“I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.”

“I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.”

“I would rather have a free bottle in front of me than a pre-frontal lobotomy”

“Now its raining its pouringthe old man is snoringnow I lay me down to sleepI hear the sirens in the streetall my dreams are made of chromeI have no way to get back homeI’d rather die before I wakelike Marilyn Monroeand throw my dreams out inthe street and therain make ‘em grow”

“There’s nothing more embarrassing than a person who tries to guess what the great American public would like, makes a compromise for the first time, and falls flat on his face… I would rather be a failure on my own terms than a success on someone else’s. That’s a difficult statement to live up to, but then I’ve always believed that the way you affect your audience is more important than how many of them are there.”

“Never have your wallet with you onstage. It's bad luck. You shouldn't play the piano with money in your pocket. Play like you need the money.Tom Waits (to me, about 1986 or so)”

“The half-full bottle in front of me, is better than a full-frontal lobotomy.”