Tom Waits is certainly an acquired taste. I first came across Waits in two movies. The must see flick: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (“All the World is Green” and “Green Grass”) and an Italian movie with Robert Benigni titled The Tiger of the Snow (“You Can Never Hold Back Spring“). Here’s Waits singing “Waltzing Matilda” – – Australia’s most widely known bush ballad – – which I’ve been told is “the unofficial national anthem of Australia.” We’ll need our Aussie friends to confirm…
Live & Learn 
I like it better than the original version. I’ve never heard this one before. Have a great weekend.
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Yes, (better than the original version). So to offend the traditionalists, I can’t get through the original/traditional version. (I’ll now be subject to wave upon wave of Aussie attacks)
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He is an acquired taste, but what an incredible lyricist. I just ran across a song he co-wrote called Chocolate Jesus. It is pretty good with such a strong message.
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Yes, he is Ivon. I’ll need to check out Chocolate Jesus. Thanks for pointing me to it.
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I’ll pass. Interesting though. I wonder if he’s had to have surgery on his vocal chords.
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OK. Passing is permitted.
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Thanks. 🙂
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He had to grow on me too – and there are still some songs that I can’t wrap my arms around. But this one? He had me at hello (I know, I know – I mean that figuratively).
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She’s BAAAAAAAAACK!
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Laughing out loud. Yup – just about – fat lip, black eye and all.
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You are rollin’ this morning girl…my stomach hurts.
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I’m on the fence about Waits–some songs he croons in such a way that I can’t imagine another doing the song, and on others, I wish he would just STOP. I have to say, though, that, for me, he does this one just right….
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Yes, an acquired taste. I”m love/hate with his work. Some songs, like this one, are love, many are on the other side of the spectrum. I’m with you, this one is just right.
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Wow! His voice actually got smoother as he aged. Or he stopped shredding it so *hard.* I love Tom Waits. Thanks for this.
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Laughing. I don’t equate Waits with smooth and I’d don’t think I heard many of his others to compare to. Love the “shredding” description. Bingo.
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Love, love, love Tom Waits! I’d say us Australians are more fond of Waltzing Mathilda than our anthem, but I’m not sure we’d want to actually switch to a song about stealing a sheep then drowning ourselves to avoid the law. Our lack of regard for our anthem is best demonstrated by the fact that the final verse was dropped because most people didn’t actually know it. We now have an extremely short anthem and I feel a little short-changed because I thought the last part was the best. It’s one verse, people! Make an effort!
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We’ve been waiting for an Aussie to show up and give us some color. Thanks Ophelia. Yes, the lyrics are a bit rough. Didn’t now about the last paragraph being dropped. And laughing about the make an effort part – we live in the ADD world today I’m afraid.
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so true!
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And I’ll make an effort to spell Waltzing Matilda properly
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🙂
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A taste I acquired years ago…and he still moves me to tears…thank you…be encouraged!
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My pleasure Stephen…
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