The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me) (An Evening With Pete King)
Encyclopedia
"The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me) (an Evening with Pete King)", often referred to as "The Piano Has Been Drinking", is a song written and performed by Tom Waits
. The song first appeared on his 1976 album Small Change
, and an extended live version on the 1981 compilation album Bounced Checks
.
with the piano tune occasionally stumbling over itself, recalling a "somewhat abused, slightly-out-of-tune piano that one would expect to find in the corner of a bar or left out in the rain." Waits repeatedly comments and complains about numerous inanimate objects with such lyrics as "The carpet needs a haircut". The song has been described as "[inhabiting] that late-night Hades
, the club where you can't find a waitress, "even with a geiger counter"; where "the spotlight looks like a prison break" and the owner has "the IQ of a fence post"." The song's full title includes a reference to Pete King
, co-founder and club director of Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club
, at which Waits performed from May 31 to June 12, 1976.
, during which Waits asks to borrow money from the hosts. Waits performed an extended version of the song in Dublin in March, 1981, which appeared on the 1981 compilation Bounced Checks
.
, for his albums Beatin' The Heat (2000) and Alive & Lickin (2001).
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
. The song first appeared on his 1976 album Small Change
Small Change
Small Change is an album by Tom Waits, released in 1976 on Asylum Records. It was recorded in July 1976.-Production:Small Change was recorded, direct to 2-track stereo tape, July 15,19,20,21, and 29, 1976 at the Wally Heider Recording Studio, in Hollywood, USA under the production of Bones...
, and an extended live version on the 1981 compilation album Bounced Checks
Bounced Checks
Bounced Checks is the first compilation of Tom Waits recordings, including album, live and alternate versions of songs from six of his seven albums for Asylum Records, excepting his debut, Closing Time....
.
Lyrics
Throughout the song, Waits imitates a drunkard, spouting nonsense phrasesNonsense
Nonsense is a communication, via speech, writing, or any other symbolic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. Sometimes in ordinary usage, nonsense is synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous...
with the piano tune occasionally stumbling over itself, recalling a "somewhat abused, slightly-out-of-tune piano that one would expect to find in the corner of a bar or left out in the rain." Waits repeatedly comments and complains about numerous inanimate objects with such lyrics as "The carpet needs a haircut". The song has been described as "[inhabiting] that late-night Hades
Hades
Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
, the club where you can't find a waitress, "even with a geiger counter"; where "the spotlight looks like a prison break" and the owner has "the IQ of a fence post"." The song's full title includes a reference to Pete King
Pete King (saxophonist)
Peter "Pete" Stephen George King was a British jazz tenor saxophonist. He was the manager of London's famous jazz club, Ronnie Scott's, for almost 50 years.-Biography:...
, co-founder and club director of Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club
Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club
Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club which has operated in London since 1959.The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was managed by musicians Ronnie Scott and Pete King. In 1965 it moved to a larger venue nearby at 47 Frith Street...
, at which Waits performed from May 31 to June 12, 1976.
Live performances
In the mid-1970s, Waits occasionally performed the song as a medley with "Makin' Whoopee." The song was performed, in truncated form, on the short-lived US television show, Fernwood 2 Night in 1977, during the promotion for Small Change. The appearance also included a short skit in interview form, premised on a broken-down tour busTour bus
A tour bus service is a bus service that takes visitors sightseeing, with routes around tourist attractions. Double-decker buses and/or open top buses are commonly used, for their good views....
, during which Waits asks to borrow money from the hosts. Waits performed an extended version of the song in Dublin in March, 1981, which appeared on the 1981 compilation Bounced Checks
Bounced Checks
Bounced Checks is the first compilation of Tom Waits recordings, including album, live and alternate versions of songs from six of his seven albums for Asylum Records, excepting his debut, Closing Time....
.
Reception
Patrick Humphries, in his book The many lives of Tom Waits, believed "The Piano Has Been Drinking" to be "the archetypal Waits song: the laconic bar-room philosopher delivering pithy lyrics, in a voice that sounds like a garbage crusher." Bill Janovitz, writing for Allmusic, wrote that the song "deflates the myth that there is glory in a life on the road, the darker reality of Kerouac's romanticizing, but it does so without being didactic or even very serious." The song has twice been covered by Dan Hicks & His Hot LicksDan Hicks (singer)
Dan Hicks , is an American singer-songwriter working at the intersection of cowboy folk, jazz, country, swing, bluegrass, pop, and gypsy music...
, for his albums Beatin' The Heat (2000) and Alive & Lickin (2001).