Everett Lee broke loose again
It’s worse than the time before
Because he’s high on potato and tulip wine
Fermented in the muddy rain, of course.-Tom Waits/Kathleen Brennan, “Don’t Go into the Barn”
Tom Waits and his wife Kathleen Brennan have co-written some of my favorite songs. Their lyrics are not just great by songwriting standards—they’re great by literary standards.
“Don’t Go into the Barn” is track 5 on Waits’s 2004 album Real Gone. It stands out for several reasons:
- Vivid descriptions used to create a horror movie atmosphere
- Realistic, believable dialogue between creepy characters
- Displays of fear by characters make us afraid as we listen
- A mysterious but complete storyline
The song begins with Waits using his own voice as percussion. He sounds like an entire chain gang keeping rhythm in hell. This fearsome racket continues while Waits launches into a chorus section first: “Don’t Go into the Barn!” Then the first verse kicks in.
Fear is Infectious
Verse 1: Waits gives us a first-person description of nighttime in some remote rural area. Then the narrator hears the neighbor scream through the woods. He springs into action.
I let my dog run off the chain
I locked my door real good with a chair.
What the hell is going on? What does he know? Why is he fortifying his house instead of going to help?
Shadowy Setting, Shady Characters
Verse 2: Waits paints a picture of the creepy countryside and an escapee—a felon or a mental patient—who’s “high on potato and tulip wine.” Yikes.
Verse 3: More description of setting. Waits and Brennan do a terrific job here of describing things in a way that builds upon the spooky atmosphere.
The sun sunk down into the muck of a deep, dead sky.
Verse 4: Finally we’ve reached the barn. Sounds like it has a charming history.
When the river is low, they find old bones
When they plow they always dig up chains.
Dialogue Between Two Criminals
Verse 5: A call-and-response section between two characters talking about something horrible they just did. One of the men is clearly in charge; the other is a lackey. They don’t directly mention what was done, but we do know that it involved a gun, knife, and rum smuggling.
“Did they see your face?”
”No, sir.”
The End
Outro: a rapid-fire list of port names, probably describing the course of the rum smuggling fugitives. It repeats in a circle as the song fades out—a suspenseful ending to a well-told story.
Go Get It
All of Tom Waits’s output is worth listening to and studying. He’s the only performer whose entire catalogue I can recommend in good conscience.
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Waits creates the most evocative lyrics around, even more so than Dylan, I think (but it’s close!). Cool post.
I agree, Jeff! Waits and Brennan write the best descriptions and dialogue in music that I’ve ever seen.
Good to see ya! 😀 Are you a FAWMer this year?