When you're writing, you're conjuring. It's a ritual, and you need to be brave and respectful and sometimes get out of the way of whatever it is that you're inviting into the room.
Tom WaitsRead
I knelt at the altar of Ray Charles for years. I worked at a restaurant, and that's all there was on the jukebox.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the deep admiration and influence of Ray Charles on Tom Waits during his formative years.
Tom Waits uses this quote to convey the profound impact Ray Charles had on him as a musician and artist. By stating that he 'knelt at the altar' of Charles, Waits emphasizes a sense of reverence and dedication to the music that shaped his own artistic journey, illustrating how influential figures can inspire and guide others in their creative endeavors.
Themes
Ray CharlesMusicInfluenceArtInspiration
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about finding your artistic passion, this quote highlights the importance of inspiration.
More from Tom Waits
All quotes βIf you're in the middle of the ocean with no flippers and no life preserver and you hear a helicopter, this is music. You have to adjust to your needs at the moment.
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Don't plant your bad days. They grow into weeks. The weeks grow into months. Before you know it, you got yourself a bad year. Take it from me - choke those little bad days. Choke 'em down to nothing.
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My reality needs imagination like a bulb needs a socket. My imagination needs reality like a blind man needs a cane.
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Now its raining its pouring the old man is snoring now I lay me down to sleep I hear the sirens in the street all my dreams are made of chrome I have no way to get back home Iβd rather die before I wake like Marilyn Monroe and throw my dreams out in the street and the rain make βem grow
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You can drive out nature with a pitch fork_x000D_ But it always comes roaring back again.
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