Get Your Hankies Out Before Listening to This Devastating Tom Waits Lyric

Philosophers, theologians, filmmakers, and novelists have all pondered the meaning of life and the mystery of death at length. In our humble opinion, Tom Waits managed to sum all that up pretty succinctly with a song clocking in at a little less than four-and-a-half minutes.

The song in question, “Take It With Me”, appears on Waits’ 1999 album Mule Variations. It unforgettably evokes the humble milestones of life that end up meaning the most when it’s all over.

On the “Take”

By the time Waits released Mule Variations, he had entered a period of his career where he generally took a few years between albums. That meant that every LP that did appear carried even more weight with his fans. And Mule Variations, a sprawling 16-song set, did not disappoint.

It’s an album that, in many ways, brought together many different aspects of his career under one umbrella. The transformation he made in the 80s, on albums like Swordfishtrombones and Rain Dogs, was still very much in evidence. Clanging percussion and unorthodox melodies dotted certain songs.

But Waits also reached back to the early portion of his career on a few tracks as well. In those formative years, he positioned himself as rock’s foremost ballroom balladeer, a singer of sometimes sweet, sometimes sad songs of unabashed sentiment.

Without a doubt, “Take It With Me” belongs to the latter category. Wait’s tinkling piano and Greg Cohen’s burbling bass are the only sounds you hear aside from that legendary croak of a voice. The spareness of the arrangement highlights the subtle beauty of the melody.

As he has so often done since he met her, Waits collaborated with his wife Kathleen Brennan in writing the song. That’s quite appropriate in this case. The song speaks to the simple pleasures and lasting memories accrued over a lifetime spent with another person.

Examining the Lyrics of “Take It With Me”

The refrain “I’m gonna take it with me when I go” punctuates each of the verses of “Take It With Me”. It’s not too hard to make the leap that Waits is talking about what a person can bank at the end of life. And what he concludes is that the pleasant experiences and warm feelings that pile up are the ultimate takeaway.

If you weren’t already convinced that the narrator is referring to death, the line “It’s a long time since I drank champagne” matches up with the final words of the famed playwright Anton Chekhov. Considering that, maybe the ocean he mentions in the first verse is only in his mind’s eye as his final moments spill away.

A flood of memories, such as days spent in Coney Island and on some neighborhood porch, intermingle with the wise musings of someone who’s been around the block and now understands the score. “There ain’t no good thing ever dies,” Waits sings about the permanence of these long-ago events.

The narrator suggests that he’s used up all of his time (“I’ve worn the faces off all the cards”). But that doesn’t mean he’s leaving empty-handed. “It’s got to be more than flesh and bone,” he insists. “All that you’ve loved is all you own.”

Waits saves up his biggest emotional swing for the final verse with a setup that’s like a fairy tale. He mentions a land, a town, a house, and a woman. And then, “And in that woman, there’s a heart I love/I’m gonna take it with me when I go.” If those tears aren’t welling up in your eyes by the end of “Take It With Me”, you’re clearly made of sterner stuff than us.

(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

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