'...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' --Unknown critic when commenting on his voice
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- A critic describes a voice as rough, aged, and damaged by extreme forces.
- In plain terms
- His voice sounds old, soaked in alcohol, and run over.
- What can you take from it?
- Voice quality can convey history and hardship without words.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does voice tell a story?
- What makes a voice unique?
Another view
The metaphor is hyperbolic and not literally accurate.
More from Tom Waits
'I always wondered how Tom Waits would sing 'Greensleeves'....' --Loreena McKennitt, 'The Visit'
Permalink to quote #32 '...like a clown crossed with a cherry bomb.' --Anonymous young girl, liner notes to Used Songs: 1973-1980
Permalink to quote #34 'When he performs, it sounds as if the world has stopped at 2 A.M.' - Dinah Shore
Permalink to quote #31
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