Edvard Munch, 1905
Tom Waits sings Silent Night and Christmas card from a hooker in Minneapolis
For a performance in New York on November 21, 1985, Waits introduced the song with the following anecdote:
I was in Minneapolis – it was 200 degrees below zero – I know – you think I’m bullshitting, no, I swear to God, I was wearing just a bra and a slip and a kind of dead squirrel around my neck – he was colder than I was. The police cars would go by and they’d wave… Merry Xmas, Merry Xmas, Merry Xmas – anyway – I got caught in the middle of a pimp war between 2 kids in Chinchilla coats, they couldn’t have been more than 13 years old- they’re throwing knives and forks and spoons out into the street – it was deep – so I grabbed a ladle – and Dinah Washington was singing “Our Day Will Come” and I knew that was it. Wikipedia
Hard Candy Christmas, from The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
Hard candy Christmas means money is so low that everyone gets hard candy (not expensive) instead of gifts. The other meaning, where hard candy refers to young girls, doesn’t apply here.
– Laura Agustín, the Naked Anthropologist
Merry Christmas Laura!
when filling up my Amazon shopping cart with gifts for friends & family last week I made sure to order your book as well – as a little gift for myself.
Can’t wait to dig into it on the flight back to Berlin!
cheers,
William
thank you, william, very kind!