Franks Wild Years, Big Time [film], Tom Waits [162]

As we dive into the first of the Big Time film-only tracks, Martin and Sam look at the imagery in the film as well as the looser feel of the lyrics in this later interpretation of the life of Frank O'Brien. Song by Song is Martin Zaltz Austwick and Sam Pay; two musicians listening to and discussing every single Tom Waits track in chronological order. website: songbysongpodcast.com twitter: @songbysongpod e-mail: [email protected] Music extracts used for illustrative/review purposes include: Frank's Wild Years, Big Time (film), Tom Waits (1988) We think your Song by Song experience will be enhanced by hearing, in full, the songs featured in the show, which you can get hold of from your favourite record shop or online platform. Please support artists by buying their music, or using services which guarantee artists a revenue - listen responsibly. Lyrics - Frank's Wild Years Well this is a story about a guy named Frank O'Brien… Well Frank, y'know, well he, like a lot of guys, he settled down in the Valley and he hung his wild years  on a nail that he drove right through  his wife's forehead he sold used office furniture  out there on San Fernando Road he assumed a $30,000 loan  at 15 1/4 % and he put a down payment  on a nice little two bedroom place I mean, y'know, what the hell's wrong with that? Well, uh, his wife, well, I don't know, uhh She was a doll, she was a babe, she was a killer she was a spent piece of used jet trash, uhh No, uhh, you took that wrong, uhh I loved Beverley, I loved her… often, uh, ok She made good bloody marys She kept her mouth shut most of the time, alright They had a self-cleaning oven, y'know, the whole bit, y'know They had a little Chihuahua named Carlos Ok, I love dogs, let it be known I love dogs But I draw the line A dog is a dog He had some kind of a skin disease, I don't know what it was, uh We tried everything, y'know I don't know what the hell is this, Impetigo, is it scabies, I don't know Can I get it too? Y'know, come on, I'm not a doctor alright? It went on and on and on, anyway So anyway Frank's on his way home  from work one night, he stops at the liquor store, picks up a couple Mickey's Big Mouths and uh Drinks 'em in the car on the way  to the Shell station, goes and gets a gallon of  gas in a can, now, y'know, a normal activity for a man his age, an innocent gas can filled with High Test. I don't know how it happened, he drove home, You got the gas, you've got a lot of retan furniture in the house All the gas… alright, it could happen, y'know, Gas and furniture, y'know I dunno there was a match involved, I dunno Uh… it's physics alright, whatta ya want me to say Anyway, y'know the whole thing's up in smoke and Frank's parked across the street, laughing Kinda like this: hhh-hhh-hhh hhhhhhhhh And then Frank got on the Hollywood Freewaaaaaaay headed North He put the chair back to an entire reclining position Staring at the headliner He just never could stand that dog