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
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 I’d rather die before I wake like Marilyn Monroe and throw my dreams out in the street and the rain make ‘em grow
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the struggles and aspirations within dreams and reality, expressed through vivid imagery.
This quote by Tom Waits captures the essence of a somber emotional state where dreams and desires clash with the harshness of reality. It portrays a melancholic atmosphere, invoking imagery of rain and sirens, suggesting a longing for comfort and a place to belong amidst life's chaos. The references to both dreams made of 'chrome' and the tragic figure of Marilyn Monroe emphasize the tension between the beauty of aspirations and the fragility of life, ultimately revealing a deep yearning for peace and resolution.
Themes
DreamsRealityStruggleMelancholyLonging
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about pursuing your dreams, this quote can illustrate the tension between ambition and reality.
More from Tom Waits
All quotes →If 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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I knelt at the altar of Ray Charles for years. I worked at a restaurant, and that's all there was on the jukebox.
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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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You can drive out nature with a pitch fork_x000D_ But it always comes roaring back again.
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