Tom Waits - What's He Building In There? Lyrics | SongMeanings

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What's He Building in There? Lyrics

Edit Lyrics What's he building in there?What the hell is he buildingIn there?He has subscriptions to thoseMagazines... He neverWaves when he goes byHe's hiding something from The rest of us... He's allTo himself... I think I knowWhy... He took down theTire swing from the PeppertreeHe has no children of hisOwn you see... He has no dogAnd he has no friends and His lawn is dying... andWhat about all those packagesHe sends. What's he building in there?With that hook lightOn the stairs. What's he building In there... I'll tell you one thingHe's not building a playhouse for The children what's he buildingIn there?Now what's that sound from under the door?He's pounding nails into a Hardwood floor... and I Swear to god I heard someoneMoaning low... and I keepSeeing the blue light of a T.V. show...He has a routerAnd a table saw... and youWon't believe what Mr. Sticha sawThere's poison underneath the sinkOf course... But there's also Enough formaldehyde to chokeA horse... What's he buildingIn there. What the hell is heBuilding in there? I heard heHas an ex-wife in some placeCalled Mayors Income, TennesseeAnd he used to have a consulting business in Indonesia...but what is he building in there?What the hell is building in there?He has no friendsBut he gets a lot of mailI'll bet he spent a littleTime in jail...I heard he was up on the Roof last nightSignaling with a flashlightAnd what's that tune he's Always whistling...What's he building in there?What's he building in there?We have a right to know... New! Log in to start a snippet Song Info Submitted by yuri_sucupira On Dec 27, 2001 More Tom Waits Hoist That Rag Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen) Martha Come on Up to the House Downtown Train What's he building in there? What the hell is he building In there? He has subscriptions to those Magazines... He never Waves when he goes by He's hiding something from The rest of us... He's all To himself... I think I know Why... He took down the Tire swing from the Peppertree He has no children of his Own you see... He has no dog And he has no friends and His lawn is dying... and What about all those packages He sends. What's he building in there? With that hook light On the stairs. What's he building In there... I'll tell you one thing He's not building a playhouse for The children what's he building In there? Now what's that sound from under the door? He's pounding nails into a Hardwood floor... and I Swear to god I heard someone Moaning low... and I keep Seeing the blue light of a T.V. show... He has a router And a table saw... and you Won't believe what Mr. Sticha saw There's poison underneath the sink Of course... But there's also Enough formaldehyde to choke A horse... What's he building In there. What the hell is he Building in there? I heard he Has an ex-wife in some place Called Mayors Income, Tennessee And he used to have a consulting business in Indonesia... but what is he building in there? What the hell is building in there? He has no friends But he gets a lot of mail I'll bet he spent a little Time in jail... I heard he was up on the Roof last night Signaling with a flashlight And what's that tune he's Always whistling... What's he building in there? What's he building in there? We have a right to know... Correcting wrong lyrics Fixing missing lines Removing extra lines Updating to official version Switching between clean/explicit (official) Fixing line breaks or spacing Correcting stanza/section order Removing unofficial annotations or brackets Correcting punctuation or capitalization Fixing spelling/typo errors Removing non-lyric content Standardizing formatting Other (explain below) Lyrics saved successfully! Thanks! These lyrics are currently locked and can only be edited by moderators and administrators. You must be logged in to edit lyrics. Unable to save lyrics. Please try again. Lyrics cannot contain links. Lyric edit submitted successfully and is pending approval. Approvals usually take 24 hours. Edit Cancel Editing Tips Keep it true to the song

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Revision History Mellow_Harsher 2013-01-06 07:53:40 yuri_sucupira Submitter 2001-12-27 17:32:51 20 Meanings

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View Profile Dismiss by sloop 21y ago

He's not building anything; that's the point of the song. Tom Waits is singing from the point of view of a representative of the paranoid townspeople who view this man with suspicion simply because he seems to be up to something. There is of course no proof for anything he might be up to as it's all in the heads of those around him, and the narration reveals the obsessive and invasive mindset of the suspicious townspeople rather than concentrating on the man who is supposedly building something.

He's not building anything; that's the point of the song. Tom Waits is singing from the point of view of a representative of the paranoid townspeople who view this man with suspicion simply because he seems to be up to something. There is of course no proof for anything he might be up to as it's all in the heads of those around him, and the narration reveals the obsessive and invasive mindset of the suspicious townspeople rather than concentrating on the man who is supposedly building something. Reason: Edit Cancel ❤️ 💯 😂 🔥 😢 🤯 ❗ 🤔 +7 Users: Reply · 0 Share by twigletmania 16y ago

The song was inspired by the Unabomber. Also features in the opening to the film "Enron The Smartest Guys in the Room" to great effect!

The song was inspired by the Unabomber. Also features in the opening to the film "Enron The Smartest Guys in the Room" to great effect! Reason: Edit Cancel ❤️ 💯 😂 🔥 😢 🤯 ❗ 🤔 +4 Users: Reply · 0 Share by caspercapoeira 15y ago

The scariest parts of this song to me are the venom that accompanies the words "I'll tell you one thing, He's not building a playhouse for the children...", as if implying the subject is some kind of child abuser, and the last line, "We have a right to know..." which sums up everything wrong with this track. I love it though!

My Opinion The scariest parts of this song to me are the venom that accompanies the words "I'll tell you one thing, He's not building a playhouse for the children...", as if implying the subject is some kind of child abuser, and the last line, "We have a right to know..." which sums up everything wrong with this track. I love it though! Reason: Edit Cancel ❤️ 💯 😂 🔥 😢 🤯 ❗ 🤔 +2 Users: Reply · 0 Share by roger wilco 24y ago

well, for one, Tom usually sings.

this work is reminiscent of "Romeo Is Bleeding" and some of Waits' early work. Tom Waits is a profound fan of Beat Poetry, and would often embark on Beat excursions in his music.

his lyrics and reverence for jazz reflects his interest in the Beats outstandingly.

i recommend "Mule Variations" and "Bone Machine" as safe purchases for someone unsure about a foray into Tom Waits. both albums are some of his best and most recent work (except for the two just released this month!) and should give the listener an excellent idea of where Mr. Waits is coming from. enjoy!

well, for one, Tom usually sings. this work is reminiscent of "Romeo Is Bleeding" and some of Waits' early work. Tom Waits is a profound fan of Beat Poetry, and would often embark on Beat excursions in his music. his lyrics and reverence for jazz reflects his interest in the Beats outstandingly. i recommend "Mule Variations" and "Bone Machine" as safe purchases for someone unsure about a foray into Tom Waits. both albums are some of his best and most recent work (except for the two just released this month!) and should give the listener an excellent idea of where Mr. Waits is coming from. enjoy! Reason: Edit Cancel ❤️ 💯 😂 🔥 😢 🤯 ❗ 🤔 +1 Users: Reply · 0 Share by Straylite 23y ago

I think Mule Variations must be one of the easiest of his album to get into, older stuff tends to be more to the more hardmelted side. One album i can recomment more than others is Swordfishtrombones. Mostly cause there are songs that are easy to melt early, but also an album that really grows with you. A golden trophy in my record collection. (though "Whats he building" is probably the most amusing work he has ever done in my opinion).

I think Mule Variations must be one of the easiest of his album to get into, older stuff tends to be more to the more hardmelted side. One album i can recomment more than others is Swordfishtrombones. Mostly cause there are songs that are easy to melt early, but also an album that really grows with you. A golden trophy in my record collection. (though "Whats he building" is probably the most amusing work he has ever done in my opinion). Reason: Edit Cancel ❤️ 💯 😂 🔥 😢 🤯 ❗ 🤔 +1 Users: Reply · 0 Share by Calculator Jose 24y ago

this is the only song ive heard of tom waits, whats the other stuff like?? comparisons and descriptions please

this is the only song ive heard of tom waits, whats the other stuff like?? comparisons and descriptions please Reason: Edit Cancel ❤️ 💯 😂 🔥 😢 🤯 ❗ 🤔 0 Users: Reply · 1 Share by Quoth 16y ago

This is more one of his creepy-cool story-songs. Not so much a musical pursuit. He's a lot like Bowie in the sense that he's more of an artist who plays music, not a musician that is artistic. His music is very cool, but you've got to have an open mind, he's nothing near mainstream in his style. He likes a lot of strange percussion, horns and uses a rough voice most of the time. Almost all of his songs have GREAT lines and in general good lyrics. I'd recommend just going to youtube and typing in Tom Waits, checking out...

This is more one of his creepy-cool story-songs. Not so much a musical pursuit. He's a lot like Bowie in the sense that he's more of an artist who plays music, not a musician that is artistic. His music is very cool, but you've got to have an open mind, he's nothing near mainstream in his style. He likes a lot of strange percussion, horns and uses a rough voice most of the time. Almost all of his songs have GREAT lines and in general good lyrics. I'd recommend just going to youtube and typing in Tom Waits, checking out some of his stuff (the non-live stuff is easier to digest, FYI).

Read more... This is more one of his creepy-cool story-songs. Not so much a musical pursuit. He's a lot like Bowie in the sense that he's more of an artist who plays music, not a musician that is artistic. His music is very cool, but you've got to have an open mind, he's nothing near mainstream in his style. He likes a lot of strange percussion, horns and uses a rough voice most of the time. Almost all of his songs have GREAT lines and in general good lyrics. I'd recommend just going to youtube and typing in Tom Waits, checking out some of his stuff (the non-live stuff is easier to digest, FYI). Reason: Edit Cancel by Calculator Jose 24y ago

thank you

thank you Reason: Edit Cancel ❤️ 💯 😂 🔥 😢 🤯 ❗ 🤔 0 Users: Reply · 0 Share by JumpyJack 21y ago

What do you think of the stuff on Rain Dogs with Keith Richards? I just recently got into it and I'm impressed.

What do you think of the stuff on Rain Dogs with Keith Richards? I just recently got into it and I'm impressed. Reason: Edit Cancel ❤️ 💯 😂 🔥 😢 🤯 ❗ 🤔 0 Users: Reply · 0 Share by Azdnumis210 21y ago

i love this. i wish we actually found out what he was building, though

i love this. i wish we actually found out what he was building, though Reason: Edit Cancel ❤️ 💯 😂 🔥 😢 🤯 ❗ 🤔 0 Users: Reply · 1 Share by xXRIOXx 13y ago

Don't you think it would wreck the song if we found out? Oh. He was building a shelving unit- how boring.

Don't you think it would wreck the song if we found out? Oh. He was building a shelving unit- how boring.

Don't you think it would wreck the song if we found out? Oh. He was building a shelving unit- how boring. Reason: Edit Cancel by badge 21y ago

Tom Waits was at his best on his early albums (Closing Time, Small Change and Blue Valentine in particular) in my opinion and although his late albums are good, the best songs are always those remeniscent of his early stuff. Waits is at his best with a piano or an acoustic guitar, and in general his more experimental stuff isn't quite as good. The exceptions to this are Rain Doge and Mule Variations, which blend experimentation with old-fashioned ballads perfectly. This song brings back the humour of Waits' early works such as Mighthawks at the Diner and Small Change.

Tom Waits was at his best on his early albums (Closing Time, Small Change and Blue Valentine in particular) in my opinion and although his late albums are good, the best songs are always those remeniscent of his early stuff. Waits is at his best with a piano or an acoustic guitar, and in general his more experimental stuff isn't quite as good. The exceptions to this are Rain Doge and Mule Variations, which blend experimentation with old-fashioned ballads perfectly. This song brings back the humour of Waits' early works such as Mighthawks at the Diner and Small Change. Reason: Edit Cancel ❤️ 💯 😂 🔥 😢 🤯 ❗ 🤔 0 Users: Reply · 0 Share 12Next »

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