☝️ Key Points
- The song is a melancholic ballad of pain and loss, told from the perspective of a man who has been abandoned by his lover.
- The protagonist's self-destructive lifestyle is described through his attempts to numb his pain with alcohol or possibly drugs.
- The repeated refrain 'go waltzing Mathilda' could symbolize the protagonist's desire to return to happier times.
- The protagonist feels isolated and desperate in a foreign, hostile environment where he cannot communicate.
- The protagonist bids farewell to the world and retreats into his dark, lonely world, a farewell that suggests he is trying to let go of his lover and move on with his life.
Interpretation
The song 'Tom Traubert's Blues' by
Tom Waits is a melancholic ballad that tells a story of pain, loss, and despair. The protagonist of the song is a man who has been abandoned by his lover, Mathilda, and now lives in a world full of darkness and loneliness.
The line 'Wasted and wounded, it ain't what the moon did, I've got what I paid for now' depicts the self-destructive lifestyle of the protagonist, who tries to numb his suffering with alcohol and possibly other drugs.
The repeated refrain 'To go waltzing Mathilda, waltzing Mathilda, You'll go waltzing Mathilda with me' refers to the Australian folk song 'Waltzing Matilda'. In this context, it could have a metaphorical meaning and represent the protagonist's desire to return to better times when he used to dance with Mathilda.
The line 'No one speaks English, and everything's broken, And my Stacys are soaking wet' portrays the isolation and desperation of the protagonist in a foreign and hostile environment where he cannot communicate and where everything is broken.
The line 'And you can ask any sailor, and the keys from the jailor, And the old men in wheelchairs know' shows that the pain and suffering of the protagonist are widely known. It is so obvious that even 'the old men in wheelchairs' know it.
The song ends with 'And goodnight to the street sweepers, the night watchmen flame keepers And goodnight to Mathilda, too'. This shows that the protagonist is bidding farewell to the world and retreating into his dark, lonely world. The goodbye to Mathilda suggests that he is trying to let her go and move on with his life, although it is clear that his heart still longs for her.