Tom Waits - "Road To Peace"

[@mahammadhoogla-kalfat1122]

Oh my god. This song. Now.

[@ddh2o759]

Profound when it was written, more so today.

[@mrm1987]

"though thousands dead and wounded on both sides most of them Middle Eastern civilians they fill their children full of hate to fight an old man's war and die upon the road to peace this is our land we will fight with all our force say the Palastinians and the Jews and each side will cut off the hand of anyone who tries to stop the resistance if the right eye offends thee" Never gets old... :(

[@kilosierra9391]

I got my hands on and listened Orphans the day before this most recent spat between Israel and Palestine. What timing that turned out to be!

[@brendantynan2438]

Sadly this is more relevant today than when he wrote it.

[@MS-ep2cq]

Anyone else think of this one today?

[@NeilTaylor1]

Sadly as relevant today as it was when he wrote it.

[@boneytony5041]

And still. Only Israel can help Palestine.

[@swiernalswiernal]

Especially today

[@prsee5969]

Putting “fighting an old man’s war” to another level

[@nathanielball365]

I can't believe how prophetic these lyrics turned out to be with what's going on right now between isreal and Palastine!! Incredible song writing!! Love Tom and Katherine's poetry!

[@michaelowen4582]

Carry on, whoever you are. You are the substance of hope.

[@jackchandelier]

It was going on when he wrote it too. It never stopped!

[@michaelyarbrough2278]

Still relevant today😢

[@LilFeyaLynnBarrett]

These lyrics always get to me possibly my favourite Tom Waits sing. Love the way he expresses his thoughts. A very underrated artist.

[@renacleerican7824]

Just discovered this song. Without understanding the lyrics first. Then the words brought me tears of despair.

[@leonardoramirez579]

Definitivamente Tom Waits es simplemente relevante sin importar la época en la que lo decidas escuchar

[@boneytony5041]

The road is long and untended by the peaceful.

[@Mike-gx8ej]

Some things never change

[@andygrenn680]

One of Waits great dance floor songs…all about the motion…

[@jluther1755]

Waits, you are one Unique Genius Sir.

[@jabeshothello6217]

Relevant. Road to peace takes sacrifice, not hatred to justification.

[@andrewthomas3270]

Ever since I bought the 3 CD Orphans Set when it was released this song Hit me straight between the eyes even if it must have been written in the 1990s I guess. To me the Lyrics are maybe the best and most insightful that Katherine has ever written. Genius IMO

[@raissaleal9993]

So sad and impressive how its relevant today 😢

[@stdnbl]

My favorite song on Orphans. The eruption of emotions and a finger in an eye.

[@clumsydad7158]

the road to peace is shot to hell ... but it's still there under your feet if you care to look

[@mandaparrish446]

Every story has its end.

[@Michael-wf8wh]

Mr. Waits wife did her homework for this tune she is a historical list for Coppola when she meet Tom 7:18

[@triplucid3563]

That road to peace sure is littered with violently dead bodies

[@hbholliday]

In hindsight I think the song comes across as too ‘on the fence’. Especially since the blockade and IDF’s operations over the last 18 years, and now the current event. Unfairly, the song doesn’t consider the decades of settler colonial history and reasons for resistance violence. I feel like it has lost its magic, its power and its message. Tom remains one of my all-time favourite artists

[@michaelowen4582]

I think he's not in the role of a diplomat, but rather one stuck with the results of dipolmatic failure.

[@abelashes2676]

You do know that Arab resistance to what was at the time peaceful Jewish immigration to Palestine began in 1920 with the Tal Hai massacre and the Nebi Musa Riots, 1921 with the Jaffa Riots, and 1929 with the Palestinian Riots which included the massacre of Palestinian non-Zionist Jews in Hebron, the Arab war against Jews and British from 1936 to 1947 and the Zionist war against British and Arabs from 1939 to 1947. It didn't start in 1948. The partition was due to Arabs and Jews killing each other for 27 years and killing the British who were trying to keep the peace.

[@hbholliday]

@@abelashes2676 Ok you have simply decided to call it "peaceful immigration". And then, you proceed to list off decades of conflict that resulted from this "peaceful immigration" (?). It wasn't peaceful, 1920s marked the beginnings of the Zionist immigration into Palestine. And British trying to "keep the peace" - how, by further reducing indigenous land rights? Why TF were Britain sticking their noses in their in the first place? Britain are not peace-keepers (no Western Powers ever have been). The notion of both Zionsim and British Colonialism is to extend Europe outwards into other parts of the world - Africa, Middle East, etc. Whether you consider early Zionist migration as colonialism is debatable, but it certainly rode the wave of colonialism in the way it viewed itself and how it viewed indigenous populations.

[@izaakbakker9531]

the start of the palestine conflict = Europe tried to kill all the jews, felt embarassed and decided to dump the jewish people elsewhere ..(not entirely dissimilar to marcus garvey's ideas of returning to ethiopia) What do you mean there s people living there? oh there s a british terrorist organisation that think they should be there. Let s call it israel even though it s already called palestine. ah but you are chosen, you can just get the law to be on your side.

[@ecyranot]

@@abelashes2676 Of course he knows that. That's why he has such a strong opinion. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing to have a strong opinion on such a complex issue without knowing all of the history and nuance involved. No one would do that. (Just in case you missed it, that was tongue in cheek. That's all we get these days, strong opinions with little understanding.

[@ladidadaah]

Shit Tom! i should say Kathleen too.. you just get better with age, you'll live forever my friends. Height, Depth, Breadth, width, Length... I feel like a little kid listening to storytime...

[@ecyranot]

The beat is great but the guitar is the key. Focus on the guitar, even in the background. It has a vibrato that sounds to me middle eastern, and that vibrato really suggests the persistence of middle eastern violence, and its effects beyond the road to peace.

[@villaadamarammedearth5259]

I wonder what made Tom write such a song?

[@mrtrashcompaktor1540]

he has a heart

[@tedhayley3426]

@@mrtrashcompaktor1540 Hi Didn,t

[@orfeo793]

Probably the 2006 Israel-Gaza conflict or at least what led up to/proceeded it.

[@ecyranot]

I'll respond to "such a song." I agree, it's different from almost all his music. It's rare that he puts such literal information in his lyrics. He's usually oblique. Must be he decided for this real subject it would be more powerful with straightup reality as reflected in the newspapers.

[@alkingsmill]

Only 48k views for this yet 1 million+ for 'Americans trying European school dinners' :)

[@couvegalega]

There are no "both sides" here - it's an occupation, and a resistance to that occupation.

[@ecyranot]

That view is a sure way of never solving the problem.

[@ecyranot]

Amen.

[@olagilani9425]

I love Tom Waits, but the lyrics are written by someone who gets his information from watching the American News channels and gives a blind eye to the true history and reality of Palestine.

[@waitsbian]

from the river to the sea, palestine will be free

[@pickinthatbanjo]

Not in this lifetime that's for damn sure

[@ecyranot]

@@pickinthatbanjo Another way not to ever solve the problem. Do you actually care about all the dead people?

[@WyattoneMusicalli]

"And if God is great and God is good why cant he change the hearts of Man?". ...answer: its a little thing called free will. Or "Maybe God himself needs all or our help out along the road to peace.". Free Will: I woke upthis morning and decided NOT to blow myself up at the local cafe.

[@rlsn30]

Alas this most poignant song of yours still rings true. The US is still arming, aiding, and abetting Israel while civilians on both sides are still dying, and Palestinians are still being oppressed, having their homes and land stolen all on the road to peace…

[@olagilani9425]

Well, Palestinians are only defending their country. Free Palestine 🇵🇸

[@tacituskilgore2851]

Remember when circus clowns called him antisemitic for this