Desiring Machine

I have been listening to Tom Waits’ latest effort “Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, & Bastards”. Far and away my favorite track is The Long Way Home. Norah Jones covered this song on her second album but Tom Waits’ version is much, much, more haunting and sadly beautiful. My favorite line of all time is in this song:

Got a head full of lightning
A hat full of rain

What a succint way to sum up existence and individual experience. Running and bumping around full of ideas but rarely the time, means, or opportunity to actualize our dreams. The droning pace of existence can be unbearable at times for the inspired and excited. So many ways in which our mind is telling us yes (the lightning) and so many times reality and the world puts up roadblocks of no (the rain).

If I seem scattered, uncertain, manic or depressed its all because I have a head full of lightning and a hat full of rain.