tom waits
From his second album "The Heart of Saturday Night" (1974), this is one of the most played songs by Tom Waits besides "Ol'55". Even Bette Midler has used it - and along with most all other cover artists, she performs it as a tribute to the ocean. In my opinion it is not; Tom Waits had a darker side already back in '74. Read between the lines, remember Jack London's novel mentioned, and you'll find a song about committing suicide after failing to settle down; the scene painted marine.
I'm leaving my family
leaving all my friends
my body's at home but my heart's in the wind
where the clouds are like headlines
on a new frontpage sky
my tears are salt water and the moon's full and high
and I know Martin Eden's
gonna be proud of me
and many before me has been drawn by the sea
to be up in the crow's nest
singing my say:
shiver me timbers! I'm sailing away
now the fog's lifting and the sand's shifting
I'm drifting on out
old captain Ahab he ain't got nothing on me
so come on swallow me • don't follow me
I'm travelling alone
blue water's my daughter • I'm gonna skip like a stone
so please call my misses
tell her not to cry
cause my goodbye is written by the moon in the sky
and nobody knows me
I can't fathom my stayin'
shiver me timbers! as I'm sailing away
For the following CHORD section, fullscreen/horizontal mobile is recommended.
Chords in brackets may be omitted.
G Cadd9 I'm leaving my family G Cadd9 leaving all my friends G A7 Am7 D7 my body's at home but my heart's in the wind G Cadd9 where the clouds are like headlines G Cadd9 on a new frontpage sky G A7 D7sus4 D7 G my tears are salt water and the moon's full and high Em Baug/E now the fog's lifting and the sand's shifting G Em6 I'm drifting on out G A7 Am7 D7 old captain Ahab he ain't got nothing on me Em Baug/E so come on swallow me don't follow me G A7 I'm travelling alone G A7 D7sus4 D7 G blue water's my daughter I'm gonna skip like a stone
