LYRICS: The Heart Of Saturday Night:

Shiver Me Timbers

(Early demo version, 1971)

I'm leavin' my fam'ly and leavin' my friends
My body's at home and my heart's in the wind
Where the clouds are like headlines on a new front page sky
My tears are salt water and the moon's full and high

And I know Martin Eden⁽²⁾ is gonna be proud of me
And many before me who've been called by the sea
To be up in the crow's nest and singin' my say
And shiver me timbers I'm a-sailin' away

The fog's liftin' and the sand's shiftin' and I'm driftin' on out
And Ol' Captain Ahab⁽³⁾ he ain't got nothin' on me
So come on and swallow me, don't follow me I travel alone
Blue water's⁽⁴⁾ my daughter and I'm skipping like a stone

So please call my missus, tell her not to cry
My goodbye is written by the moon in the sky
Hey, and nobody knows me I can't fathom my stayin'
And shiver me timbers I'm a-sailin' away

And the fog's liftin' and the sand's shiftin' and I'm driftin' on out
Ol' Captain Ahab he ain't got nothin' on me
So come on and swallow me, don't follow me I travel alone
Blue water's my daughter and I'm skipping like a stone

And I'm leavin' my family leavin' my friends
My body's at home but my heart's in the wind
where the clouds are like headlines on a new front page sky
And shiver me timbers I'm a-sailin' away

Written by: Tom Waits
Published by: Warner Chappell Music Ltd., 1971-1992 & Bizarre/ Straight Records, 1992
Official release: "The Early Years 2". Issued under licence from Bizarre/ Straight Records by Edsel Records, 1992
Recorded July - December 1971, Los Angeles, CA
(Not authorized by Tom Waits)

Shiver Me Timbers

(The Heart Of Saturday Night studio version, 1974)

I'm leavin' my family, I'm leavin' all my friends
My body's at home, but my heart's in the wind
Where the clouds are like headlines on a new front page sky
My tears are salt water, and the moon's full and high

And I know Martin Eden's⁽²⁾ gonna be proud of me now
And many before me, who've been called by the sea
To be up in the crow's nest, and singin' my say
Shiver me timbers, cause I'm a-sailin' away

And the fog's liftin', and the sand's shiftin', and I'm driftin' on out
Ol' Captain Ahab⁽³⁾, he ain't got nothin' on me now
So swallow me, don't follow me, I'm travellin' alone
Blue water's⁽⁴⁾ my daughter, and I'm gonna skip like a stone

So please call my missus, gotta tell her not to cry now
Cause my goodbye is written by the moon in the sky
Hey, and nobody knows me, I can't fathom my stayin'
And shiver me timbers, cause I'm a-sailin' away

And the fog's liftin', and the sand's shiftin', and I'm driftin' on out
And ol' Captain Ahab, he ain't got nothin' on me
So come and swallow me, follow me, I'm travellin' alone
Blue water's my daughter, I'm gonna skip like a stone

And I'm leavin' my family, I'm leavin' all my friends
My body's at home, but my heart's in the wind
Where the clouds are like headlines upon a new front page sky
And shiver me timbers, cause I'm a-sailin' away

Written by: Tom Waits
Published by: Fifth Floor Music Inc. (ASCAP), © 1974
Official release: The Heart Of Saturday Night, Elektra/ Asylum Records, 1974

Known covers:
Songs For The New Depression. Bette Midler, 1976. Atlantic
Live At Last. Bette Midler, 1977. Atlantic
Divine Madness. Bette Midler, 1980. Atlantic
Coming To My Own. John Lone. 1990. Japanese issue WPCL-187
Experience The Divine. Bette Midler, 1993. Atlantic (re-released in 1997)
Mister No Good. Ole Friis. September 21, 1994. Poul Hansen/ Kick Records (Denmark)
Live At The Troubadour. Glenn Yarbrough. October 31, 1994. Folk Era Records (recorded live in 1978)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Singer! Tom Lewis. 1995. Borealis (Canada)
I Could Have Been A Sailor. Glenn Yarbrough. May 3, 1995. Folk Era Records
Rockall. The House Band. June, 1996. Green Linnet Records GLCD 1174
Experience The Divine. Bette Midler, 1997 (Canadian re-release of the 1993 original)
Street Songs, Jazzy Tunes & Down Home Blues. Richard Ray Farrell. 1998. Stormy Monday Records MO - 80035 (Germany)
Listen to my Heart. Laurie Beechman. 1999. Excelsior LB CD001; DRG 5216 (medley w. "Sail Away")
Random White Boy. Kirk Detweiler. May 1999. Dancing Bull Music
Blessed Are The Sheepherders. Zen For Primates. October, 1999. Bummer Tent Records
Nach mir die Sintflut - Ambros singt Waits. Wolfgang Ambros. October 9, 2000. Ariol/ Gig Records 74321 797002 (in German: "Nach mir die Sintflut")
The Day The Tall Ships Came. Glenn Yarbrough & The Shaw Brothers. November, 2000. Folk Era Records
Hawaiki Nui - 'Something to Say', Pomaika'i and Friends. 19 December, 2000 Hawaiki Nui Entertainment Group
The Song Is Mine. John DePalma. March 12, 2002. LML Music
Half Cocked And Fully Loaded. Front Porch Swingin Liquor Pigs. May 2002. Neckless Records
Under The Influence - The songs of Tom Waits. Barry Charles. 2003. Tara Hall Productions (Australia)
Paper Heart. Diane Jarvi. 2004. Lupine Records
Let Me Be Strong. Valerie Sneade. September 21, 2004. Turning Leaf Records
The Holly Cole Collection - Vol. 1. Holly Cole. October 12, 2004. Magada International (Japanese release)
Seemannsbraut Ist Die See. Angelika Thomas & Anna Schäfer. November 8, 2004. Bear Family Records
Off the Cuff. Troubadours Of Divine Bliss. April, 2005. Self-released
Song Ablaze. Tommy O'Sullivan. May 17, 2006. Self-released
Into The Midnight Waltz. Susan Welch. October 4, 2005. Self-released
Songs For The Jesse. Kirk Detweiler & Friends. January 6, 2007. Dancing Bull Music (same version as on Random White Boy, 1999)
Bein' Green. Paul L. Martin. June 10, 2007. MMP Ltd.
My Heart´s In The Wind. Deborah Shulman. November 13, 2007. Self-released
Grapefruit Moon: Songs of Tom Waits. Southside Johnny & La Bamba's Bigband. September 19, 2008. Evangeline (Soulfood Music)

⁽¹⁾ Shiver me timbers: "This is one of those supposedly nautical expressions that seem to be better known through a couple of appearances in fiction than by any actual sailors' usage. It's an exclamation that may allude to a ship striking some rock or other obstacle so hard that her timbers shiver, or shake, so implying a calamity has occurred. It is first recorded as being used by Captain Frederick Marryat in Jacob Faithful in 1835: "I won't thrash you Tom. Shiver my timbers if I do". It has gained a firm place in the language because almost fifty years later Robert Louis Stevenson found it to be just the kind of old-salt saying that fitted the character of Long John Silver in Treasure Island: "Cross me, and you'll go where many a good man's gone before you ... some to the yard-arm, shiver my timbers, and some by the board, and all to feed the fishes". Since then, it's mainly been the preserve of second-rate seafaring yarns." (Source: World Wide Words is copyright © Michael Quinion, 1996-2004)

⁽²⁾ Martin Eden: Character from the same titled book by Jack London from 1909

⁽³⁾ Ahab: Also Achab. Main character in "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville.