Tom Waits - Martha (album version)

[stanollie65]

This is the only song i've ever heard that makes me cry every single time i hear it. It's almost unbearably moving in every way..the words, the melody, the voice, the piano..all individual parts of a masterpiece which stirs an amazing range of emotions. I've never really been into naming " all time favourite songs", but i've decided lately that this is the one.....

[iamafreebitchbaby]

his wife wrote this song.

[c4r50n1]

@iamafreebitchbaby He got married in 1980. This came out in 1973.

[erinfrigginsena]

I just sketched an art piece regarding this song. I got an A :)

[damunch1]

also say Hi to Finnoan Casey. .. . .. .

[damunch1]

ed hunt . .think of you in caherdaniel. .wishing you the best

[whistlinginmyears]

I think my relationship is about to fail because in part at least to her "Martha" who is like "the elephant in the corner of the room". I am not sure if I have a "Martha", but instead several who might have been had I had the courage to say what I felt. I am much older now, but sadly only a little wiser, but increasingly resigned to a single future.

[IdLoveToBeWithYou]

I can't help but wonder what would we do if we could go back and have our "Martha's" we all still yearn so desperately for. How would our/my lives be different? What if? Well I think we can say thank you to Tom for reminding us how much we loved in life but thank you Garth for The Thank God For Unanswered Prayers...I love my life and I will never forget my Martha ever and he taught me how to truly pass on the LOVE and the HOPE :) You Tom too are my Martha!!!!!!

[bretto444]

I love this song so much, I'm going to name my first born daughter after it...

Tom!

[obtrusively]

Hard to believe this was recorded nearly 40 years ago, I was 5.

[seanpawlik]

Tom is a genius and my girlfriends' name is Martha...need I say more ?

[summermoon121]

I got in touch with my Martha after 30 years and he told me about listening to this song when we broke up. I still love him so much but he has, of course, moved on. I can't stop myself from listening to this amazing song and remembering 'quiet evenings, trembling close to you'

[TWILIGHT112366]

My name is MARTHA ;) Never have liked my name but I love this song 1st time I heard it.

[amgd15]

@TWILIGHT112366 MARTHA is such a beautiful name.

[Arfur78]

My Martha is married with a kid! How do you deal with that without someone like Tom Waits to get you through......

[heimatland100]

what the hell it is the beautiful sounds like an alcoholic with laryngeal cancer

[Anttygravity]

MY NAMES MARTHA!!!!! I was named after this song!!!!

[ElviraInYourFace]

We all have a Martha.

Mine is Christophe - we loved each other from the moment we met, shared everything, and being together was not possible. Just not meant to be. We still love each other. We hadn't been in touch for years, but he wrote me a month ago. We're going to meet up in Paris and talk about it all..

[DerMeister3000]

i like that chorus in the background at 3:31 :) :D

very beautiful song

[danyjr]

Fantastic song!

[MrPeterified]

This song seems like a mix of Jim Croce's "Time in a bottle" and "Operator"

[wegotforever]

This Martha's heart aches for her Michael. There will never be another.

[TheRyanh17]

Skizzy Mars has great taste in music

[MissMarthaable]

Beautiful. Was looking up my name, and thought I would listen. You should never get bored with yourself. There are so many ways to analyze in a growing/spiritual way.

[256timoteo]

bella!!!!!!

[Rosekate68]

Really love this! a true classic...

[CreepyPeepee]

I still can't listen to this song without shedding a tear.

[lowcomedy]

Can't...speak...too...beautifu­l.

[TheZombieLibrarian]

Tom is an old soul. I think he "got" love, heartache, and nostalgia at a very early age.

[KurtDucozCobain]

Awesome song, has something winterish over it..!

[jimmy2minutes]

Who is your Martha? she thinks about you! and you about her!

[Luc88Cole]

2 people dislike their first love.

[RSgiovani666]

this is the first video i've ever seen with such likes/dislikes.

that says something...

[bonavox11]

Tom Waits is a genious on writing this masterpiece, nothing less ..! Every adult can relate in some way to his 'martha' . We all have a 'martha' somewhere, don't we ..? I always think of my 'martha' listening to this and sometimes I look her up on facebook, but I haven't heard her for 10 years and I'm afraid to make 'live' contact, but here, with this song, she's with me for 4:32 minutes .. I still love you, my 'martha' ..

[calmbeforethestory]

@bonavox11 Send an e-mail. If love's unrequited, it's love all the same. If something happens, something happens. If nothing happens happens, nothing happens. But either way you're not just sitting around wondering.

[graciebeaty11]

heard this song thousands of times, and it never fails to pull on my heart strings and bring a tear to my eye. waits, you're magic.

[RomeoAloneo]

Hi all....I'm new to this . And I have a video on here. I need some hits! I figured I' m a bit like Tom in my writing so I hope you like it. Please comment on my vid page...Thanks!

[jenandthumper]

ooh that one really hit me...i had it on whilst making my tea...crying into my pasta. blimey. xxxx

[TheGockelgorski]

Makes me happy, I can never enough hear of this.

[Zweinsteiner]

Used the lyrics for our weddingcard almost thirty years ago....this song deeply moves me

[mjl4751]

One of the most beautiful songs ever written...all I can say.

[iancurtisfanatic]

i was 7 when i heard this song im 12 now...i cried ....like if you cried the first time you heard that

[Spotifaded]

Oh good lord! It's so damn good!

[Deborahleeroney]

I had never heard this song until my college sweetheart shared it with me not too long ago. We are recently in touch and have actually met for coffee and "talked about it all" on a few occasions. We both realize that although we are each happily married (to other loves) and have children and very full lives, the powerful connection that we had "back then" can never be replaced. Tom Waits expresses this somewhat universal experience beautifully.

[northerbrewer]

@Deborahleeroney

I don't know if I could do that although I think about her from time to time.

I am not that person anymore, nor do I expect is she.....

[danielsylvester]

Tom Waits is the most talented lyricist I have ever heard and I heard a lot. His music is hauntingly beautiful as well. I also love all the different things he can do with is voice...He seems to have a new one for each album. Years ago someone said you like Springsteen maybe you'll like this guy. I heard one song and was hooked for life. He is my absolute favorite.

[liam122777]

I''m so hung with this song. Want to meet you!



[herbpable]

i am still hung up on THAT being a MAN shit and I am older than dirt . What constitutes a man ?

[vistameesta]

Whatever you're into....alternative, indie, americana, hip hop, folk, pop, jazz, blues, punk, reggae, country ...etc...whatever it is ...at some point in your life you will appreciate the sensitive beauty of this song. Timeless. 

[jdidnoid]

Good, but I prefer Tim Buckleys rendition of it.

[jamesfriel2000]

I know which kind of people I am.

[iamafreebitchbaby]

i want to contact him so bad, but i don't want to ruin his happiness.

[steve816100]

This is a song for people who feel like there heart has been walked all over by a fat guy wearing golf shoes.

[philduck]

Don't listen to this song after a few glasses of wine. It will make you feel nostalgic for your old love. Such a beautiful song.

[ArcanaXVI]

Listened to Waits' songs for some time now. Decent enough time for my generation, anyway. I stumbled upon his songs and his voice around the time most contact was severed with a girl who I loved by this same name. I still feel the same way about her, and it hurts to see her with another guy. I am still happy for her and wish her the best of times with him. She's safe with him, at least.

[zuccottina]

Marta is the name of the woman I love.

But she doesn't know that I love her.

This is HER song...

[schaag]

@zuccottina

i would go and tell her ;-)

[zuccottina]

@schaag

I can't, she is married and she has two children...and I'm 18.

This is life. :)

[schaag]

@zuccottina

still the same advice...what could badly happen?

[bonavox11]

@zuccottina Then stop listening this song and go and tell her !!

Otherwise you'll end up like me and listen to this song every day with tears in your eyes and wondering what could've been ... Go for it man .. !!

[ilikeblondie]

this song is about a man who had loved someone years ago, which he still loves her, and she forgot about him long ago....right??

[1968kayla]

I love tom waits .. takes me back to another time (long time ago) ... I was so pleased( and a bit worried) when my 17 year old nephew told me that this was a song that hit his heart. .... always loved Tom

[ChocolateJesus101]

beautiful my favourite tom waits song but then again all his songs are my favourites.

[Emililija]

It may be because when you love someone at one point of your life, in a way you can never stop loving them.

[herbpable]

 Does she yet breathe ? I am merely a shade in memory/she won't remember me-and will DENY me

[JesseTheDoorman]

This makes me wish I was David Wyn Casey.

[napalaikka]

pure gold

[TheNeodog]

Thanks Tom......I am older now and still this song has resonance

[acehole7]

this is an ode to true love

[hennerslecat]

Most beautiful song.

[joanlagoy]

I love Tom....

[Zeneternity]

Thank you for this reminder. I hadn't heard Tom Waits in some time. It reminds me of just how soulful, beautiful and sad, and maddingly glorious life can be.

[EoinByrneMusic]

And those were days of roses <3

[bigtomcatstilles]

my martha name was kristin and all i have is what would have been but i do remember the quiet evenings

Trembling close to Her FSD TOM

[TheAccelerated]

Simply one of the best albums ever produced

[guruthom]

I never heard this song till a month ago.It is my life right now.I never knew that after 30 years I would have such strong feelings for my past lover.Life and love are beautiful.

[whatevah13]

Martha, Martha, I love you, can't you see? My heart still aches for her (thank you Mr. Waits) els

[davidwins0]

This song tells us that pain is for the heart to remember that it is a heart. It makes me long for love, and that is why, in a strange way, the pain from this song soothes me.

[drtbgcsnova]

your not alone desoto...



[desotowright]

Tom Waits is the only man who's songs like this can make me cry so deeply.

[herbpable]

I still remember my first love's phone # 35 years after she tore me apart . Why I am indeed , much older, i feel NO more Mature or enlightened .

[kaakun358]

なんて美しい曲だろうか！なんか悲しい。切なさが出てていい。や­っぱりTomｗａｉｔｓ最高！ほとんどお気に入り。

[jammydodgers1000]

This song puts out soft hands, that stroke my cheek and cradle my weary head...the most beautiful thing I've ever heard.

[AlfSpungie]

Christ, I just teared up to this. That was a weird experience, never really happened to me before. What a beauty this song is..

[plaster011]

still got this album on vinyl,love listening to it even with the scratches,just seems to add to the atmosphere

[CherryViz]

Say the world was falling apart.

I would still be at peace while listening to this...~

[dubb1995]

If a song makes me cry, then to me, it's a truly great song.....from the piano intro to the unforgettable final lyric this makes me weep and weep.

[pipinderplop]

To my Tom Frost sadly you are no longer with me. You sang this to me a lot, never got why till later. But it helps to hear it now and again, and although we were never meant to be , I will always have this song to remind me of the happiness we shared . RIP xx

[crystalwoman1]

Beautiful love song, I don't think any man has had my back so tightly.

[Mjolbaggar]

Amazing how a 23- year old could write something like this.

[Luc88Cole]

@Mjolbaggar

Shit... I had better come out with my debut album pretty quick here.

[Illyriansounds]

There's something I wonder... is Tom WILLING to call her. I mean by that : "It's been so many years.. WILL she remember my voice, while I fight the tears...?" Does that actually mean that he doesn't dare to give the call he's about to do and just imagines on what he would say if she was on the call?

[dvall1000]

@Illyriansounds Nice!!!!! I like to think "will she remember my old voice?" is the voice of his final fear AS he is dialing. The next line is, "hello, hello there" and then, to me, a real conversation happens. I like to think it is a glimpse into a man filled w/ pain, love, and reminiscence.

I love Tom Waits.

[MrCainandabel]

I'm in my late 50s now but Christ this takes me way back to innocence, summer nights, bravado, youth, dreams and the first time............doesn't life suck?

[pattonPwr]

I cried the 3rd time after listening to this...

[catojoergensen1985]

I just want a person who really loves me and one who can handle all my love. No matter what, I love all you guys who listen to this song and get touched. You are me. And I am you.

[wizardofwaste]

I put this with John Prine's "Hello in There", Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" and Harry Chapin's "A Better Place to Be" as music impossible for people in their 20s to have written, but that somehow were. I'm jealous of their emotional sensitivity at a time when I was so "young and foolish". Any others?

[vistameesta]

@wizardofwaste

good call. I would also add Bob Dylan's dream. I heard it in my twenties but man, it means so much more now I am older.

[fitieke]

goosebumps every time...

[geppettocumquat]

The sublime bittersweet feeling of remembering the loves of our youth. This song is impressive not only because he wroe it in his younger days but the chorus changes key and tempo and works. Not only works but increases its impact. And ending on a stunted verse line just leaves you beautifully aching. The only other songwriters that have had that effect on me are Leonard Cohen, Randy Newman, Cole Kitz, and John Lennon.

[MillieMoomin]

@geppettocumquat Good shout, Waits & Cohen are my 2 biggest heartbreakers.

[barrielyons]

its pouring rain outside as i write this... i wish i had a martha :) TW makes me wanna love someone!

[dirkbogarde44]

@barrielyons My Martha found me again after many years. She's married, with kids but I'm not. Nothing's changed but in reality, everything. Life I guess.

[orsha1000]

@dirkbogarde44 Life I guess. Meeting your Martha just by chance again is too much of a co-incidence. Maybe it's a different kind of connection, older than time of just this lifetime.

[pmfzero]

I so love my Martha, my very special BFF :))

[ricottasici]

i got a lot memories whit this amazing song :)

[catojoergensen1985]

My Martha will never understand me, nor true love...

[willfybaby]

I miss my Martha!

[benjinut]

Neck. Hairs. Standing. 

[iaingannon]

such a gruff rough yet beautiful voice a legend, genius, maestro, call it what you will every heart deserves a martha

[johvahn]

I was 13 (1993) when I first heard Closing Time. Ive been hooked ever since. His voice compares to no other. A true vocal and lyrical genius. This brings back so many fond memories.

[funkycat06]

cant believ ei hadnt heard it till last night ! beautiful!

[jahrabina]

powodujesz, że moje myśli i ciło i dusza, wchodzą w stan absolutnej tęsknoty za Tobą, tak samo mroczny, nieosiągalny, magicznie genialny i obojetny

[joanlagoy]

My favorite Tom song....I think...

[PennyTraition]

AND...Those were the days of roses, poetry and prose, And Martha, All I had was you and all you had was me...There was no tomorrows, we packed away our sorrows And we saved them for a rainy day...

Exquisite,beautiful,moving.I had two Marthas, a 'Marvin' and a Martha.

I am indebted to you Shumway31 for uploading this. A million 'thumbs up' (or stars, as 'twas once).Thank you....X

[Vaukan89]

The world divides into two kind of people... those who were deeply moved by this song and those who still need to hear it.

[stevostoys]

@Vaukan89 WELL SAID!! This song has been breaking my heart since 1987!!



[bonavox11]

@Vaukan89 I couldn't have said it better .. Amen ..!

[skontch1]

@Vaukan89 ...well put my friend. couldn't agree more...

[michelleoooooo]

is it just me or does this song not remind me of lostb love?

[ruffian1868]

Tear stained pillows offer no comfort after hearing a song like this for the first time.

[theahavem]

This song gives me harmony.

[sulokokhreidze]

perfect

[milosamizdat]

My Martha's name is Shannon. We're fellow facebook friends after a decade of being out of touch. I don't think she has any idea.

[wizardofwaste]

Tom Waits is America's greatest poet.

[BrianGriffin83]

@wizardofwaste Without forgetting Bruce Springsteen...

[leisurelydinner]

@BrianGriffin83 Springstein's terrible. Too much cheese for my liking.

[BrianGriffin83]

@leisurelydinner Wash your mouth before talking 'bout the Boss!!!

[orlaighfinn]

best and only version

[shomz101]

My Martha is called Pippa<3, got in touch with her the other day. Tom

[MrBunnerabb]

Her name is Wanda, btw.

[MrBunnerabb]

We all want to go home. I often where that is. Sometimes her name is Martha.

[2jobes]

Dear Mr samstubbs, your words are better than mine.

[2jobes]

strange how things stay with you for so long but the emotions stay the same.Martha be is one of those thingstions stay the same.Martha whoever she might be is one of those things.

[Scinauticando]

My Martha is actually called Marta... just got in touch with her after four years... beautiful. Thanks Tom

[dave2806]

my martha is called lynn . mr waits is beyond words a lot of the time , you have to feel him not just hear him .

[tpoucat]

This is the only song ever that consistently makes me cry within the first minute.

[TheNellamaria]

too beautiful to be a real song!!!!

[redcoat4ever]

raw. hits to the bone. but with an honesty and openness that cannot be denied.

[kawuniadarunia2]

This is probabbly the most beautiful song about love ever written.

[DaisyDarling]

Just that opening piano makes me feel empty, and soon after that i begin to cry.

[RyGuy913]

@DaisyDarling

Yeah, that opening piano starts setting in the melancholy, all by itself. What an incredible song!

[niallon]

Two colour blind people attempted to like this video and failed. THE greatest song ever written

[tommytimiv]

This is so good

[Mr16shadows]

There's something about his music that brings to light the darkness. It's beautiful.

[slangster]

Dear, Tom!

Can you please visit Norway soon?

Sincerely Slangster

[Nineteen58Fury]

Its a luv hate with this. Such great memories yet such sadness and loss.

[Smartiiii3003]

My name is Martha YAAAAYY :D

[carlkirwan46]

@Smartiiii3003

I thought your name was Smartiiii3003.... no? lol

[ThePaulbrennan]

@Smartiiii3003 Hi martha this is tom frost

[artsybookworm]

Tom and Martha are featured in From Above by Ben Folds and Nick Hornby. Both of the songs are so sweet. I love them.

[0deca]

DAG KLEIN JADEKE :p

[TheSandboxes]

@0deca

HALLO!!! Alles goed?

[munsterman241]

Great tune!!

[flikkerlicht]

the one robot who could not love has brought his robot brother or sister! wtf a second dislike... the world is really going mad..

[IspiniDochreidte]

@nottoberemembered - that hotel was hardly the Hayfield Manor?!

[Martabgd]

I'm so glad that i'm finally find a song about my name :) ...plus it's so beautiful and touching!

[avo4077]

brilliant song....brilliant artist....just put tom waits in front of a piano in a small pub and i could drink all night. does anyone know what the last lyric means(trembling close to you)?

[26carol]

@avo4077 I presume it's shaking after sex...

[AnAverageFiend]

WHO THE FUCK DISLIKED THIS SONG

[mickculleton1]

@AnAverageFiend I respect all opinions ...... even those of the clown who disliked this song!!!!!

[thhesouunds]

tom waits is a genius.

[Iedu55]

este o melodie pentru tine, Mo azi de 18 ianuarie 2011

[Illyriansounds]

Damn it... 1 ... just 1 dislike !!!! Please, show up and tell us that you missed the right side!!! (:

[Marxfan58]

one person is a robot, and can't love, lol.

[MoonAndAntarctica3]

I love hearing Tom Waits' voice in its earliest recognizable form sing about his "old voice".

[Wackenopenairfan]

I love this song :):)

[CountryFordGirl26]

I love this song:) Tom Waits is great, but I must say (this is just my opinion), I like Meat Loaf's version better, probably just because of the emotion he puts into the song. But anyways, this is great:)

[dbar1086]

@CountryFordGirl26 I went and listened to the MeatLoaf version just there as i wasnt aware of one. WTF?!? This is miles better!!!

@dbar1086 Thanks for your opinion, I was just stating mine. There is no "better" version.