Down through the ages, all of the
sages
Said, don't spend your wages on love
It's graft and collusion about the intrusion
And preceding foreclosures, there's overexposure
Down at the crossroads the
question is posed
Bridge is washed out and the highway is closed
Gotta have good reason to firmly believe
Love was designed to exploit and deceive
There's an addendum, wherever
you send 'em
(?) in your chest, you will see
Simple addition keeps with tradition
Don't spend your wages on love
Take any burgh, any city or town
Just get on Main Street and drive all the way down
You see, love has a graveyard nurtured for those
That fell on their sabers and paid through the nose(2)
Your shovel's a shot glass, dig
your own hole
Bury what's left of your miserable soul
Down through the ages, all of the sages
Said don't spend your wages on love
It's graft and collusion about
the intrusion
And preceding foreclosure, there's overexposure
Down at the crossroads the question is posed
And the bridge is washed out and the highway is closed
Written by: Tom Waits.
Published by: Warner Chapell Music Ltd. © 1982
Official release: One From The Heart, Sony Music Entertainment Inc. (Columbia),
1982
Alternate version (demo) released on the 2004 DVD re-issue of One From The Heart
Read full story: One
From The Heart
Known covers:
None
Notes:
(1) Wages
of Love: Might refer to "The Wages Of Sin". To earn the
wages of sin. To be hanged, or condemned to death. "I believe some of
you will be hanged unless you change a good deal. It's cold blood and bad
blood that runs in your veins, and you'll come to earn the wages of sin."- Boldrewood:
Robbery under Arms, ii. "The wages of sin is death."- Rom. vi. 23. (Source:
"The
First Hypertext Edition of The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable", E. Cobham
Brewer. © 1997-99 Bibliomania.com Ltd)
-
Tom Waits (1982): "Francis and Richard Beggs were constantly trying different songs
against different scenes. They were very experimental in that way, always
thinking, "What would happen if we moved this song there and replaced it
with another one?" There was a song called "Empty Pockets" that
was originally designed for the opening. Francis' brother August had mentioned
the line to me. I wrote it down and later developed it into a song. So it was
in, then out, then in again... now it's been replaced by a song called
"Wages of Love." (Source: "Tom
Waits: Hollywood Confidential" BAM magazine (US). Date: Travelers' Cafe/
Echo Park. February 26, 1982)
(2) Pay through the nose
- To pay excessively (Source: Dictionary Of
American Slang, Wentworth/ Flexner)
- To
pay reluctantly or to pay an exorbitant price. (Submitted
by Cheryl Dillis, Tom Waits eGroups discussionlist. October, 2000. From
"2,107 Curious Word Origins, Sayings and Expressions" by Charles
Earle).
- Lyrics might also refer to using
cocaine. Also mentioned in Nighthawk
Postcards, 1975: "As I attempt to
consolidate all my missed weekly rendezvous into one low monthly payment,
through the nose."