Digital Commons @ Connecticut College

Title

Text and Temporality: Toward an Understanding of Rhythmic Irregularities in the Music of Tom Waits

Authors

Margaret E. Thomas, Connecticut College

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-2016

Comments

Published in the December 2016 issue of Music Theory Online, vol. 22, no. 4.

http://mtosmt.org/issues/mto.16.22.4/mto.16.22.4.thomas.html

Open Access journal published by the Society for Music Theory.

Abstract

This article considers phrase structure, hypermeter, and lyrics in three songs by Tom Waits, examining the particular ways that temporal regularity and irregularity interact with poetic structure, musical style, and vocal performance in Waits’s music. Subtle and ambiguous hypermetrical shifts are uncovered in “Green Grass,” whereas “Black Wings” utilizes conspicuously conflicting phrase lengths to enhance its textural meaning. In “Dead and Lovely” Waits creates temporal disturbances by shifting the placement of four-measure phrases relative to hypermetrical downbeats and upbeats.

Recommended Citation

Thomas, Margaret E., "Text and Temporality: Toward an Understanding of Rhythmic Irregularities in the Music of Tom Waits" (2016). Music Faculty Publications. 1.
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/musicfacpub/1