What's He Building?

[TheCoullio]

STOP TALKING ABOUT MUSE. THIS IS TOM WAITS.

[byfyziQ]

Hold on, What actually is he building?

[poweroutage93]

MUSE brought me here!

[civilwarnut1863]

thats the tune from jaws

[95Fraser]

This reminds me of Muse - NewBorn, intense choice muse!

[samthe1337ster]

So what was he building?

[UnknownClancyBrother]

"there's poison underneath the sink of course" so great

[theoriginalpeachpie]

Freaky, frightening, brilliant. 

[123LandNaruto]

What IS he building in there? >:T

[CrunchBogus]

I first listened to this in a car, past midnight, driving through a rural suburb on the border of Tennessee and Georgia. Infinitely creepier.

[OHalliganify]

@CrunchBogus Try being high as shit and sitting in a small, dark room. That was the first time I ever heard this... I thought I was going to die.

[CrunchBogus]

@OHalliganify Yep that'll do it.

[spencermax]

What on God's earth is a "wack shit"? Are these the words of a moron?

[Jimmydeanking1]

@spencermax You're obviously the moron, all it takes is a simple google search for the word "wack" It's not even slang these days, you must be an old fart

[Jimmydeanking1]

why the fuck doesnt this wack shit have a million dislikes

[CrunchBogus]

@Jimmydeanking1 Probably because Tom Waits is awesome, but it's OK if you don't like him :3

[missopan]

He is building a telenautic communicationdevice for the green alien men.. Or a sarcofag casket of paper and cob-web..

[BeckyBeatle]

I'm singing this for the next talent show at school xD

[Rikke0Richard]

Tom, say hi to my friend here David Lynch, i think you are a great match!

[TheNamesChrome]

the narrator needs to work on his scouting

[scaasic]

This video totally sucked.

[AviatorRaptor3]

What is Kenneth Lay building in there?

[AzureMonk]

Perfect Halloween song.

[kipperfeast]

Brilliance

[sarahcool95]

My dad used to play this song for me when i was little and it used to scare me silly!

[fingerthings98]

Lol my teacher showed me this at school and the whole class was like WTF!!!LOL!!:D

[mattybock]

Damn it Tom, I need a hobby.

I was just watching Bob Villa.

[OSemeador]

Now seriously, what the hell is he building in there?

[Acegalaxi]

I think he's building a bridge to get over it.

[achingarasumadre8D]

muse intro 2011 =D origin of symetric

[112334dddasasas]

that is some heavy ass shit! Everything about it is so slimy and twitchy. My senses heighten when listen to this, weird lol

[DigiWarrior7]

This is the most amazing (and at the same time creepiest) thing I've ever seen.

At the beginning, I thought the neighbour was creepy, but then after a while, the guy knew so much about him that you figure he must be stalking him all the time.

[ChannelEdweenier]

When MTV used to be cool.

[xSilverPhinxx]

Everybody knows he's building some device to help him in his plans for world domination, of course!

[hansblitzentube]

This is fucking awesome.

[RedJoe10]

Oh man I saw this video at about 2am on MTV (when they still played music) and it freaked me the fuck out! I was possibly stoned at the time.

[Protactician]

I always play this song now before I play New born. MUSE!

[InfamousTrapper25]

@Protactician they placed this before dead star though...

[Boneidolmatt]

@InfamousTrapper25 They used it as the opening to their Leeds & Reading Festival Slots to celebrate 10 years since the release of Origin of Symmetry and then played Origin Start to finish so that's why @Protactician plays it before New Born .... side note I was at Leeds and it was a great way to kick off their set :)

[InfamousTrapper25]

@Boneidolmatt ohh ok haha i was unaware. and thats awesome! origin of symmetry was a great album

[dave790]

@Boneidolmatt they played this at the beginning of the gigs on the origin tour. see hullabaloo. hence why they came onto it at Reading.

[ElZilchoGrande]

Stupid bastards hung up on "INTRO MUSIZK FROM MUSE OMG!!!!11". Clowns. They arent even worth comparison to Mr Waits.

[GlenMuse795]

@ElZilchoGrande It's an amazing intro though...

[imakeucookies]

my friend just sent me the link to this....and now i'm scared

[camdaman80]

This was the perfect opening for muse at reading :D

[ryandunne123]

@camdaman80 watch hullabaloo the live muse dvd it fits in better on that

[Sipper0]

ORIGIN OF SYMMETRY.

[drummerdude1411]

@Sipper0 READING AND LEEDS

[dave790]

@Sipper0 HULLABALOO! 

[eric94827]

what in the Fuck!!!!.....is he building in there?

[11Kellend]

Brill song to intro Muse at Reading. However it was just as good, maybe even better, for the beginning of Hullabaloo. Well creepy and does get you really curious for whats about to come

[sagaloooo]

@11Kellend Thought this was a brilliant intro for Muse's set at Reading, only thing is though, how is this song connected to Origin of Symmetry? Is there a meaning behind them using it or is there no connection, just a good intro?

[11Kellend]

@sagaloooo Think its just a good intro, I only knew about it because they used it for their Hullabaloo live intro and I don't actually think it had any connection to that show either - but I may look into it :)

[eartant]

Tom is great but I think he borrowed heavily from Ken Nordine ( check out some of his stuff if you don't believe me )

[rapeyadog]

MUSE LEEDS INTRO!! WOOOOO

[spankthezebra]

I was like wtf when this was played at Reading, sooo gooooood. And The silhouettes of the band flashing up on the curtain. I was just like :O:O:O YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHUGRUGHDFO­VBFUVNVKXCVBD <3

[toolbagT]

turns out he was building the most epic intro to a band i have ever seen!!!!!! READING 2011...ill miss you

[Emma8887]

I was like WTHUBDBSBUFUEEUEHE at Leeds. SO fucking amazing. Such a creepy song.

[DanYul55]

an excellent intro for Muse's OoS set last night!! BRILLIANT! xD

what's he BUILDING IN THERE???

[instalation9]

@DanYul55 It was such an amazing intro wasn't it!? When they flashed the lights and you just saw the silhouettes of them, a night I won't forget!

[DanYul55]

@instalation9 great intro, loved the OoS stage and everything was just amazing. Miss it already!

[drummerdude1411]

@DanYul55 I was barrier .. best gig of my life <3

[DanYul55]

@drummerdude1411 same! I was pretty near the front. almost barrier a few times :')

[mindydrummer]

Muse. enough said.

[DanYul55]

@mindydrummer LEEDS FESTIVAL 26.08.11!!!

[mindydrummer]

@DanYul55 bummed i werent there. never forgiving my parents for not letting me go. ):

[DanYul55]

@mindydrummer and so you shouldn't! That sucks, but I reckon they would be better live at one of their own shows, in a mud free arena xD

[mindydrummer]

@DanYul55 they are. saw em at wembley stadium last year. fuckin epic. cant wait for their new album <33

[killerkite333]

its Muse intro way back 2001 thats why they used it yesterday.

[MicroAssasin]

this was amazing at leeds yesterday!!!!!!

[musersliveon]

i love how muse put this as their intro for OoS

[xlaxfleurx2342x]

I AM FUCKING SCARED SHITLESS. MUSE? WHY?

[tade786]

This scared the shit out of me.

[sotodharma]

Mr. Stitches was a real dude that was a neighbor of Tom as a kid.

[natemorey]

who is mr stitches, that is the question.

[bgreman]

20 people don't care what he's building in there.

[jaywhofan]

I saw Tom Waits perform this on tv once, several years ago. It was weird then and it's still weird. Yet, in some strange way I find it oddly brilliant

[LongRangeBullet]

Holy shit, this fucking freaked me out. I love Tom Waits, but COME ON!

[Boissonneault711]

20 peoples know what's he building in there...

[andytoothstone]

"There is also enough formaldehyde to choke a horse"

[goldteefforerbody]

What I find so alluring about this poem is that the teller is just as likely to be the wack job as the man he is watching...if he is even watching anyone at all.

[slugg63]

@goldteefforerbody LOL. I agree. One of my fav Tom Waits. I know lots of people that

watch what the neighbours are doing and I find them far creepier than their neighbours! Someone posted,"Tom Waits, Big Time" on youtube and

somewhere in the "part one to part ten" you can see his full lyrices to

this. If I hadn't stumbled across Tom waits 30 years ago, I'd be a lesser

person today.

[sweetacidmakeup]

This reminds me of "The Lovely Bones" quite a bit. Except in that case, he's actually building a playhouse for the children....

[burtz87]

he's clearly building a go-kart. jesus. get over it.

[BarbedBrock]

That was creepy but cool, and I like how he has a deep voice.

[baileymurch]

whats he building in there

its a coffe table mate

[supermoncho]

there might be 3 or 4 dead hookers there

[lelekoJumboJet]

''What's he building in there?''

He's building your curiosity.

[nomoreusernames1000]

@lelekoJumboJet

Very clever; you're quite right: suspense.

[Minaryth]

When a person can scare you with simple words put in this mood, that's art.

[stuartjamesgemmell]

art yes... but music?

zzz

[72183richard]

fucking classic

[tomaglurjidze]

It scared a shit out of me.

[68blues]

I'de just love to sing (recite) this at a wedding.

" This one's for the bride and groom."

Then savour the stunned silence at the end.

[SuBLiMeEpiiKz]

One of the most terrifying things I've ever heard in my life.

[voiceboxed]

suburban paranoia at its finest

[peskyseagull]

Suddenly, Dead Star. :D

[petelandray]

@peskyseagull I was just thinking that!

[reddiaperbaby]

Think old Tom has a wee bit of the Joe Frank in him.

[TheMUSEicisnecessary]

it´s wierd, but I like it!! ^^

[bloosy]

Catchy tune in this song.

[technologic21]

It's Tyler Durden, and he's building an army.

[maddog1209]

Hes not building a playhouse for the children!!!

[klbasey]

Tonight....you.

-hand banana-

[ryukinthetruck]

@klbasey lol now that I think about it, this sounds like him

[ThreePieceSuite05]

@klbasey Hahahahaha! YES!

[ficticiouschinaman]

@klbasey i wanna be called spaghetti!

[TimeToNutUpOrShutUp]

Is charlie sheen narrating this?

[swbushharris]

P.s. watch the video with the mute button on... nothing sinister at all...

[swbushharris]

I think this says more about the speaker Waits assumes rather than the man. There is nothing directly sinister about the man and what he is doing from the lyrics. He took down a child's swing; doesn't wave much; owns a router. What is sinister is the way in which the speaker interprets the behaviour of the 'other' through a lens of fear. The speaker represents the worst of man's inherent social traits.

Great song!

[CybershamanX]

@swbushharris Isn't it sad that you have to explain this to people? Regardless of what self-assumed level of "enlightenment" that we love to laud, no, to preach, to the rest of humanity, there is still some basic evolutionary instinct in each and every human that denotes something sinister to anything that is "strange" or "out of the ordinary". Especially among our "own". That is why in the past spies have been killed after capture. You see it's really about...what are YOU...building in there?

[1ANDYLANG]

@swbushharris  cheers

[joshbalzary]

This always reminds me of the movie "The Burbs"...

[Wonka275]

There's enough formaldehyde to choke a horse!

[Katnipgyrl]

he is building  a big yellow people carrier

[JaQueetaClamDigga69]

I AGREE WIT @forbabs11 MUH DAUGHTR WUZ KIDNAPPED ND, DO U KNO WUT HER KIDNAPPER WUZ "BUILDIN' N THEY"? A TORCHER CHAMBER! A TORCHER CHAMBER 2 TORCHER MUH DAUGHTR!!! LUCKILY WE GOT HER BAK B4 SHE WUZ TORCHERED ND WE JST LET HIM OFF THA HOOK CUZ HE GAVE ME ENUFF MUNNY 2 BUY CIGARETTEZ ND SUM GROCERIEZ, BUT B WARE! CUZ IF SUM1 WOULD'VE KALLED THA POLICE, HE WOULDN'T NEVR HAV KIDNAPPED HER N THA 1ST PLACE ND I WULDN'T HAV HAD 2 WASTE MUH PRECIOUS TYME 2 TRAK HER BYTCH ASS DOWN.

[forbabs11]

We never know what THEY are building in there, But if it ever seems strange or not normal, call 911. You never know who's life you may be saving!

[carahert]

It's no ones Business what "He is Building in there."

[dazhibernian]

MAYBE he is'nt building anything, MAYBE thats what he wants you to think!

[slangster]

But still, after this song, I wonder; what the fu** is he really building in there! Could be usefull in the future you know!

[luizfmaf]

This song is freaking awesome. I first listened to this while listening to my ipod in shuffle and dead star (live le zenith) by muse started playing, it's in the beginning. It scared the hell out of me when this started out of nothing...

[EnvyChann]

WTF!? It was on my album of Muse! I move back in the first track but I go to far and I fall on this. Seriously, I'm someone who find stupids the stories about ghost, but I was so afraid that I thought that was it (or a story that the guy who speak was dead when he find out what he was building(finaly not xD)) But yeah... What the hell it was doing there ?!

[nonix824]

Maybe he was building Gaga's egg...

[JazzyJonas]

I'm gonna have this song stuck in my head all day...

[cosmicrider287]

@JazzyJonas i whistle this on a regular basis.

[Joltzz1985]

Hahahahhaa. Oh man I love Tom. There i nobody quite like him. Appreciate him for his wonderful creative mind.

[ImprovidentlyAdam]

pillow fort?

[Csp499]

"Christ! Can't a man build a barbecue pit nowadays without his neighbors being so damn paranoid?!"

[KonehoMatt]

@Csp499 Oh... I need to tell that you just made my day with it...

I love "What's he building?" and now I can't stop laughing... ROFL! xD

#FTW

[revsalles]

Is this really a commentary on the strange neighbor? Or is it about us who find it easier to listen to hearsay and make assumptions about people without getting to know them. The scariest line for me is when Tom says "What's he building in there. We have a right to know."

[gormenghast77]

@revsalles Spot on. I always read this song as a commentary on paranoia and suspicion...

[revsalles]

@gormenghast77 By any chance have you taken your username from a book series called Gormenghast? An an intriguing set of readings. I never got to finish them. They had that same essence of loneliness and weird isolation that "What's he building" has.



[gormenghast77]

@revsalles Yup yup! 'Titus Groan' is one of my favourite novels. Thoroughly recommended, if you wanted to revisit them...

[revsalles]

@gormenghast77 Thanks, I will definitely have to do that. I wish I still had my original paperbacks with the illustrations. It was unusual for paperbacks to have such things. Have a great day!

[mikeomniGM]

It sounds like Mark Hamill narrating

[jjpalomino]

IndoNEESia.

[jjpalomino]

This poem always makes me think of my dad!

[TGalinsky]

i was hammering nails into a bat in my room and my dad sent me this on facebook hahaha

[TheInnovativeSam]

Next up on MTV: Jersey Shore

..Sigh

[SombreroJack619]

@TheInnovativeSam You sir are the voice of reason in a horribly backwards world, thank you :D

[tall32guy]

The thing that makes this song disturbing and eerie to me is that there's guys like this in all neighborhoods. You hardly ever see them and when you do they don't talk or if they do talk they seem weird, and they usually live alone with the shades closed all the time. It DOES make you wonder what goes on in their house! LOL It does for me, anyway. Sociopath, mentally ill, and possible murdered are the things that threaten to come to mind when you see guys like that!

[rutgerhauerfan]

@tall32guy Totally true! We had that kind of guy in our neighbourhood when I was little, he was a grown man who had moved in with his parents, he was never saying hello when someone passed him by and according to my parents, he was just... really weird. Apparently, he once came to our house to sell some stuff and he said that if a cat ever entered his yard, he'd shoot it. There's another guy too, who let a store that was next to his own house burn because he "thought someone else would call"...

[FavoretFox]

Such a classic! I love you Waits!!

[iwilleatyounow]

meth lab

[slangster]

YEAH...!

[SixSickSixOfficial]

First time I've ever heard this and I loved every second of it. Tom waits is a phenomenal story teller.

[mennovanos]

This is in the pregap of Muse's CD Hullabaloo CD 2!

[Notesmash]

The most shocking thing about this video is that MTV used to play it.

[kadira1420]

@Notesmash No kidding. Remember when it actually used to be MUSIC Television, and not just Jersey Shore and the Kardashians?

[SimonCoweI]

@kadira1420 Yeah, cos this is really music, right?

[malevc]

@Notesmash That network sure as hell isn't what it used to be. :/

I was kinda surprised the day I found out MTV had its own channel for music videos because MTV proper barely played any.

[RubyBladeAwesome]

@Notesmash ...MTV used to play music videos?

[Skeletorical]

He's writing a song. Is what Waits means.

[this5to1]

a dildo machine

[ehuus0000]

the monsters are due on maple street 

[buttacki]

@ehuus0000

nice call...my mind went to the same place first time I heard it. Maybe "he" was Caude Akins.

[DrHisDudeness]

best

[TheOkayCommenter]

the whistling sounds like hes building a space ship....

[austin830dawg]

What the FUCK is he building in there?

[teamhoneybunny]

he is building still cause his wife likes to drink lol

[tonycree]

the cow is screaming, the cheese is sweating ...

[paulmacmanusa]

fuck me they played this on mtv!times have changed

[rubyrose456]

Tom Waits is FANTASTIC!!!! Thank you!

[awkwardmaniacs]

he's actually building a playhouse for orfaned children

[chan1007]

hes building a closet for 15 people to walk out of

[rikmills]

This video reminds me of Silent Hill. It's awesome!

[CamButler]

The 'burs

[cjg6121]

He is building bird houses you dumb dumbs!

[lurch321]

I think he's building a bone machine.

[SgtPepper1942]

I can feel it!

I feel Tom's world

[xerxes713]

14 people can't figure out what he's building in there.

[superduperbiscuitman]

hes making a friend

[moneymandate]

0:15 Is it just me, or did anyone notice that the window and the two smaller ones above it kind of resemble a face?

[purplebutterflygirl]

@moneymandate - It reminded me of how the windows are on the Amityville House in its face likeness.