

⁽¹⁾ On The Nickel
- Tom Waits (1979): "Well, you know.. most of my songs are kinda travelogues. It's difficult to say exactly where they come from . You gotta sleep with one eye open. This song here is entitled "On the nickel" In downtown Los Angeles, there's a place called fifth street, it's a place where all the hoboes are, and they call it "on the nickel". There was a motion picture called "On the nickel" that was written by Ralph Waite and this is a story, kinda a wino's lullaby." (Source: "Tom Waits on the Don Lane show", 1979. Transcribed by Luke Martin)
- Tom Waits (1980): "That was written for the Ralph Waite motion picture of the same name. I don't think it's still showing anywhere. It was released about the time I got back from New York, in April sometime. It was a wonderful picture, I mean it, but it didn't make it. It wasn't no "Towering Inferno," just a small picture with a lot of feeling. It was set on skid row in Los Angeles, Fifth Street, downtown. The locals call it "the nickel." The film was about a couple of old friends who were reunited after some years. One had cleaned up and moved off the nickel and the other was still there, an dying from it. The one who'd cleaned up went back to find his old pal. It's a wonderful story. SP: What happened at the end? TW: You'll have to see it." (Source: "Heartattack and Vine". Us promo pack: Stephen Peeples. September 4, 1980)
- Tom Waits (introducing 'On The Nickel', 1979): "I'd like to do a new song here. This is eh, it's about downtown Los Angeles on 5th Street. And eh all the winos affectionately refer to it as The Nickel. So this is kind of a hobo's lullaby." (Source: BBC - Tonight In Person, July 1979)
- Tom Waits (introducing 'On The Nickel', 1979): "This is eh, a little wino's nursery rhyme. It's about a place in downtown Los Angeles they call 'The Nickel'. It's 5th Street and a gentleman named Ralph Waite... Eh Ralph Waite wrote a story entitled 'On The Nickel". This is about a couple of old partners, they were separated for many years and then re-united... on The Nickel. So, this is eh about eh, it's a little lullaby." (Source: Austin City Limits, 1979)
- Tom Waits (introducing 'On The Nickel', 1979): "I'll do a song about a place in downtown Los Angeles, they call it 'The Nickel'. It's 5th Street, and eh... it's just a little nursery rhyme I wrote for a gentleman named Ralph Waite. Who wrote a story about two old hobos and eh they were re-united after many years. And this is a little story called 'On The Nickel'." (Source: Canada After Dark. January 5, 1979)
- Tom Waits (introducing 'On The Nickel', 1982): "This is a song about eh, about downtown Los Angeles. And this is dedicated to all the little boys who are far away from home. There's a little park about two blocks off eh Main Street in downtown Los Angeles, where a lot of the gentleman of the area congregate around the 14th of April and do their taxes every year. And eh... and mostly all they talk about is Christmas and Easter, Thanksgiving and birthdays and eh..." (Source: Royal Oak Theatre Detroit, May 1982)
- Tom Waits (introducing 'On The Nickel', 1982): "We're gonna do kind of a new song here. It's eh about eh... it's dedicated to all the little boys who've run away from home. In downtown Los Angeles on 5th Street, they call it the Nickel. And eh it's probably ...?... And eh, so this is dedicated to all the hobos and eh... April 14th is a big day for them. It's when they all come together and do their income tax." (Source: Tyrone Guthrie Theatre Minneapolis May 1982)
- The Nickel: also mentioned in Red Shoes By The Drugstore, 1978: "She wore red shoes by the newsstand as the rain splashed the Nickel."

⁽²⁾ Sticks and stones will break my bones: Quoting from the traditional American saying: "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." A traditional children's reply to teasing, or being picked on or being called names. Implying words don't hurt

⁽³⁾ Royal flush: An ace high straight flush is a royal straight flush, or a royal flush, or just a royal. Some traditionalists dislike the phrase "royal flush" (preferring "ace high straight flush"), but no one dislikes the hand. It's the most powerful hand in casino poker (Source: Dan's poker dictionary, Dan Kimberg)

⁽⁴⁾ Jefferson, Thomas: Born: Shadwell, Va, April 13 1743 - Died Monticello, Va, July 4 1826. American politician, philosopher and artist. Considered to be one of the spiritual fathers of the American nation.

⁽⁵⁾ Ring around the rosy: Quoting from the English nursery rhyme: "Ring around the Rosy. Pocket full of Posy. Ashes, Ashes, We all Fall Down". Traditionally sung by children holding hands in a circle, rotating slowly while singing the song, then collapsing in a giggling heap at its conclusion. The song actually has its origins in Europe during the 3 year period 1347-1350 when it was hit by the Black Plague

⁽⁶⁾ Grady Tuck
- Rick Miller (guitarist for Trailer Park Rangers, 2006); "My second big influence was Grady Tuck who taught me how to entertain and how to frail a banjo". "In the couple years I played with Grady in San Diego, I watched him do his thing like nobody I've seen before or since". "He bore a physical resemblance to Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull), crooned like Perry Como, and made me laugh my ass off like Richard Pryor". "Grady was immortalized in the Tom Waits song 'On The Nickel'". "I lost touch with him back in the early '70's and later learned through Michael Cooney, another of his runnin' buddies, that he'd passed away". "I'd love to hear from anybody who knows something about Grady, has any pictures of him or stories about him"! I started a page at www.myspace.com/gradytuck where folks can post comments or email with any information they might have." (Source: Rick Miller MySpace site, 2006).

⁽⁷⁾ Odd line from the 'Anthology' songbook: "And I thought I heard a mockingbird, Roosevelt knows where. Well, I'm whistling past the graveyard, and they're on the Nickel over there." Possibly this was the original line, later changed to the one about Grady Tuck. (Submitted by Ulf Berggren, Tom Waits eGroups discussionlist, 2000).
- These lines also used for: Austin City Limits 1979, Canada After Dark 1979, BBC - Tonight In Person 1979.

⁽⁸⁾ Patrick Humphries: "The version of the song used in the film has the lines 'You never know how rich you are, you haven't got a prayer/ Heads you win. tails they lose, on the nickel over there' which never made it onto the album." (Source: "Small Change, A life of Tom Waits". Patrick Humphries, 1989. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-312-04582-4).
- These lines also used for: Austin City Limits 1979, Canada After Dark 1979, BBC - Tonight In Person 1979. Later live versions have the original album lines

⁽⁹⁾ Extra verse "Canada After Dark, 1979": "Well you know I hate to leave you, but it's time to say goodbye. But the buffaloed can't find you, when you're on the other side."

⁽¹⁰⁾ Short dogs: n. [1960+] (US Black) a small bottle of cheap wine (short neck) (Source: "Cassell's Dictionary Of Slang". Jonathon Green. Cassel & Co., 1998. ISBN: 0-304-35167-9)