Dublin, 1981

Aparentemente, este álbum nunca chegou a ser editado em cd. Segundo li no site oficial do Tom Waits, só existe em LP ou cassete e há muito que se encontra fora de circulação. Eu, na verdade, não tive grande dificuldade em encontrá-lo, mas nunca se sabe…
Bounced Checks é uma espécie de compilação de alguns temas já bem conhecidos (Heartattack and Vine, Tom Traubert’s Blues, entre outros), dois takes alternativos e um único tema original: Mr. Henry.
Para mim, a preciosidade das preciosidades deste álbum (isto apesar de Mr. Henry ser uma belíssima canção) é a versão ao vivo de “The piano has been Drinking”. Gravada em Março de 1981 em Dublin, esta versão, mais falada que cantada, é marcadamente ébria (estou consciente de que esse é um estado habitual do Waits, mas a particularidade do tema em questão faz com que o registo pudesse até ser intencional), e é absolutamente viciante.
Pena é que as restantes faixas sejam iguais aos originais, porque as outras duas versões são boas: Jersey Girl e Whistling past the Graveyard.
Em geito de teaser, fica a transcrição da letra, tal como foi apresentada há 22 anos em Dublin:

The Piano Has Been Drinking
(Live version: Dublin. March, 1981)
Well, the piano has been drinking, my necktie is asleep
and the combo went back to New York, and left me all alone
And the jude-box has to take a leak
Have you noticed that the carpet needs a haircut?
and the spotlight looks just like a prison break
and the the telephone’s out of cigarettes
and as usual, the balcony is on the make
and the piano has been drinking
heavily
And the piano has been drinking, he’s on the hard stuff tonight
The piano has been drinking
And you can’t find your waitress, even with a Geiger counter
And I guarantee you that she will hate you from the bottom of her glass
and all of your friends
But mind you, you just can’t get served without her
And the piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking
The lightman was blind in one eye and he can’t see out of the other
The piano-tuner has got a hearing aid and he showed up with his mother
And the piano has been drinking
Without fear of contradiction I say:
the piano has been drinking
Our Father who areth in Cribari
hallowed it be
Thy glass, thy kingdom come, I will be done
Ah yeah, as it is in the lounges
Give us this day our daily splash
Forgive us our hangovers
as we forgive all those who continue to hang over against us
And lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil
and someone give us all a ride home
Cause the piano has been drinking
and he’s your friend not mine
The piano has been drinking
and he’s not my responsibility
The bouncer is this Sumo wrestler, kinda cream-puff Casper Milktoast
And the owner is just a mental midget with the I.Q. of a fence post
And I’m going down
Hang on to me, I’m going down
Watch me skate across an acre of linoleum
I know I can do it
I’m in total control
And the piano has been drinking
and he is embarrassing me
The piano has been drinking
he raided his mini bar
The piano has been drinking
And the bar stools are all on fire
and all the newspapers were just fooling
and the ashtrays have retired
and I’ve got a feeling that the piano has been drinking
It’s just a hunch
The piano has been drinking
and he’s going to lose his lunch
And the piano has been drinking
not me
not me
The piano has been drinking
not me
Written by: Tom Waits
Published by: Fifth Floor Music (ASCAP ), © 1976
Official release: “Bounced Checks”, WEA/ Asylum Records, 1981(6)
Transcrito a partir deste site.

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