One two three
One two three
One
Broken glass, rusty nails, where
the wild violets grow
Say goodbye to the railroad, and the mad dogs of summer
And everything that I know
What some men will do here for
diamonds
What some men will do here for gold
They're wounded but they just keep on climbin'
They sleep by the side of the road
There's a hole in the ladder, a
fence we can climb
Mad as a hatter(1), you're thin as a dime
Go out to the meadow, the hills are a-green
Sing me a rainbow, steal me a dream
Small time Napoleon's(2)
shattered his knees
But he stays in the saddle for Rose
And all his disciples, they shave in the gutter
And they gather what's left of his clothes
What some men will do here for
diamonds
What some men will do here for gold
They're wounded but they just keep on climbin'
They sleep by the side of the road
Written by: Tom Waits
Published by: Jalma Music (ASCAP), © 1985
Official release: Rain Dogs, Island Records Inc., 1985
Known covers:
Pornoshow - Laura Fedele Interpreta Tom Waits. Laura Fedele. May,
2003. Auditorium, AUD 00902 (in Italian)
Songs We Should Have Written. Firewater. January, 2004. JetSet/ Rough Trade
The Silverhearts Play Raindogs. The Silverhearts. October 5, 2005. Banbury Park
Records
Notes:
(1) Mad hatter
- Someone who sells drugs and other illegal substances. ("I'm going to
go pick some stuff up from the madhatter up on Main."). (Source:
The
Online Slang Dictionary, Walter Rader).
- Mad as a hatter phr. [mid-19C] very mad, utterly insane. [the use in
18C of mercurous nitrate in tanning of felt hats. This was absorbed by the
hatters, in whom the effects could produce mental problems]. (Source:
"Cassell's
Dictionary Of Slang". Jonathon Green. Cassel & Co., 1998. ISBN:
0-304-35167-9).
- Might also refer to the
Alice character. Also mentioned in "Singapore": "We sail
tonight for Singapore, we're all as mad as hatters here."
(2) Napoleon
- On "The heart of Saturday night" Napoleon is credited for the cover
illustration. According to Cal Schenkel Napoleon is the guy on the floor in
front of the diner on the cover of "Nighthawks at the diner".
- Also
mentioned in Time (Raindogs, 1985): "And Napoleon is weepin' in a
carnival saloon."