Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin
Step Right Up (Song) (wikipedia.org)
4 points by aspenmayer 5 months ago | hide | past | favorite | 4 comments


And it steals your car.

I thought this song deserved at least a weekend post due to the lyrics alone, but apparently there was also a lawsuit involved due to a sound-alike performance in a commercial, after Tom Waits was asked by Frito-Lay to perform and he refused. Reminds me the OpenAI ChatGPT ScarJo controversy, to be honest:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPT-4o#Scarlett_Johansson_cont...

https://www.georgetown.edu/news/ask-a-professor-openai-v-sca...

And it finds you a job. It is a job!

Here's the album version with the lyrics in the description (the album art is probably NSFW due to a nearly topless callgirl, but if you look closely, she has pasties/tassels, so I'm calling it artistic license, but fair warning all the same!):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTdScE3Rqh8

Send before midnight, tomorrow terms available.

A SFW re-issue album art version for those who can't click the above:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYyCitIDzvI

And it strips the phone company free!

Here's an amazing live session from 1977, with Step Right Up being first on the setlist:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4er0QVPABo&t=84s

It delivers a pizza.

A somewhat deeper examination of the lyrics:

https://genius.com/Tom-waits-step-right-up-lyrics

'cause it forges your signature!

The prices keep going up if you listen closely.

The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away.


Always happy to see anything related to Tom Waits here.

Also, it's simply a great song.


I honestly haven't seen much related to Tom Waits on HN, and when I heard this song, I simply had to share it with everyone who cares to hear it, irl and otherwise. He just gets it, no matter what it is. He's just a cool dude. I don't know how he does it. Years of honing his craft and it just looks so carefree and effortless. I'm so glad he exists, and I appreciate you too for enjoying his creations with me vicariously.


> He just gets it, no matter what it is. He's just a cool dude. I don't know how he does it.

I agree. His songs seem like unique and unusual gems.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: