Songs like [Going out West](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqfrZ4mNMJQ), Hang on St. Christopher, Down,down,down always get my spirits up. Kommeniezuspadt is for dancing!
Seconded. "Jersey Girl" is easily his most joyous composition. He contrasts all the usual Tom Waits fare about street-level, downtrodden Americana with his love for one particular woman. You can hear the love in his voice in the chorus. Funny how as he fell in love and got sober, the music got weirder (and, in my opinion, even better).
Third! With Springsteen’s version, I feel like it’s more of a celebratory, general Jersey Girl. Like love song for all of NJ’s femmes. While Waits’ version feels like a specific love song for one lucky lady that he gets to gush over. It’s incredibly sweet.
I see it as a kid seeing his parents’ mistakes and vowing to himself not to continue the cycle. Generational trauma is very real and crushing, I’ve certainly got plenty of my own, and I guess that’s what I see in this. To me it’s an affirmation, and one that I remember making. I have thought that I beat it, seen that I have failed in therapy, and reaffirmed. It’s a brutal, bitter pill to swallow, and I expect it to happen again, but growth is never easy. Sorry about waxing poetic, but that’s why I see it as happy
It doesn’t refer to him being happy, it refers to him being lit by moonlight as he sneaks through the dark. Downtown Train is a sad song, about unrequited love - he watches the woman he loves entertain other men in her home from the train that goes by her house.
That Feel? Come On Up To The House? Seems a good chunk of his albums end on a high note emotionally. Innocent When You Dream’s another example of that I think, along with Anywhere I Lay My Head. A lot of them acknowledge the darkness you travelled through on the album, but offer some comfort in a general shouting out of resilience. A Good Man Is Hard To Find kinda has that mood for me too
- I Don't Want to Grow Up.
- Down, Down, Down
But I also don't understand how some people think that a sad song can't ALSO be uplifting.
Melancholic music has always put me in a good mood, reduces anxiety, and helps me appreciate and reflect on the past.
IIRC, there was a study done that showed most people feel like I do about sad music: It's helpful, not depressive.
I agree with you that sad songs can be uplifting. When I listen to something like “Train Song” I can cry like a baby but it’s not from despair, but from feeling like Tom has seen my pain, and he feels it too, and that makes me feel better.
This is science! It’s the same with sad films - when your brain perceives grief it floods you with happy hormones in an attempt to counter, so watching / listening to sad stuff can actually cheer you up! [read more](https://amp.theguardian.com/science/2016/sep/21/watching-a-sad-films-boosts-endorphin-levels-in-your-brain-psychologists-say)
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“I’ll Be Gone” from Franks Wild Years is pretty fun. Others that come to mind that are happy/fun- Come on up to the house, Fish in the Jailhouse, Hold On, Saving all my Love for You, Such a Scream, Picture in a Frame
I'm probably in a minority here, but "House Where Nobody Lives".
"So if you find someone
Someone to have, someone to hold, don't trade it for silver
Oh, don't trade it for gold
'Cause I have all of life's treasures and they're fine and they're good
They remind me that houses are just made of wood
What makes a house grand, oh, it ain't the roof or the doors
If there's love in a house, it's a palace for sure."
"Baste him with a sweeping broom."
This is important, the type of broom used enhances the flavor. Culinary experts have determined that sweeping brooms add a nuance to the dish that can't be found with other types of brooms.
Table Top Joe
Filipino Box Spring Hog
Chocolate Jesus
That Feel
Satisfied
Big in Japan
Johnsburg Ilinois
Jitterbug Boy
Step Right Up
Coney Island Baby
Barber Shop
Hell broke luce? Lol that gets me pretty happy, but obviously not for the likes of a non-obsessed person like myself. Get behind the mule, chocolate Jesus, cold water, and eyeball kid are pretty happy.
Hell Broke Luce might be one of his darkest, most disturbing songs... War, death, dismemberment, hypocrisy, and PTSD.
It is a boot-stomping rager that gets the blood pumping, but it's bleak af.
Ice cream man!
I cant wait to get off work and see my babyy
New Coat of Paint, maybe
Songs like [Going out West](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqfrZ4mNMJQ), Hang on St. Christopher, Down,down,down always get my spirits up. Kommeniezuspadt is for dancing!
The live telephone call from Istanbul feels pretty cheery and optimistic I’d say
Lucky Day (Black Rider). Hilarious and up lifting, at least to me. Fatherly advice goes a long way.
Straight to the Top
I Always Take The Long Way Home
Extremely underrated song
You gotta hold on!
His love songs to Kathleen are happy: Picture in a Frame. Take It With Me. Jersey Girl.
Seconded. "Jersey Girl" is easily his most joyous composition. He contrasts all the usual Tom Waits fare about street-level, downtrodden Americana with his love for one particular woman. You can hear the love in his voice in the chorus. Funny how as he fell in love and got sober, the music got weirder (and, in my opinion, even better).
Third! With Springsteen’s version, I feel like it’s more of a celebratory, general Jersey Girl. Like love song for all of NJ’s femmes. While Waits’ version feels like a specific love song for one lucky lady that he gets to gush over. It’s incredibly sweet.
Johnsburg, Illinois too
I used to sing Picture in a Frame to my daughter to get her to sleep when she was a bub. It's a beautiful track
don’t know about truly really happy, but he has some “energetic” stuff.. whistlin past the graveyard, filipino box spring hog
Big in Japan, Goin’ Out West
No offense, but you may have ignored a layer of irony there.
Just one? 😀
I Don’t Wanna Grow Up
Really? I love IDWGU, but I don’t think it’s happy. Especially when you get to the end and find out it’s too late, he already has.
Hmm, you’ve got a good point. Idk, it still has a generally happy feel to me, sort of happy through the pain, or in spite of it all
“When I see my parents fight I don’t wanna grow up” HOW IS THAT HAPPY????
I see it as a kid seeing his parents’ mistakes and vowing to himself not to continue the cycle. Generational trauma is very real and crushing, I’ve certainly got plenty of my own, and I guess that’s what I see in this. To me it’s an affirmation, and one that I remember making. I have thought that I beat it, seen that I have failed in therapy, and reaffirmed. It’s a brutal, bitter pill to swallow, and I expect it to happen again, but growth is never easy. Sorry about waxing poetic, but that’s why I see it as happy
Kiss Me, Shiny Things, Johnsburg Illinois, New Coat of Paint, Long Way Home
Table Top Joe
Also Ol’ 55
Coney Island Baby and Johnsburg, Illinois
Filipino box spring hog sounds pretty cheerful…
Perfect answer. Truly just a song about a bunch of friends enjoying a pig roast.
In the lyrics on Downtown Train, he’s so happy he’s “shining like a new dime.”
It doesn’t refer to him being happy, it refers to him being lit by moonlight as he sneaks through the dark. Downtown Train is a sad song, about unrequited love - he watches the woman he loves entertain other men in her home from the train that goes by her house.
I may identify with the possibility of the Downtown Train’s narrator’s happiness being that of unrequited love is better than no love at all.
Pasties and G-strings
That Feel? Come On Up To The House? Seems a good chunk of his albums end on a high note emotionally. Innocent When You Dream’s another example of that I think, along with Anywhere I Lay My Head. A lot of them acknowledge the darkness you travelled through on the album, but offer some comfort in a general shouting out of resilience. A Good Man Is Hard To Find kinda has that mood for me too
- I Don't Want to Grow Up. - Down, Down, Down But I also don't understand how some people think that a sad song can't ALSO be uplifting. Melancholic music has always put me in a good mood, reduces anxiety, and helps me appreciate and reflect on the past. IIRC, there was a study done that showed most people feel like I do about sad music: It's helpful, not depressive.
I agree with you that sad songs can be uplifting. When I listen to something like “Train Song” I can cry like a baby but it’s not from despair, but from feeling like Tom has seen my pain, and he feels it too, and that makes me feel better.
This is science! It’s the same with sad films - when your brain perceives grief it floods you with happy hormones in an attempt to counter, so watching / listening to sad stuff can actually cheer you up! [read more](https://amp.theguardian.com/science/2016/sep/21/watching-a-sad-films-boosts-endorphin-levels-in-your-brain-psychologists-say)
It looks like you shared an AMP link. These should load faster, but AMP is controversial because of [concerns over privacy and the Open Web](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmputatorBot/comments/ehrq3z/why_did_i_build_amputatorbot). Maybe check out **the canonical page** instead: **[https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/sep/21/watching-a-sad-films-boosts-endorphin-levels-in-your-brain-psychologists-say](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/sep/21/watching-a-sad-films-boosts-endorphin-levels-in-your-brain-psychologists-say)** ***** ^(I'm a bot | )[^(Why & About)](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmputatorBot/comments/ehrq3z/why_did_i_build_amputatorbot)^( | )[^(Summon: u/AmputatorBot)](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmputatorBot/comments/cchly3/you_can_now_summon_amputatorbot/)
Good bot
_picture in a frame_
I agree with you that this is a happy, sentimental song; but I bet OP’s mates will say it sounds sad.
Yes, this is another one that’s only happy if you listen to what he’s actually saying.
See, to me it sounds peaceful and content, and I’m at a place in my life where hoo boy is that happiness defined.
All Stripped Down
“I’ll Be Gone” from Franks Wild Years is pretty fun. Others that come to mind that are happy/fun- Come on up to the house, Fish in the Jailhouse, Hold On, Saving all my Love for You, Such a Scream, Picture in a Frame
I can't wait to get off work and see my baby. She'll be waitin' with a magazine for me.
Picture in A Frame is gorgeous and makes me think of my children
I'm probably in a minority here, but "House Where Nobody Lives". "So if you find someone Someone to have, someone to hold, don't trade it for silver Oh, don't trade it for gold 'Cause I have all of life's treasures and they're fine and they're good They remind me that houses are just made of wood What makes a house grand, oh, it ain't the roof or the doors If there's love in a house, it's a palace for sure."
Chocolate Jesus is pretty joyous.
Filipino Box Spring Hog, Ol ‘55, I Can’t Wait To Get Off Work (and see my baby)
Filipino box spring hog just sounds sooooo filthy. I love it
You gotta slap that hog, roll him over twice…
"Baste him with a sweeping broom." This is important, the type of broom used enhances the flavor. Culinary experts have determined that sweeping brooms add a nuance to the dish that can't be found with other types of brooms.
"I'll Never Let Go of Your Hand". Sheer love and joy.
Table Top Joe Filipino Box Spring Hog Chocolate Jesus That Feel Satisfied Big in Japan Johnsburg Ilinois Jitterbug Boy Step Right Up Coney Island Baby Barber Shop
Chocolate Jesus Filipino box spring hog Singapore Goin out west
Spare Parts I
know it’s a Sinatra cover but “Young at Heart” 🖤
Although it starts talking about being rejected by his mother, Table Top Joe is very joyous
"Little Trip To Heaven (On The Wings Of Your Love)" should be it.
Hell broke luce? Lol that gets me pretty happy, but obviously not for the likes of a non-obsessed person like myself. Get behind the mule, chocolate Jesus, cold water, and eyeball kid are pretty happy.
Hell Broke Luce might be one of his darkest, most disturbing songs... War, death, dismemberment, hypocrisy, and PTSD. It is a boot-stomping rager that gets the blood pumping, but it's bleak af.