A prime example of that kind of cinematic storytelling that Waits is so well-known for. Feature-length film noir in 7 minutes of music. And it haunts you.
You know what's really scary? The barn is real. Waits wrote the song after reading a newspaper article. It is a stout 2 story wooden cabin fitted out as a slave prison with iron barred windows and hooks inside. It survived for 200 years because it was hidden inside a larger tobacco barn in Kentucky. It has since been dismantled and moved to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. In mid 19th century, with the huge growth of the cotton industry demand for slaves grew. The Atlantic slave trade was winding down since Britain abolished it in 1834. Therefore the slaves who had been working the tobacco fields were shipped on barges (flatboats) down the Mississippi to the slave market at Natchez where they were sold to the cotton farmers. And yes the landowner really has found chains while plowing.
This is one of those songs that, after hearing it for the first time, was entered into my list of top 10 greatest songs, and it has stayed there ever since.
...you guys ought to hear my Grandson and I sing this, he sings the background Whoo Haaa and "Yes Sir" while I make sure the list gets checked off... "Did you cover your tracks?" cutest thing you've ever seen.
Poetry! He writes soooo well you can literally see the scene he’s painting. You can actually feel the terror and shivers. He recorded the background sounds in his bathroom for the echoing effect! He’s a genius! Also my dad introduced me and my little sister to Mr Waits at a young age and we have such fond memories of this song in particular. He used to also call himself “Everett Lee” on social media 😂
I'm an old dude almost 80...just an ordinary working stiff but I always feel wonderful when I see my adult daughter's collection of music that I listened too as she grew up ..including Muddy Waters and Tom Waits.
Don't go into that barn, yea I said: don't go into that barn, yea Black cellophane sky at midnite A big blue moon with three gold rings I called Champion to the window I pointed up above the trees That's when I heard my name in a scream Coming from the woods, out there I let my dog run off the chain I locked my door real good with a chair Don't go into that barn, yea I said: don't go into that barn, yea Everett Lee broke loose again, It's worse than the time before Because he's high on potato and tulip wine Fermented in the muddy rain, of course A drunken wail, a drunken train Blew through the birdless trees Oh, you're alone alright You're alone alright How did I know How did I know Don't go into that barn, yea I said: don't go into that barn, yea An old black tree, scratching up the sky With boney, claw like fingers A rusty black rake Digging up the turnips of a muddy cold grey sky Shiny tooth talons Coiled for grabbing a stranger happening by And the day went home early And the sun sank down into the muck of a deep dead sky Don't go into that barn, yea I said: don't go into that barn, yea Back since Saginaw Calinda was born, It's been cotton and soyabeans, tobacco and corn Behind the porticoed house of a long dead farm They found the falling down timbers Of a spooky old barn Out there like a slave ship upside down Wrecked beneath the waves of grain When the river is low They find old bones and When they plow they always dig up chains Don't go into that barn, yea I said: don't go into that barn, yea Did you bury your fire? Yes sir! Did you cover your tracks? Yes sir! Did you bring your knife? Yes sir! Did they see your face? No sir! Did the moon see you? No sir! Did you go cross the river? Yes sir! Did you fix your rake? Yes sir! Did you stay down wind? Yes sir! Did you hide your gun? Yes sir! Did you smuggle your rum? Yes sir! I said: how did I know How did I know How did I know Don't go into that barn, yea I said: don't go into that barn, yea Don't forget that I warned you I said: don't go into that barn, yea Don't go into that barn, yea I said: don't go into that barn, yea No shirt, no coat Take me on a flat boat Dover down to Covington Covington to Louisville Louisville to Henderson Henderson to Smithland Smithland to Memphis Memphis down to Vicksburg Vicksburg to Natchez Going down to Natchez Take me on a flat boat Dover Dam to Covington Covington to Louisville Louisville to Henderson Henderson to
Ive been listening to this song for as long as it's been out. 2004 i believe. God, it still gives me shivers just listening to this. My favorite of all his songs. Hoist that rag takes second. I just love his voice.
20th century's renaissance man. He lived into the 21st century, but like Tom, I'm a 20th century man at heart. I can't claim to be a renaissance man, like Tom Waits is.
About 2 years ago a buddy and myself were playing pool next to an obnoxious group of girls who, after the span of about an hour and a half, were on their 5th spin of "Fly like a G6." I went to the jukebox that fortunately had internet search capabilities and searched for any music that would be the polar opposite of that song and unfortunately they didn't have anything extreme. No Throbbing Gristle, Cannibal Corpse or Melt-Banana. Desperate for any song that would get a reaction I searched for The Black Dahlia Murder but alas they did not carry it. They did however suggest I listen to this song based on my search. I was perplexed but I accepted the substitution. I was on a big Waits kick myself so I figured at best I could be a little self-indulgent and listen to something i like. I shelled out the $3.50 to interrupt the current song to play this song but believe me, it was so worth it. You should have seen the mood of the bar instantly change. This song isn't even that weird but it was almost if the bar got just a little bit darker and quieter in one magic moment. The aforementioned girls, confused at the sounds that they were being exposed to, struggled to wrangle up the quarters necessary to interrupt my song. I wondered if they would have to pay more to play their song kinda like a bidding war and I never heard what song they played.. me and my buddy paid our bills and left cracking up while nobody else got whatever joke we were trying to make. To quote a wise man, "Lol, Cool story bro."
christoph davis A better ending to the story would have been for the girls to have an epiphany and really get into Tom Waits. That would have been pretty great.
christoph davis This is how life-long love-affairs with music begin, through mistake and chance. Tom Waits tends to gather listeners that way more than anyone else.
ThatHauntFreak2 It's actually inspired by a newspaper article he read about an old slave jail concealed in a tobacco barn in Northern Kentucky, so yeah, multiple murders... and much worse. This song is absolutely fucking brilliant, and equally as chilling. I remember the feeling first time I listened to it, being covered in chill bumps after... and not sleeping a damn wink that night. Intense and incredibly poignant stuff!
"It was an eight-mile trek down the Walton Pike to the landing at Dover, Ky., where they would board flatboats for a perilous 1,150-mile journey: Dover to Covington, Covington to Louisville, Louisville to Henderson, Henderson to Smithland, Smithland to Memphis, Memphis to Vicksburg, Miss., and on to the infamous Natchez slave market."
Does anyone know why the lyrics to this song and others off Real Gone are straight-up wrong on both Tom Waits' website and the CD booklet? They both say the lyrics are "Did the Mom see you?" and not only does that not make any sense, it's not even ambiguous-sounding. Like, it's very clearly "Did the moon see you?". This and a few others from this album are driving me absolutely bonkers, the booklet and website are riddled with obvious errors and I don't understand it
Even discounting the last minute of dead silence, why is this version longer than the official song and why does it start and end differently? The album track starts with a droning note and fades out like a full second shorter. You can hear him go on a bit longer at the end here.
The currently available "official" version of this song (and this whole album) is a remix done in 2017. This here is the original version as released in 2004.
Because you can't, and it is a good thing. You can't be "as good as him" (and somehow sadly, neither can I, I get that feeling), but you can be yourself in such a way that other people will think you are great as you are. Jimi Hendrix didn't like his voice, James Earl Jones stuttered, John Lennon, of all people, famously hated his own voice. I think in terms of songwriting it goes all the same. Explore who you can be, and accept who you are because if you work hard, and if you are honest with yourself, and if you are lucky enough to be heard by the right people (the hardest point, I guess), your voice will be heard. That's what Tom Waits did, that's what Bob Dylan did, that's what almost all of "them" did. And who knows what you may have to share? Maybe you don't yet, I surely don't now, but I am curious about that (hey, we both love Tom Waits, so... why not?), and surely a lot of people do as well. You know my real name, at least share what you want to. Why not?
Goddamn between this and Murder In The Red Barn, Tom really doesn't trust barns.
Underrated comment.
Never trust an old red barn, they say something big and red with leathery wings and long black horns roosts in old rafters under upside down stars
A prime example of that kind of cinematic storytelling that Waits is so well-known for. Feature-length film noir in 7 minutes of music. And it haunts you.
You know what's really scary? The barn is real. Waits wrote the song after reading a newspaper article. It is a stout 2 story wooden cabin fitted out as a slave prison with iron barred windows and hooks inside. It survived for 200 years because it was hidden inside a larger tobacco barn in Kentucky. It has since been dismantled and moved to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
In mid 19th century, with the huge growth of the cotton industry demand for slaves grew. The Atlantic slave trade was winding down since Britain abolished it in 1834. Therefore the slaves who had been working the tobacco fields were shipped on barges (flatboats) down the Mississippi to the slave market at Natchez where they were sold to the cotton farmers.
And yes the landowner really has found chains while plowing.
This is great info. Thanks for posting.
This is one of those songs that, after hearing it for the first time, was entered into my list of top 10 greatest songs, and it has stayed there ever since.
Thats funny, I haven't heard this in like ten years but my IRL buddy asked me to assemble a "top ten" list of songs and this instantly came to mind!
@@CoryAlphin It's such a hidden gem.
It's a shame this version isn't available on Spotify. The stronger percussion gives it an almost marching-song feeling.
Agree.. much prefer it to the remixed version!
...you guys ought to hear my Grandson and I sing this, he sings the background Whoo Haaa and "Yes Sir" while I make sure the list gets checked off... "Did you cover your tracks?" cutest thing you've ever seen.
You should upload a video of it so that we can experience it. I bet it is pretty cute.
+Mark8395217 what 's the adres ?
Ya know Mark theres a bird that says peek a boo!
Awww ❤️good taste you raised him right
I hope you both still sing it 😎
This song really pulls you into the world it inhabits. In this case, some sort of gnarled, gothic Americana.
Unfortunately the truth
Whoever disliked this went into the barn
AND NEVER CAME OUT!!! >:D
I laughed so hard my back popped
Poetry! He writes soooo well you can literally see the scene he’s painting. You can actually feel the terror and shivers. He recorded the background sounds in his bathroom for the echoing effect! He’s a genius! Also my dad introduced me and my little sister to Mr Waits at a young age and we have such fond memories of this song in particular. He used to also call himself “Everett Lee” on social media 😂
His wife Kathleen co-writes the lyrics
I'm an old dude almost 80...just an ordinary working stiff but I always feel wonderful when I see my adult daughter's collection of music that I listened too as she grew up ..including Muddy Waters and Tom Waits.
The song is about slavery, and some of the lyrics were taken directly from an article he read
Yes! You have to dance with your shadows to be happy in the sunshine.
Don't go into that barn, yea
I said: don't go into that barn, yea
Black cellophane sky at midnite
A big blue moon with three gold rings
I called Champion to the window
I pointed up above the trees
That's when I heard my name in a scream
Coming from the woods, out there
I let my dog run off the chain
I locked my door real good with a chair
Don't go into that barn, yea
I said: don't go into that barn, yea
Everett Lee broke loose again,
It's worse than the time before
Because he's high on potato and tulip wine
Fermented in the muddy rain, of course
A drunken wail, a drunken train
Blew through the birdless trees
Oh, you're alone alright
You're alone alright
How did I know
How did I know
Don't go into that barn, yea
I said: don't go into that barn, yea
An old black tree, scratching up the sky
With boney, claw like fingers
A rusty black rake
Digging up the turnips of a muddy cold grey sky
Shiny tooth talons
Coiled for grabbing a stranger happening by
And the day went home early
And the sun sank down into the muck of a deep dead sky
Don't go into that barn, yea
I said: don't go into that barn, yea
Back since Saginaw Calinda was born,
It's been cotton and soyabeans, tobacco and corn
Behind the porticoed house of a long dead farm
They found the falling down timbers
Of a spooky old barn
Out there like a slave ship upside down
Wrecked beneath the waves of grain
When the river is low
They find old bones and
When they plow they always dig up chains
Don't go into that barn, yea
I said: don't go into that barn, yea
Did you bury your fire?
Yes sir!
Did you cover your tracks?
Yes sir!
Did you bring your knife?
Yes sir!
Did they see your face?
No sir!
Did the moon see you?
No sir!
Did you go cross the river?
Yes sir!
Did you fix your rake?
Yes sir!
Did you stay down wind?
Yes sir!
Did you hide your gun?
Yes sir!
Did you smuggle your rum?
Yes sir!
I said: how did I know
How did I know
How did I know
Don't go into that barn, yea
I said: don't go into that barn, yea
Don't forget that I warned you
I said: don't go into that barn, yea
Don't go into that barn, yea
I said: don't go into that barn, yea
No shirt, no coat
Take me on a flat boat
Dover down to Covington
Covington to Louisville
Louisville to Henderson
Henderson to Smithland
Smithland to Memphis
Memphis down to Vicksburg
Vicksburg to Natchez
Going down to Natchez
Take me on a flat boat
Dover Dam to Covington
Covington to Louisville
Louisville to Henderson
Henderson to
Ive been listening to this song for as long as it's been out. 2004 i believe. God, it still gives me shivers just listening to this. My favorite of all his songs. Hoist that rag takes second. I just love his voice.
This and "What's he doing in there" oof so good
Real Gone is just a terrific album.
@@finscontingencyplan7005 AMEN!
20th century's renaissance man. He lived into the 21st century, but like Tom, I'm a 20th century man at heart. I can't claim to be a renaissance man, like Tom Waits is.
Gone from Spotify but always in my heart
People throw around the word genius waaay too much in music, but this is absolutely brilliant songwriting.
If Tom says " don't go into the barn " I'm sure as he'll won't
About 2 years ago a buddy and myself were playing pool next to an obnoxious group of girls who, after the span of about an hour and a half, were on their 5th spin of "Fly like a G6." I went to the jukebox that fortunately had internet search capabilities and searched for any music that would be the polar opposite of that song and unfortunately they didn't have anything extreme. No Throbbing Gristle, Cannibal Corpse or Melt-Banana. Desperate for any song that would get a reaction I searched for The Black Dahlia Murder but alas they did not carry it. They did however suggest I listen to this song based on my search. I was perplexed but I accepted the substitution. I was on a big Waits kick myself so I figured at best I could be a little self-indulgent and listen to something i like. I shelled out the $3.50 to interrupt the current song to play this song but believe me, it was so worth it. You should have seen the mood of the bar instantly change. This song isn't even that weird but it was almost if the bar got just a little bit darker and quieter in one magic moment. The aforementioned girls, confused at the sounds that they were being exposed to, struggled to wrangle up the quarters necessary to interrupt my song. I wondered if they would have to pay more to play their song kinda like a bidding war and I never heard what song they played.. me and my buddy paid our bills and left cracking up while nobody else got whatever joke we were trying to make. To quote a wise man, "Lol, Cool story bro."
Good story.
christoph davis A better ending to the story would have been for the girls to have an epiphany and really get into Tom Waits. That would have been pretty great.
Geahk Burchill Ah, that'd be for the best, but I doubt they'll ever even understand what the best is.
christoph davis This is how life-long love-affairs with music begin, through mistake and chance. Tom Waits tends to gather listeners that way more than anyone else.
I cringed.
I physically recoiled at the line "When they plow they always dig up chains."
That's an actual historic fact about the very real Kentucky prison barn that's the subject of this song.
i live in covington i think i saw thomas waits screaming at the river fish once
Nerdy as hell of me but I used to use this album for vagabond Dungeons and Dragons sessions when I was a teen :P
Listen to Tom stay outta that goddam barn!!
The most spooooyiest song on earth, LEAVE THAT BARN ALONE.
playing this from a bluetooth speaker in the shape of pusheen the cat, because my laptop speakers are too decent to properly play tom waits
Remember kids, don't talk to strange men. Dont play with firearms. and don't enter that barn.
I already live in a barn. So I hear; don't go into that bar, no.
Your hearing may vary.
your a lame!
Love this song and the entire album.
I love the singing of Mr Waits, but in this song the combination of the percussions/drums and the guitar are sounding bodacious!
so let me get this straght you dont want me to go in the barn
The long pause... very timely indeed!
I'M WAITING IN THAT BARN...
let's go into that barn sir .
What is he building in there was voted the scariest song ever. This must be number 2. HAHA
Fantastic . Life Size !
Pure Genius!!!!
Tom Waits I the best !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
just put it on before going to office work
I went to the barn. Now im here
DONT GO GETTIN' IT ALL ON YA!
Power!
Awesome
SPOOKY OLD BARN
"On the coattails of a dead gentleman " tom waits/les claypool track..similar feel
brutal
Hilariously scary and entertaining!
Tommy the Cat is my name... and I say unto thee...
There was a murder in that red barn
ThatHauntFreak2 It's actually inspired by a newspaper article he read about an old slave jail concealed in a tobacco barn in Northern Kentucky, so yeah, multiple murders... and much worse. This song is absolutely fucking brilliant, and equally as chilling. I remember the feeling first time I listened to it, being covered in chill bumps after... and not sleeping a damn wink that night. Intense and incredibly poignant stuff!
@@douglaspatrick868 Wow, that's nice to know. I always like to comprehend what Tom is referring to but sometimes he gets very cryptic
Don't have to tell me twice, Tom.
wow
I went into the barn and now I'm dead
FYI: Here's the route from Dover to Natchez on Google Maps: goo.gl/maps/wSGD4WdUoY7nzVJZ9
Also after a little Googling: www.nytimes.com/2003/05/06/us/in-a-barn-a-piece-of-slavery-s-hidden-past.html
"It was an eight-mile trek down the Walton Pike to the landing at Dover, Ky., where they would board flatboats for a perilous 1,150-mile journey: Dover to Covington, Covington to Louisville, Louisville to Henderson, Henderson to Smithland, Smithland to Memphis, Memphis to Vicksburg, Miss., and on to the infamous Natchez slave market."
sounds like Beefhearts "Gimme That Harp Boy".
It really does! That guitar riff. Good observation :-)
Yes, same shadow self!
wow,,, check the the link on elvis the cultureadvisor,,,
I could see this song in a short horror film about African American slaves tormenting slave traders with voodoo and witchcraft before breaking free.
Does anyone know why the lyrics to this song and others off Real Gone are straight-up wrong on both Tom Waits' website and the CD booklet? They both say the lyrics are "Did the Mom see you?" and not only does that not make any sense, it's not even ambiguous-sounding. Like, it's very clearly "Did the moon see you?". This and a few others from this album are driving me absolutely bonkers, the booklet and website are riddled with obvious errors and I don't understand it
this reality is an illusion
31 people in the barn.
Hooooooooooooooly shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit
Spooks my shit out
Even discounting the last minute of dead silence, why is this version longer than the official song and why does it start and end differently? The album track starts with a droning note and fades out like a full second shorter. You can hear him go on a bit longer at the end here.
Because Tom realized this version was better, so he released it.
This is the original version that was first Released. The one on Spotify is the remastered version.@@IHateThisHandleSystem
The currently available "official" version of this song (and this whole album) is a remix done in 2017. This here is the original version as released in 2004.
A Covid warning folks!!
Bronchitis makes me sing like Waits
Makes me think a lot of The Wallking Dead tv-serie
mmmh Shotgun Messiah, Les Claypool sounds good,information well spend .
I hate this man because he's such a fucking genius ... why can't I be as good as him? :(
Because you can't, and it is a good thing. You can't be "as good as him" (and somehow sadly, neither can I, I get that feeling), but you can be yourself in such a way that other people will think you are great as you are.
Jimi Hendrix didn't like his voice, James Earl Jones stuttered, John Lennon, of all people, famously hated his own voice. I think in terms of songwriting it goes all the same. Explore who you can be, and accept who you are because if you work hard, and if you are honest with yourself, and if you are lucky enough to be heard by the right people (the hardest point, I guess), your voice will be heard. That's what Tom Waits did, that's what Bob Dylan did, that's what almost all of "them" did. And who knows what you may have to share? Maybe you don't yet, I surely don't now, but I am curious about that (hey, we both love Tom Waits, so... why not?), and surely a lot of people do as well. You know my real name, at least share what you want to. Why not?
underground railroad
Except it goes south?
Hind if u re reading this comment call me Im missing u so much
how'd I know?
That is what it is about?
Coronavirus song
With tuberculosis as a chaser!
23 ppl went into the barn
And they were never heard from again.
is it a tribute to Screamin Jay Hawkins
I totally thought the same! Totally hear Screamin Jay Hawkins influence. Amazing!
Now you said it!
Can you expand on that?
hah I'm just waiting for someone to say "2 people went into that barn"
William H. Bonney the past, present and future quarked into a barn, it was tense.
He sings like he eats tires and drinks gasoline
i quite youtube