Tom Waits, ‘Soldier’s Things’ – Songs About Soldiers

What's interesting about this tune from 'Swordfishtrombones' -- the 1983 album that saw Tom Waits trade his lounge-lizard piano-balladeer persona for the crazy carnival barker he's played ever since -- is what the lyrics don't tell us. Essentially, the song is a yard-sale pitch, a listing of items that once belonged to a soldier. Whether he died in combat or came home and lived until old age is open to debate, but either way, his life has been reduced to odds and ends ("cufflinks and hub caps / trophies and paperbacks") priced at a buck apiece. Even the medal he received for bravery winds up in the box, and that image, coupled with the somber piano, makes for a heartbreaking commentary on the fleetingness of human life.

Listen to Tom Waits' 'Soldier's Things'